Well after a quiet Easter today was the first day on the mountain bike in 3 weeks. It has been cruel walking past the new carbon Felt MTB and not being allowed to take it on the trails – which are 5 minutes ride from my house.
It was wet, muddy, slippery…and I loved every minute of it! Two hours of single track and not another soul in sight. And that, people, is why I ride in the rain. My legs are feeling better every day even though the other symptoms are unchanged. While I’ll continue with medical investigation I can at least start a bit of training if I am not tired and sore anymore. I am considering doing the Anaconda Challenge in Alice Springs…just considering…
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Health issues
Since the cramping episode in Ballarat in January I have been having a few health problems – just feeling like I am not recovering, constant fatigue, muscle cramps and rubbish performance. My life is pretty full with raising a 6 year old, running a business, training and (recently) university studies so I attributed it to partially overtraining and partially ‘overliving’. I tell my clients that recovery is the other half of the training equation but what do they say about plumbers never fixing their own taps…???
After 2 weeks of recovery after Oceania’s I feel possibly worse than when I was training. I have some strange symptoms such as muscle-twitching when at rest (which I have discovered is called ‘fasciculation’ – google it!) and a metallic taste in my mouth that I can’t get rid of. The latter by far the most distressing as I am now unable to taste red wine!!! A couple of doctors visits and blood tests and I am still none the wiser. My current supplements now include magnesium, zinc, Co-enzyme Q10, Vitamin C and I am thinking of adding Selenium…because, well you can just never have too much Selenium (actually I’ve found out more than 900 micrograms a day is too much). Every time I get my heart-rate up it feels like my legs are about to start the cramp-a-thon again. Luckily I am so busy I can’t dwell too much on it but yes, it’s starting to get me down. Just want to feel normal again L
So I am starting ‘abstinence April’ – cutting out alcohol (yes even the stuff I can taste like cider and beer), chocolate & standing up for long periods of time in high-heels in overrated establishments (read: Cloudland). My diet, which is always good anyway, will be full of antioxidants and I will get a full 8 hours sleep each night. Have to go now as I think a pig just flew past my window.
After 2 weeks of recovery after Oceania’s I feel possibly worse than when I was training. I have some strange symptoms such as muscle-twitching when at rest (which I have discovered is called ‘fasciculation’ – google it!) and a metallic taste in my mouth that I can’t get rid of. The latter by far the most distressing as I am now unable to taste red wine!!! A couple of doctors visits and blood tests and I am still none the wiser. My current supplements now include magnesium, zinc, Co-enzyme Q10, Vitamin C and I am thinking of adding Selenium…because, well you can just never have too much Selenium (actually I’ve found out more than 900 micrograms a day is too much). Every time I get my heart-rate up it feels like my legs are about to start the cramp-a-thon again. Luckily I am so busy I can’t dwell too much on it but yes, it’s starting to get me down. Just want to feel normal again L
So I am starting ‘abstinence April’ – cutting out alcohol (yes even the stuff I can taste like cider and beer), chocolate & standing up for long periods of time in high-heels in overrated establishments (read: Cloudland). My diet, which is always good anyway, will be full of antioxidants and I will get a full 8 hours sleep each night. Have to go now as I think a pig just flew past my window.
Catch up...
Gee it’s been a while since I updated so here is the short story…
Round 5 – Glen Orchy TAS
Finally getting to visit Tasmania was a highlight. The course at Glen Orchy was a lot of fun although my form did not really do it justice. Finishing 5th it was more a case of being glad the series was over. Losing the lead on the last day of 4 months of racing was disappointing, however Katherine O’Shea had ridden so well and consistently she was a deserving winner.
After travelling all around the country and not really getting to see anything, I finally went sight-seeing with a friend on Sunday. Port Arthur wasn’t somewhere I had on my list of ‘places to visit’ but it was beautiful and kind of fun to do the tourist thing (very informative guided walk and boat tour included). The guides certainly are passionate about their jobs and I swear one of them almost broken into tears when describing the lives the convicts endured, despite having given the story about a thousand times.
Oceanias – Thredbo NSW
Returning to Thredbo for the first time since I fractured a couple of vertebrae there last year was about putting some demons to rest and picking up some handy UCI points (there are double the points awarded at national titles). A quick trip I flew into Canberra Friday morning, drove to Thredbo, did one lap then put my feet up. On my reconnaissance of the course I found almost all of it had been changed from previous years – except the part where I had my crash! After riding the bridge obstacle successfully the first time I carried my bike back up and rode it again – and crashed in exactly the same way. Luckily someone had the forethought to cover the bridge railings with padding so no broken bits this time.
I can honestly say it was the most fun I’ve had in a race for a while. There was no series on the line and I had already made my decision not to do the European World Cup circuit so all the pressure was off. I raced as hard as my legs would let me but that was getting slower each race so I didn’t expect much. Coming away with 6th was fine and is my best Oceania’s result to date.
Round 5 – Glen Orchy TAS
Finally getting to visit Tasmania was a highlight. The course at Glen Orchy was a lot of fun although my form did not really do it justice. Finishing 5th it was more a case of being glad the series was over. Losing the lead on the last day of 4 months of racing was disappointing, however Katherine O’Shea had ridden so well and consistently she was a deserving winner.
After travelling all around the country and not really getting to see anything, I finally went sight-seeing with a friend on Sunday. Port Arthur wasn’t somewhere I had on my list of ‘places to visit’ but it was beautiful and kind of fun to do the tourist thing (very informative guided walk and boat tour included). The guides certainly are passionate about their jobs and I swear one of them almost broken into tears when describing the lives the convicts endured, despite having given the story about a thousand times.
Oceanias – Thredbo NSW
Returning to Thredbo for the first time since I fractured a couple of vertebrae there last year was about putting some demons to rest and picking up some handy UCI points (there are double the points awarded at national titles). A quick trip I flew into Canberra Friday morning, drove to Thredbo, did one lap then put my feet up. On my reconnaissance of the course I found almost all of it had been changed from previous years – except the part where I had my crash! After riding the bridge obstacle successfully the first time I carried my bike back up and rode it again – and crashed in exactly the same way. Luckily someone had the forethought to cover the bridge railings with padding so no broken bits this time.
I can honestly say it was the most fun I’ve had in a race for a while. There was no series on the line and I had already made my decision not to do the European World Cup circuit so all the pressure was off. I raced as hard as my legs would let me but that was getting slower each race so I didn’t expect much. Coming away with 6th was fine and is my best Oceania’s result to date.
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