Last Of The Summer and Looking To Winter Training

The season ended well, shortly after the infections cleared I took on Revolve24 as part of the Direct Power cycle team, a little unfit but willing to give it a go! The race was over 24 hours at Brands Hatch and we raced it as a relay team, one member at a time on track. We all had time slots booked in and as I had work Sunday morning booked in for 3 hours on the Saturday. I couldn’t have imagined how hilly the circuit was though, both decent and assent and can’t believe some people were doing the solo 24 hour😮 Concidering the time off injured I managed to hold a really strong pace over the 3 hours and was passing loads of people on the hills and felt strong to the end! The team was doing brilliant and it was great to be part of it👌😃 I managed to make it back the following afternoon to take over the second to last hour stint and had recovered well enough to hit it hard. The team had continued to push hard over night and put in a massive effort👊🏻

Great team, hitting it for Chikama Trust a great cause!

It was a good start to the winter hitting targets and twice improving in powere testing. Continuing to work well with the support of Pav Bryan coaching and my coach Ian Jenner, developing a good relationship and improvements coming thick and fast👌 we’ve put in an extra rest day over the winter which I am hoping will take the pressure off stump damage, although with being so busy at work it’s been tough to manage some times🤦‍♂️ It’s going to be a big year though with doing a 12 hour time trial to raise money for Noah’s Big Charity and Arctic One👌😃

Summer Ups & Downs

Overall it's been a very positive summer, racing more crites (para and able bodied), working allot more and now full time at last👌😃 The National Paracycle champs went okay though didn't really shin, I think after only racing one crit beforehand and a hand full of TT's the race fitness wasn't there and got dropped early on in the road race. The TT went better though, it being longer than last year, hiller which suits me I gained a couple of places👍Testing has gone amazingly with the 6 sec, 3 minute, 12 minute and FTP jumping massively. Although I am still struggling to stay with the PAC in crits (circuit road race) I am getting better in every race and won my last crit race of the year at Southend, Redbridge💪🏻😃 I also got moved up to cat3 able bodied which is a bit of a confidence builder👌

National paracycle champs

Southend, Redbridge paracycle criterium, going up Hoghill

Unfortunately the end of the year has gone a bit bellys up with the same issue as last September when I was also managing a bursa on the knee/stump, for months but as is the way with these if they don't go they eventually get infected! It's on a different place on the knee than it was last year and the year before but I did get onto it quicker this year starting antibiotics. Still didn't shift it though, even with not training so have had to start another course of stronger antibiotics which should start to work after a couple of days really!

Over a week off training now though and even with the rest feeling shattered and had a fever for a couple of days so not great!

As I say though it's not been all bad and going forward I have a new job with a small family run business, Raw Pet Foods that is going brilliantly👍😃 Coaching sponsor Pav Bryan @DirectPower along with my coach Ian Jenner @CoachRule5 have agreed to continue my coaching support saying that I show great dedication and potential going forward so a big thank you👊🏻👌😃

Now I need to start planing for next years para season, also a little 12 hour TT to raise money for @Arctic_0NE and Noah's big charity👌

Please support me and these two amazing charities if you can http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AdrianHeathfield

Thanks

Ade

Positive Times

Although as I find time to write this post it is because of having to pull out of a sportive, the 1066. I've just got swelling over the lateral tendon behind the knee above my stump. I've managed to keep it under control for the past couple of weeks which is amazing considering how much heavy lifting I do at the different places I work, the increase in training intensity but it's finally caught up with me and I need to rest it before it gets out of control! I'm good at managing stump stuff though so will just take it on the chin and us the time to catch up on other stuff👌

Im doing lots of different jobs now both employed and self employed so that has taken some stress off as it means my bills are at least covered, although they are just short term fixes it is still a positive move😀 Them all being manual jobs is not helping with my stump but at least it takes some pressure off not running anymore and is just a case of adapting the management, I was thinking of getting a wheel chair again so I could rest the stump up more at home and on rest days!

Q25/8 Time Trial(TT)
I've not had any more road races but did a TT at the end end of May. Training has gone very well and working with my coach, Ian. The TT was for this type of event fairly hilly as they are for the most part pan flat so to still PB shows how fare things have come and my functional threshold power(FTP) was up by over 50 watts, off the top of my head and with a lower AHR. So all bodes very well👌

Training for my 12 hour TT next year to raise funds and awareness for Arctic One and Noah's Big Charity http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AdrianHeathfield is very much in the base phase. So just change my Sunday group session which I couldn't get out on anyway because of working Sunday morning into a 4 hour afternoon ride it TT position. It's just long enough at this point to highlight any potential issues with position, rubbing, aches, pains fuelling so adjustments can be made before we start putting the hammer down!👍

Please support me and these two amazing charities if you can http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AdrianHeathfield

Thanks

Ade

First 10TT of the year and Para Crit race at Hillingdon London

Q10/1

10 TT was a local race the Q10/1 heading out from Hamstreet, that is about 15 minute cycle from my house. I was aiming for my first sub 23 which with the form over the winter seemed very realistic, it was soon apparent though that it wasn't happening. The power looked good on the out bound leg but then I clocked the average speed and was well down on the target. My heart rate was to low also though so just tried to dig deeper but no matter how hard I seemed to push the heart rate was still fairly low but the speed did pick up massively on the second leg heading back as I then had a tail wind but not enough! I had people to chase that I was slowly gaining on so concentrated on pushing to catch them as soon as possible, I caught one of my old triathlon team mates on the home straight, who had started 2 minutes ahead but my finish time of 24:09 was very disappointing. I know it was only the first 10 and they do get quicker as the year goes on, I improved by over 2 minutes last year so am positive that even though I missed the target for this race they will improve. Conditions wont of helped as there wasn't allot of very quick times and I also have rib/intercostal injuries after a fall off the bike so am hoping when this clears up I will be able to at least get more out of the heart and lungs!

National Para-Series and cat 3/4 Crit Hillingdon 22/04/17

eeeesh another that I will just chalk up to experience in more ways than one, it was a fairly big field at 70 people on a tight course in places, twisting but no corners you couldn't cycle round. This in mind I started to far back in the pack, about 3/4 the way back in the middle so every time there was a kick at the front you ended to far off the front and the same if someone touched the breaks when they didn't need to. I loved the course but managed to lose a couple of meters on a down hill out of a corner and didn't react quick enough to it! Within a couple of seconds I was over 10 meters off the back of the pack with 3 other riders, I put in a big kick for about 10 seconds but the pack had done the same out of another corner and I found myself by myself. I tried for a couple of laps to get back on as I could see the main pack and was picking up other riders who had dropped off and was trying to get them to work with me and keep pushing. At this stage in my mind with 5 of us anything could happen up front and there is always a chance of catching if they slowed enough or there was a crash but it took to long till they decided to pick it up, it was just me working for the first long stint at the front. As soon as the pack lapped us I just treated it as a good opportunity to practice race craft and working with what turned out to be about 8 guys and kicking out of corners and the slight inclines into some of the corners. I wasn't in the best form probably physically with my ribs/intercostals being sore and looking back AHR was low again, so early season seem to be struggling to push into the big numbers like I have been all winter. I also put what I thought was 700x23 on my back wheel, that's what it said on the box but actually turned out to be 700x25 on the actual tyre. The wheel went on okay but noticed after the race it was rubbing on the frame. Needless to say the following day after lots of panicking that the frame was bent and 4 hour session replaced with the TT bike (which was actually good practice for endurance in TT position), it was just a relief it was just the tyres not the frame. It did hurt being lapped not just by most of the cat 3/4 guys but also the para lads, not my proudest moment, evaluate and move forward with positivity though!

No excuses though just evaluating in my own head, there was negatives to look at, to learn from and positives to take forward.

Work hard, work smart dream big!

Ade  

Testing Start to 2017

Had the joy of a couple of spells of crashing on the bike over the last few months ruining my new winter kit, that I brought through sponsorship and the shifters on my road bike, which has been very costly! Silver lining although very upset at the costs which are spiralling (who ever said you don't have to spend much to train/race was lying!!!) at least I wasn't injured, apart from gravel rash and then gravel rash ontop of the gravel rash I already had on the hip!

My sponsors have continued to be brilliant at helping me out and am so very grateful for that, it's a struggle some times to even find enough money for food and I couldn't even afford to train let alone race without them..... So thank you:)

The financial constraints have hit again as I'm still struggling to find full time work so had to drop out of considering York as my first lot of paracycle races. Instead I raced a local Time Trial yesterday as it was 5 minutes down the road from me and also the longest TT I have done to date at 30 miles. It went okay although it didn't really show the kind of improvements my testing form over the winter was pointing to. I was hoping to hold the same average speed that I did on the 25 mile last year on the same roads, as my improvements pointed towards me being able to do it. Weather conditions wouldn't have helped yesterday because the swirling wind meant that you got tail, head and side winds without changing direction. It was going well initially holding 40kmh, which was above my targets with relatively low power and heart rate but then got off the nice new tarmac onto the old surface and it just beat me. I ended up averaging about 37.8kmh which is over a kmh slower than I had targeted. First race Time Trial of the year and the lack of race fitness is evident. I'v trained and tested so hard over the winter and made big improvements but its not racing. I can take the positive I suppose that although I was down on my 25 from last year, I was about 2kmh average quicker yesterday than when I raced a 16 at the BC championships:)

Need to race importantly, keep turning the screw though and step it up!

Moving Forward

Its been a good couple of months of training and things have steadily improved. The goals of improving top end power have been achieved but I always want more and the goal of four figures for the top end effort is still some way off but atleast I am heading in the right direction. Functional Threshold Power which is tested over 20 minutes on Training Peaks has steadily rose and apart from picking up a cold this week am feeling like I am in a good place to be starting the racing season in March.

Ive earmarked 3 para series weekends of racing, York in March, Essex in May and my A race the BC National Championships in July. I'm also looking to do a 12 hour TT this year for charity but am looking for one later in the year. I will also look to race more crit races but it will just depend on money and any work I am doing I think I just need to race as much as possible this year but again that does come down to money.

Since my previous problems with bursitis it has all settled down, even with increasing training load and intensity. Ian who is coaching me for Pav Bryan coaching has been putting good session plans in which are improving fitness and power.

A Slog

This month has just been one of those months where I have been training with post crash injuries and the knee bursa, its just been a tough slog. Although I am now seeing the back end of both the bursa that has gone down just leaving some bruising and the ribs are no where near as tender, so things are in a better place.

Iv  had no races to focus me at this time of year which I don't normally have a problem with but had a recovery week last week and just didn't feel recovered come the end of it yesterday! I struggled most  of the week to find motivation which is very unusual for me and the body felt very lethargic in general. I think life stress with work and money probably plays a big part but it was definitely a tough one. Its turned cold very quickly to which it seems to do in the UK, it seems to suddenly drop by 10 degrees so doing less intense rides you really have to dress up warm to stay comfortable. You can always take stuff off and stuff it in your pockets so I never worry about being over dressed and its always good to have plenty with you just incase of a mechanical.

The last day of the recovery week yesterday I was feeling allot sharper though. It was a Sunday 3 hour Club ride with Ashford Wheelers and although I did try to make sure to take it easy, its difficult when you take in a few long hills, fun ride though and that's what is most needed sometimes.

I start the next 3 week build tomorrow which I am looking forward to working at and hitting some performance goals!

New Beginnings

I think I say this every time but I really must post this more often as I think it has been a year again, so some of the information may be a little sketchy, it’s been a flat-out year again!

Coming to the end of last year, having not raced any triathlon due to the stress fracture in the foot I was starting to reflect more and more on my future in triathlon/paratriathlon. I had killed myself trying to find some fitness post injury, to trial for the GB team again and come up  short as to be honest I expected, you have to give it a go though, nothing ventured nothing gained. While I had been injured though I hadn’t missed certain parts of training in the slightest, running being one and transition practice the other, the only thing I can say I missed was the races and training camps.

As much as I played mind games to try and convince myself that I liked running, I really just don’t want to run and that is a big issue when it’s a big part of the sport and training!

I think it was around Christmas that I decided to knock the triathlon on the head, I always enjoyed racing but hated the run training, trying to fit the training in was a pig to and just wanted to do something that I actually enjoyed. Over Christmas I had also been invited to go along to the GB pathway testing and training camps over the year. The first one was early in January and while not particularly fit I did okay in testing not being much off my PB on the power test, most probably because of being able to concentrate on just one sport. I made some new friends, the coaching was brilliant at the camps and testing and just all in all an awesome experience.

My introduction to road racing

My first para road race came round on a horrendously wet, windy and just miserable day but I felt up for the new challenge having never done this pack kind of racing! We was mixed in with the Cat 4 able bodied which is a miss mash of riders with no experience to some that have been racing for years but never made it up to cat3. It didn’t stay a pack for long as everyone went off at full sprint and I got dropped on about the third corner I think. I couldn’t believe how fast they could hit corners on such a wet track (The road races I have done this year have all been on race circuits, crit races) and by the time I realised my bike that I had been kindly loaned that day would do the same I was out of contact.

The goal for me then was to keep working on my fitness but to work mainly on top end power to cover breaks and also more importantly just on road craft! Next race up was National championships, both road and a 16 mile TT which was another 6 miles longer than I had done before and with power testing the day before the racing it would be a good test of fitness. Power tests went okay improving right across the board so it was a good start, TT the following day was horrendous and I just didn’t perform well. The road race was a tough one again, just still didn’t have the power to cover and keep up when the break happened early on again. I felt happier with my performance though as I new with where I was at that point in time I had nothing left come the end of the hour race.

Next up for me was Welwyn-Garden-City, it had been a couple of months as I just didn’t have the money to race but new I had moved on massively so was feeling very confident. It was a very technical, fast street circuit around the town and I went out hard moving to the front and holding position round the first few corners and round the bottom end of the course. Unfortunately about a lap in the chain jammed up in the crank, I put it back on and carried on but having had the pack go past me new it was over and when it happened again it wouldn’t unjam so was time to call it a day.  

My last race of the season was at Southend Cycle Centre, the para was mixed in with cat 3/4 rather than just the 4, so a move up in class which I saw as a positive. The circuit had a short hill with a kick at the end of every lap and a downhill with a 90˚ bend at each start, which really suited the lighter racer like me. I did eventually get dropped but made it to 20 minutes in this time and in a stronger field. So on reflection took this as a positive and a big move forward as I had been getting dropped on the first corner at the start of the year and in a weaker cat. I think after a good winter I will come out the other side very strong for next season!

Iv been fairly lucky all year, having not crashed and have been injury free too but have just had a bit of a pig of a week. First a big crash on the rollers then had a bursa get infected above my stump and knee(ongoing problem that I just have to manage)  and then finally a pretty heavy crash out on the road, hurting my ribs. I was already on anti-inflammatories for the bursitis so the amount of pain from pressure on the ribs but non from things like press ups say that it is probably a break rather than just bruising or muscular damage. That’s just part and parcel of racing/training though and whatever happens I love going out training now which makes the training so much easier.

Thank you

It was also an honour to be asked by the ArcticOne charity to be one of their ambassadors http://www.arctic1.co.uk/, they are a brilliant charity and do great work. They have sponsored me this year and helped with costs of races and travel and I have been along to some of their events when I can make it. I was also taken on as a brand ambassador for PavBryan Coaching http://www.pavbryan.com/ , so it is really nice to be coached again, this time in a different sport and be able to support a local company. The client group is also a very supportive group who all have their own goals but work well together and makes it feel like a club!

Other stuff

I’m still looking for work after finishing university last year and it’s been very stressful as its been a real struggle but I’m nothing if not resilient! Losing my prosthetist, Alan very soon to which is so gutting as I have been with him the longest of all my prosthetists, he is brilliant at the job and very knowledgeable as part of R & D for Blatchfords to but is moving on so wish him all the luck in the world with his new role.

Think you will fail you probably will, think you will succeed you probably willJ

Definitely need to update more often, had to really skim over the year!!!

 

I'm Still About

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.

British Paratriathlon Championships Liverpool 2014

British Paratriathlon Championships, Liverpool 10 August 2014

 

At the race briefing the night before the race there was the warning of possible 40-50mph gusts from the impending storm and the possibility of the race having to be altered to aquathon or duathlon. It was expected though and we had enough warning of weather problems all through the week so wasn’t a surprise. The transitions and water exit was a surprise though, just ridiculous for my category there being both leg and arm impairments it changed the race completely! It was the way it was though and myself and Phil who was helping me in transition had a look over everything after the briefing and completely changed the planed transitions we had practiced. The morning of the race as with most of my races no nerves, just very calm and calculating.

 

Swim 12:53 Including getting up stairs after water exit

After getting in the water and making my way over to the swim start I made sure to position myself by two of the fastest swimmers so I could get a drag off them on the start. I didn’t stay with them for more than 20m and dropped back into a smaller pack that I just sat on the heal of the front guy till the last 200m or so when I put a big effort in to get myself a good position coming into the water exit  handlers. On the exit the two water handlers got either side of me and I hoped up the steps to pre transition where I had decided as it was such a long way into T1 to put my running blade on rather than the cycle leg as normal, it was just to fare to run on cycle leg. It wasn’t the smoothest of wet suit removals but was okay and got my running blade on okay.

 

T1 3:55

Phil ran in with me to T1, it was such a long way though through corridors down steps and seemed to go on forever, it was under the building and think it was the car park normally. When I reached my bike I put my helmet on grabbed my bike and rather than putting the cycle leg on ran to the mount line which was up and down more slopes and outside on the road. I crossed the mount line, my brother had run up with me holding the cycle leg and cycle shoe, I put them on and was off.

 

Bike 33:23 Included taking off run leg and putting on cycle leg and shoe after mount line so happy with time

Out and back two lap course so really good to try and chase down people and felt so strong on the bike and have only been riding this one for about two weeks. I was making up time on the guys in front but not as much as I had wanted. Although wet surface the weather had held off just enough and just had some light shows and was just really loving being on the bike!!!

 

T2 3:04

My brother, Phil again was a star and had stayed at the mount/dismount line ready with my run leg and extra sock I use for that leg socket. I was worried coming to the end of the bike that I hadn’t told him to stay there and would have to run down the ramp in the cycle leg. I swopped my legs over in pre transition, gave my brother the cycle leg and we headed down into transition, Phil allot faster than me! I took it a little steady running down the slope with my bike into T2 but still managed to pass a couple of age groupers. Dumped my bike with Phil to rack, run shoe on while Phil took helmet off and I was off back up and down through the car park and out onto the run.

 

Run 20:59

The run was okay but still need to be allot quicker, the technique felt allot better and more relaxed than it has done in previous races though. I didn’t appreciate the cobbles on the course and just wasn’t running blade friendly, it was just a case of dancing across them rather than running and was glad we only crossed them twice for a couple hundred meters. A bit of cat and mouse with another BK amputee, Steve was fun though and definitely getting stronger every week, I just kept injecting pace out of corners.

 

Well done to all the other competitors across all the categories, it was a tough oneJ A massive thanks to my brother Phil, for driving up there and for being my handler in transition, just make a brilliant team. I was aiming to medal but more improvements still needed, 6^th out of not sure how many with the new category but okay and I gave it all I had on the day, I will get there!!! A big thanks also to Ashford Tri Club, my coach Paula George VO2 Coaching, sponsors Blatchfords, ALT, Lankelma, Podplus, CAF and British Triathlon.

 

adrianheathfieldparatriathlete.webs.com

 

 

Its Been A While

Like I say its been a while, I think the last post in March.

Since then I came second at the British Paraduathlon championships and just before then found out that I had been selected for the World Class GB Paratriathlon team and with it Lottery funding!

At the start of the year with all the problems I had over the winter with swelling of my leg/stump and the fall on my shoulder the plan was just to target the British Paratriathlon Championships as my target race for the year. Now though with the funding was looking to compete in more of the ITU races to get the points I needed in order to qualify for the Europeans and Worlds.

Right from the off I got two race starts on an invite on both cases, the first France and the second six days later in Hyde Park. Both races went okay but after an unsettled winter with nothing but problems the race fitness just wasn't there yet and I finished along way down the field! Importantly I also didn't score any points and then didn't make the start list for anymore internationals, this meant no selection for the Europeans and also didn't get to go to the worlds at the end of August. I just have to accept that in the new category system I just haven't performed when I needed to. Its a positive being in a tough category though as it is one that they will be using in the Rio 2016 Paralympics, so just need to get quicker which I will and have massively over the last couple of months since London.

It was a mixture of a bad winter and just not performing as I should have but either way a bit of a kick up the ass but training has gone brilliant on the build up to the British Championships that are on the 10 August. Shoulder still isn't right so swimming has been pretty rubbish but the bike has been prenominal, I have put in some massive PB's and completely changed the way I race the sprint triathlon/paratriathlon and it works. The run is really coming along just due to no equipment problems and no problems with swelling in the stump so just shows that if I can get regular training in I naturally make big improvements. It has also helped working with my coach Paula and changing my run technique, it had been to long without improvements in this discipline!

I realised the other week that I haven't had a holiday for nearly 10 years so think it might be a good idea after the seasons finished to take some winter sun somewhere and just relax
!!!

Improving

Following on from my last post, things did get better and very quickly!:)

Swelling went down in my thigh, the bursa on my knee started to go down and didn't need any intervention from my surgeon and training started to settle down into a good rhythm.

I needed to change my socket system that I use on a day to day basis to take the pressure off my bursa which has worked well, we was also using the same pin system socket to test for use on a cycle leg but that just didn't work for me as a cycle leg socket. So we are opting for the suspension system for the cycle leg, I think with a short stump it just allows me more stability to put power through the residual limb but the other system was worth a try.

The winter has had its problems but feeling very positive going into the 2014 season, I have been doing lots of testing with Blatchford on Prosthetics, mainly the Blade XT but on other legs to and things are progressing nicely. I have put good strength work in at the gym over the winter and it has shown good progression. Swim is still a little tentative with my shoulder but have made massive improvements in my kicking technique and endurance. The bike I have been able to keep up with very few interruptions over the winter and am showing good signs of improved power and endurance over the winter. I have also managed to loose a little weight while still increasing power which is always a good thing and am trying to make sure I get plenty of sleep, which are areas allot of people don't take enough care of!

In all feeling fab:)

Don't Panic

Things started well after my recovery from the cracked femur, placing 3rd in a local triathlon and running 20:30 in a 5K, which was good considering I had done no real running in anger for 3 months.

Things can change very quickly though and they certainly have. I fell over in my kitchen the end of November, landing on my elbow and this caused an AC injury in the shoulder. I've rested it up for the last 6 weeks, no swimming or weights and doing physio but is still not right. It is just a case of being patient but it wasn't the start to my winter training I needed.

I've had a lump on my knee on the amputated side for about a year that myself and the people looking after me have been keeping an eye on. We decided to leave it alone while it was causing no discomfort or problems but it began to get painful at the end of last year, it was just when my knee was bent sitting down because of pressure from the outer sleeve of the prosthetic. I still had no pain from running or cycling and flexibility, strength and movement was still pain free. I have an appointment on Monday with my consultant which has happened at just the right time as I haven't even been able to get my leg on as my hole leg ballooned after I went food shopping the other day. I've managed to get the swelling down by ice, elevation and ibuprofen on the thigh but the knee is still swollen.

Swollen Leg and knee!

 

I was hoping to getting really good quality winter training in as I lost so much time last year but it just hasn't happened and the knee needing intervention has put an end to that thought. I have made massive improvements on power output on the bike and my running technique is improving which is a positive to take with me. Typical though get new running kit and upgrade bike components and everything goes to pot!

 

The thing is though not to panic, initial thoughts were great that's the season over before I even start. It wasn't that I thought these problems would last into the season but just that I have lost allot of the winter improvement time. I will just see what the consultant says tomorrow and will just probably look at starting the triathlon season a little later and get some good strong training in before hand.

 

Most importantly get healthy first!

 

 

Endolite bladeXT

Promotional video for the Endolite BladeXT that I was in and it was based around a triathlon theme:)

Onward and Upward

To say its been a tough summer is understating it, its probably been the toughest time period in my life. When I first broke my ill fated leg in February 2003 although it was unexpected I was positive about the outcome and stayed positive and if not positive very accepting of what I new would happen. When after finding out that after 9 years the leg was still not uniting and more infections I made the decision to have the leg amputated but saw it as a positive decision and the only one that made sense to me anymore.

Three weeks after coming back from the European paratriathlon championships though and my hip was still very painful which was thought to be bad bruising but turned out to be a cracked femur. The greater trochanter, a small knuckle of bone at the top outer part of the femur had been dislodge by the crash on the bike. Bearing weight through it was possible because of where it was but because there are allot of muscle attachments there I could only move on level surfaces to start with.

I was able to swim with no pain from about 3 weeks after the crash with no pain atall and also use the turbo in a very low gear, it was more a case of muscle memory. The main thing I concentrated on though was the physiopherapy, small and regular sessions every day and quickly started getting movement back in the hip area.

Financially its been hell, although at uni I work when I can and would have worked all through the summer break. I worked for two weeks before the Europeans and then because of the femur then just bad luck didn't get any more work till the end of September, 16 weeks with no money coming in! I had applied for the paratriathlon worlds and was back training in time but didn't get selected which was really gutting but that's just the way it goes sometimes. Having missed the British paratriathlon championships 4 weeks after the Europeans because of the femur would have not helped my application but was only just about walking normally by this stage let alone running. It was just one stress after the other and with allot of time on my hands to think about it, being off uni and with no work.

I can't thank Ashford Tri Club enough during this time, both the committee for their financial help with physiopherapy and the members for listening to my moaning:)! Also a big thanks to Debbie the limb reconstruction nurse at Kings and Mr Groom orthopaedic consultant for seeing me when I told them about my injury, always so supportive!

Silver lining though, the femur crack has united very well looking at the x-rays and I have no pain from the site. I raced in a mainstream sprint triathlon the other week coming in 3rd place with no specific training, just base fitness. This bodes well for the future and with a good winters training will be in the mix next year, cant wait!!

My ever supportive dad and mum!!!

 

 

I also did some work for Blatchfords who supply my prosthesis, the Endolite brand and they have been so supportive. A while ago I got to test their Blade XT running blade and really liked it and have been using it and giving feedback since the beginning of the year. Two too three weeks ago I featured in their promotional video and photos for the Blade XT and they based the video around paratriathlon.

My new Endolite Blade XT the finished article:)

 

 They are such great people to work for and looked after me so well and the video looks great, never keen on close ups on the face but still great video, great idea and very well put together. I saw the semi finished cut and it looks very cool but am looking forward to seeing the finished article!!

 

Im back at uni now too and although very hard work some of the stuff we are now doing is very interesting but just wished it sunk in a little better, its pretty full on.

 



European Paratriathlon Championships Alanya

Hang on to the positives, take them with you on your journey and learn from the negatives!

As an overal experience there was allot of positives to take away and a very valuable learning experience for me. To be part of the GB team meant so much more to me as an adult than it did as a child when I was skating. This was all my choice, my drive and part of my goals to represent the country again and to be included in such a talented team felt good!

Preparation in Alanya went well, I just stuck to the plan, short sessions with fast intervals just to acclimatise and allot of rest. It was good to get to know the rest of the team and the support team and got good advice from some of the more experienced team members, chatting in down times. In my build up to races I normally keep myself to myself for the week before the race so this was a very different environment to get used to. I was surprised I had no nerves but I do feel better racing like this when I feel like I have control of everything in my little world:)

The only nerves came in when we was sitting on the pontoon in a wet suits and I was getting very hot waiting to get in. There had been a back and forth for a couple of days on whether wet suits would be band as the water was to hot but on the day you had a choice so I along with most went for a wet suit. The swim went okay and I came out of the swim in about 4th or 5th place but lost places going up the ramp on my crutches and a few more going round into transition, so the transition still needs work. I went out on the bike knowing I had work to do but was confident on how much stronger my bike had gotten over the past few months. I was passing allot of people on the bike, the heat wasn't effecting me at all and was feeling very strong. I passed two BK amputees on the second lap so new they was in my category and passed Faulch, one of the guys I thought would be one to watch for the race, on I think the third lap. I managed to keep pulling away from him but then hit the sweeping corner just after transition for another lap and the bike slipped from under me! I was pushing hard but had taken a tiny bit of weight through my stump, which was the inside leg and of course this was probably just enough weight on the inside edge to make the bike slip from under me. I bounced hard on the hip and then stopped at the feet of the barriers and that was my race over. I got myself back on, did one lap but the hip was really painful so stopped for about four or five minutes and was going to pull out, the team mechanics where shouting to just finish the bike. When I got back on I just relied on the good leg to cycle and when I got back into t1 had to lay the bike flat to try and get my prosthetic leg out of the pedal, the hip was agony. I should have called it a day here but when I got to Chris, my handler I still think he wasn't sure what had gone on! I sat in the chair at t2 and said my hips buggered I can't do it but then put my leg on and trainer and tried to run but couldn't put any weight through the running blade so hoped/ran to the t2 exit. I stopped at the exit of t2 and was going to call it a day but again just went off again.

                                          Pre Crash

I did finish but this is a lesson in what not to do! I limped and hoped round a course that should have taken about 20 minutes in 48 minutes in pain, a week later and my hip and elbow is still bleeding and the hip/ball and socket joint is very painful. I saw the physio Ben Sims at Podplus yesterday and he doesn't think anything is torn but cant rule it out so has requested an MRI. If anything it has just motivated me even more, I was really doing so well before the crash so will just concentrate on that and know that when I am back fit and well I will be tearing it up out there!!!
                                        
                                          Post Crash

 

Thanks to Patrick (doctor) and Penny (physio) for their treatment after the race and for the support of the team in general. I was holding it in all the way round the run but needed a bit of a cry after the race, a bit of an emotional experience but if you learn from it, it can only be positive! Also a big thanks to Chris Sardo, ATC team mate and my handler in transitions who also competed in his first international in the age group race coming in 11th place, well done mate!!!

My first two internationals haven't gone to plan and feel like missed opportunities but I am relentless and I will be back with venom:);)

Thanks again for everyone's support:)

Representing Great Britain

Its been a pretty hectic and amazing few weeks!

Thanks to Chris Frost (paratri cat 4), team mate at VO2 maximum for offering me a lift and a place to stay in Besancon, France for the ITU paratriathlon and to british triathlon for entering me. At the last minute we found out that the swim section was being canceled due to the current in the river being to strong so it got made into a duathlon, 5K run, 22.5 bike and 2.5 run to finish. It was a stella performance by Chris putting in a massive PB on the first run and a just as strong bike and second run. Well done Chris, Stella performance in a strong field mate! My performance in the run, bike, run was also strong coming 2nd fastest in both the run sections but let myself down with a massive bulls up in the first transition costing me 2 minutes. It wont happen again and will just learn from it, that's why they call transition the 4th discipline!!! Also learnt how important it is to actually ride the course beforehand. I had some good tips before the race from Chris as I had never ridden or drove in Europe so his advice was just keep saying right, right, right to myself coming up to roundabouts and junctions but still found it very confusing especially as we were racing and being shouted at in French. At one point myself and two other riders one Dutch the other Spanish I think were being shouted at by a marshal by a line that was marked out on the floor and we all thought it was the dismount line, so stopped then realised that the finish was further on so we all got back on again. It was a hilly and very technical bike course going through some small side streets with sharp corners and also some cobbles to test the nerves but loved the course. The 2 minutes I lost trying to get back into transition when I mucked up went on my bike time so very happy with the bike time at this point a strong time for me as it would have been about 40 minutes. There was allot of crashes probably because of the tight technical course in places and the torrential rain we had that morning!

Finish line and proud to be British!!

I am also very proud to say I have been selected to represent Great Britain at the European paratriathlon championships on the 16 June in Alanya, Turkey. I would like to say a big thank you to all my family who are always there to support me, friends both old and new who had belief in me, ATC my triathlon club who have helped me all the way, Paula my coach from VO2 maximum who has performed wonders already with her coaching and to British Triathlon for having confidence in me it means allot!

Bioscience exams now finish for this year, Mondays exam went brilliant, Tuesdays went okay and Wednesdays was not to brilliant, I new the subject just had problems elaborating and getting my point across in the answer. I'm sure it went okay though, exams aren't  my strong point with dyslexia and even worse memory problems. Still looking for part time work preferably just very short hours so I can fit in uni too, the bills don't stop for nothing! A sponsor would be good to, one that wants to part with a time trial bike.... pretty please as my bike is a road tour bike and pretty heavy.... thanks:)

The training leading up to the British Paraduathlon Championships went well, the speed on the run and bike continued to improve. Although the plan to work on my swim was unchanged I still continued to mainly work on this area ready for the triathlon season. The actual race went well, as Paula had advised don't go out to fast and I stuck to it. First run was very slow but still came into transition 2nd, dropped down to 3rd when caught half way round the bike but managed to retake 2nd and finished in this position. Both run times were very slow but the position is the most important part and I am happy with 2nd... for now at least! Well done to Matt who won and George who came 3rd, look forward to competing against them at the British Paratriathlon Championships in July!

The plan was to spend the week after fitness testing them take a week off before building up again but on the way back home on the train felt very unwell and spent the next 5 days in bed with flu, I was so ill. The next week was a big week at uni doing a microbiology practical week so Paula my coach had said we could do the testing another time when she got back from doing IM South Africa, which she did a PB. Well done Paula!! I did train that week but it was a very gentle slow build up after a week in bed and with doing long days in the labs at uni.Finally managed to start testing this week and although the times are a little down it is to be expected after illness and we have got a good base to build my training around for the upcoming year. Bring it on:)!

 

Got selected to be on the Ashford Active Talented Athlete programe so thank you to them for the confidence it means allot.

 

Thanks for all the support from my family, friends, Ashford Tri Club and Paula my coach from VO2 maximum!!! 

 

 



Motivation



Taking a break from the assignments for an hour, it seems a little full on over the last month and am feeling a little stressed to say the least! It seems like it is one after the other at the moment, if I'm not training most of the time I am doing assignments.

 

I have managed to get some good training in of late though, swim is still improving by the week and have put some very Strong bike, run brick sessions in to begin the competition training/speed work.

 

Kate who owns Podplus trackside sports shop in Ashford, Kindly got me a couple different running trainers, they are brilliant! I can feel that sub 20 minute 5K being obliterated:)!!

 

 

 

 

 

  
 Modelling the Ascics Tri Noosa 8 trainers given to me by Podplus, thanks Kate and Liz!


Brilliant day up at the triathlon show with some ATC team mates, listened to some brilliant talks and meet some very inspiring people to below!

Helen Jenkins

Allways like a bit of a chat especially with two world champions that are so approachable, I always feel I'm imposing. They were both so nice and willing to answer questions and give me a little advice though, it was very much appreciated:)!

Back to the assignments for now, 2 dew in by Friday. On the bright side start working with Paula Dewer a triathlon coach on Wednesday, onward and upward!!!

Tim Don

 

 

Positive

I did the Paratriathlon ID weekend the other week but at this stage have not qualified for the GB team, I did get good feedback from the weekend though which is appreciated and I will take it on board. They also said that they would like to see me compete on an international stage before they could consider offering me a place on the team which is still the main aim anyway, to win internationals.

Training is going well and the issues with the socket taking off skin on my stump have settled down and I am back in a more settled training routine. I am just starting my pre season training and looking forward to working with a triathlon coach, Paula Dewer that I spoke with the other week. It will help to have some one with some experience of how to take me forwards as at the moment I am just using a little common sense to train but don't really know whether what I am doing is right. The main target races for this year are British Paraduathlon in April and British Paratriathlon in Liverpool in July and hopefully my performance there will qualify me for the worlds, lots of work to do though. Feeling good though and very positive about my triathlon over the coming years. It is a very exciting time to be involved in Paratriathlon!!!

Still carrying them 2 extra bloody Kg's though, it's not like I am over weight but, well they need to go:)