Its been along time and have let the posts here laps but its been a very busy time!
After the British Paratriathlon Championships last year I was feeling confident of my progression after many injuries through the winter with stump and shoulder problems I was starting to feel a little more race fit. Thinking my season may have been coming to a close I was looking back on the season and my performances in the new moderate limb impairment category and it was hard to swallow that even though I had improved I was now coming in at the back of the pack! All you can do though is analyse and change what you know is not working.
It wasn't that long after the Brits that I picked up knee bursitis again on my knee on the amputated side, as always rest is the only way this will go. Unfortunately at the time I was doing a biodiversity study at the Wye Downs for my BSc in Plant Sciences Dissertation, which didn't make resting up that easy. Through more luck than judgment it did subside within a couple of weeks with lots of ice and sleeping in a stump compression sock which seemed to work well.
Late on in the season I got a bit of a last minute place in ITU Madrid Paratriathlon, which was very exciting and another chance to represent GB and hopefully move up the places a bit. The lead up was pretty stressful trying to get my study done, get assignments in at uni, work, race build prep and trying to find the money to pay for some horrendously expensive plan tickets as it was booked quit late. Leading into the race I was feeling good though and for the first time in a long time my running was getting quicker, my mind felt in a good place to push into and past that mental barrier you hit sometimes. There was positive and negatives to take from Madrid though, I went out as always with very little nerves and feeling very confident in myself and my race plan. When the horn went off I hit it hard and got out in front of the field and drafted the faster swimmers as much as possible to get a good toe as they came past. I came out of the swim in my fastest time to date in ITU races, by quit a bit. The transition 1 and my bike was a long one so I put my run leg on for this and ran along the pontoon, through the walkways and back to transition, all going smoothly. The bike section went very smooth and was taking back places and feeling so strong, the course with so small sharp hills and sharp turns was made for me. To this point it was by fare my best performance but after the bike and transitioning into the run leg the vacuum problems started very early on with the leg just not staying on properly! The leg was pistoning back and forth onto the end of my stump and was agony, I kept stopping to take it off and reposition it but it just wasn't happening and people in all categories were all just fly past, it was just so soul destroying! I now thought I was in last place and was in so much pain with my stump that I was going to pull out with about a mile to go. I saw there was a below knee amputee not that fare ahead though so as I was starting to catch him even with keep stopping I carried on and passed him heading into the finish. Only to find out after the race he was in the category below, it destroyed me, that's racing though. I had performed to the best of my ability at that time and things had just gone badly in the run, which is something Blatchfords have been working on to help solve this problem.
After a very short break to let the battered stump heal the winter training block started well, putting down a good base to build on as with the season starting so early and the need to score points early in the year I would need to be race fit earlier 2015. My shoulder injury that had held me back for 2 years now was getting stronger and swimming was going well, I had suffered bursitis again but caught it early and although I couldn't cycle I could still run without any issues or pain. It's just different sockets for different things and the cadence and movement of cycling on the knee is just something that is very different to running where it is a smaller movement. I spent Christmas at my parents in Scotland with my brother, we ran every other day, I carried on with my core work and swim training at a local pool in Dunoon.
At the start of January 2015 I did a GB training camp, it was brilliant to catch up with team mates, review previous goals, set new goals and get some first class quality training in, it was just a brilliant weekend. I had been suffering just general foot pain for about a year that came and went and I just put down to wear and tear and training stresses but the following week I struggled to walk some mornings. After seeing my consultant and a couple months of different scans they showed lots of old ailments, two toes that have fused from previous breaks and a possible recent fracture that was healing. None of it was helping the running though and I stopped run training to try and let it heal in January, it continued for months though with no real improvement. I had by now missed another GB training weekend and by march there was signs on another scan that I might have osteochondritis but after further investigation was ruled out. Frustration was building the triathlon season had started and I had missed by now with exception of one light technique track session with Hayley Ginn to see how the foot was and as normal I could run but suffered problems after. All further scans I had at the end of May ( I think it was may) showed no new damage and any fractures had healed. I started back running but the season is pretty much over and am just looking for a race or two to aim for. Running stiffness and stump pain wasn't great to start off, even taking it very easy, you just cant underestimate how much of a toll take 7 months off running has on the body! Speed has just started to come back now after about 3 weeks of building and the inclusion of some track and running on grass rather than just pounding the tarmac seams to have helped the foot. Also trying to run a little further back on the forefoot, it all seems to be coming together though and am feeling positive.
