Huge Respect

 

Many people come to me or comment on my Facebook activities, saying that they are impressed with my sports activities, that I inspire them or motivate them to do some exercise. This is the single reason I keep posting so many of them, as I hope to keep contributing for other people to start/doing more exercise.

Sometimes is not easy to get out there to do a run, a bike ride or a swim, specially when it means waking up at 5am, before a full day of work. Sometimes is not easy to complete weekly training program that adds up to 10 or 12 hours of exercise (and all time on preparation, driving, stretching, etc.), but it surely pays off at the end, mentally and physically.

Last weekend I attended an Ironman 70.3 from the outside, and I have a lot of respect for everyone that participates and finishes one. I saw 1600 people, swimming 1.9, cycling 90and running 21.1 kilometres. While seeing it from the outside, and looking at some of the people that were doing it, there was one things that kept coming to my mind:

“Anyone can do an Ironman”

I saw a one armed man, paraplegics, men and women over 70 years old, overweight people, swimming 1.9, cycling 90 and running 21.1 kilometres, under 30ºC temperature and 80% humidity. I have a profound admiration and respect for all athletes, but in special for these people that don’t give up despite their physical challenges, age or level of fitness. And most of the times, you can see a smile on their faces.

For this I would say, Anyone can do an Ironman.

 

 

“Doing an Ironman isn’t hard, Life is”

Attending Ironman 70.3 from the other side

I’m in Singapore, but not to race this time. With the leg infection and small surgery, I’ve decided to leave the bike at home and not to race, despite the fact the doctor told me I should go for it.

A small pimple on Friday evening that evolved to a leg infection, got me into hospital on Saturday night shivering with fever, and into a small surgery on Tuesday afternoon. I have a hole in my leg where I can put my finger in. If you are a curious person and want to see the pics, you can see them here, but be aware that they are gross .

I think most of my friends, knowing me, wouldn’t be surprised if I was doing the IM anyway, but they still would call me crazy, stupid, stubborn, all things that don’t have any foundation . And to be honest, I decided to leave the bike at home 30 minutes before leaving to the airport.

Interestingly, I was only asking the doctor if I could fly to Singapore, because I wanted to come with my cousin, has he came just to race with me, and he was counting on me to travel with me, as this is his first trip on his own. On the other side, I had non-refundable and non-changeable flights and hotel reservations. When I was telling the doctor that I had a Ironman in Singapore in 5 days, and before I could finish my question he told me “Go for it”. What ?! Was he telling me that I could race? Yes. But what about the swim, the water into the wound? Waterproof dressing should take care of everything, and as it is an open wound, there will not be any more infection, as long as I stay on antibiotics for the 7 days.

So why did I leave the bike at home? Well … I really wanted to do the Ironman, I’ve registered back in May, 10 months in advance. I’ve been practicing since August, participated in many races, paid a coach, booked flights, hotel room, everything. But I’ve set myself some goals that I use for every race: 1) Staying Healthy 2) Have Fun 3) Learn. On the day of the flight (1 day after the surgery) I went to the hospital to change the dressing, and I’ve rechecked the doctors affirmations from the day before, which he confirmed. He just told me “Listen to your body and you’ll know if you can do it”. Around 9pm when I was finalizing my bag, my leg was swollen around the ankle, but not only. I got preoccupied, and went to a ambulatory centre, to reconfirm if I could fly under this conditions. Again I got green light to fly, no risk whatsoever. But this worrying, the pain was not being fun, and worrying during the race about my health wouldn't be either.

Doing a Ironman 70.3 is a challenge, and for my first one, I want to be as healthy and fit as possible, not having to worry about additional stress factors. So I decided to leave all the equipment at home, and just bring my camera and be here to support, cheer and be the un-official photographer for my cousin Nuno and the other gang from Dubai.

So here I am, sitting in my hotel room, with a great view and with my leg raised, looking at pictures that I took this morning during the swimming practice and athlete registration. I feel jealous, and this morning I wished I was out there with them swimming, but it is great to be here to support people and take pictures, which I also love.

I’m sure I’ll have fun, and hopefully I’ll stay healthy and get better.

The pre-race injury and illness Saga

I seem to be running out of luck … or maybe I’ve pushed my luck too much. My body seems to be failing in the last two weeks. Nevertheless, I’m taking this as extra challenges, or learning opportunities. Once again I don’t know if I will be able to finish the race (or even start it), but it is ok. I’ve come a long way, and I don’t think I’ll stop here. But let describe what has been going on.

The Calf/Achilles

First I got a cut on my heel that left me limping for 3-4 days, and caused me problems on my right calf/Achilles tendon. This one got me thinking that I wouldn’t be able to do Abu Dhabi race. At the end, with some treatment and massages, I ended up finishing the race, which felt amazing.

The Headache

After the Saturday race on, on Sunday I’ve started with a mild headache, but I decided to go swimming at the end of day. After the swim, the headache was a bit worst, but I thought it was nothing serious. Monday I decided to skip the bike ride early morning, as the headache was worst. It seemed like the pain was coming from the back of the neck, just below the skull. Nevertheless, after doing a self massage and taking a Panadol, I felt a bit better, so I swam in the evening, and I went cycling on Tuesday morning (40km). After lunch time, I was toasted. I had to leave the office and rush home while I could still drive.

Wednesday morning I booked an appointment with my usual chiropractic, which normally does wonders for me. I was seen at lunch time, my back cracked a few times, my neck too, a short physio massage, and I felt much more lose and relieved. I still felt my head weird, and that my back would benefit from a relaxation massage, specially around the upper back and neck, so I did it.

Thursday I was still feeling pretty bad. Looking at a laptop screen or a book would made tears come out of my eyes. A friend suggested me a Osteopath, a specialty which I had excellent results during the summer with problems with my upper back. I’ve managed to get an appointment for the same day, and I didn’t regret.

His explanation was that due to the bike position for 3 hours during the race (just look at a triathlete bike picture and see how is head is raised), adding the intensity and amount of effort that I’ve put into during the race (for an inexperienced and old bloke and like me), it caused a high compression on the neck and all the nerves. And the truth is that I was feeling high pressure in my sinus, even though I normally don’t have this type of problems, and also on my jaw, my eyes …

I felt a lot better after the session, and I got permission to keep training, but to take it easy (like I can take it easy ).

That evening I went swimming, and I pushed a little bit, but I still felt ok, though some dizziness was still there, and Friday I did a 80km bike ride and 7km run. I felt quite ok, though not fully recovered, so I decided to schedule a follow-up appointment for Sunday. Some reminiscence of the headache is still there, but I guess is just because I have not been giving the proper (or full) rest to my body.

 

The Cellulitis

Friday evening I noticed a very painful pimple on my lower leg next to the shin, that had that usual white tip. Of course, I’ve squeezed it and cleaned it. Not a big deal, happens all the time. Saturday morning … it was swollen, and quite painful. Let’s give it another squeeze to make sure all pus comes out. Interesting … nothing comes out. Lunch time I’ve asked my cousin Nuno to squeeze it again, as it was very painful and I don’t think I could inflict that amount of pain to myself. Again, nothing comes out and the pain and the swollen area is even worst. Nevertheless, I went for a BBQ at a friends house, and by 4pm I almost couldn’t walk or even stand up. By 8pm I was shivering with fever in bed, and I decided to go to the hospital. I found out that I had cellulitis (never heard of this infection before and always thought I was related for something that women hate).

Outcome: Tetanus injection, antibiotics for 7 days, anti-inflammatory, getting around in the hospital in a wheelchair, and I have to stay 2 days in bed with a raised leg. Nice.

Bottom line

It can be all coincidence, or maybe not, but I feel like my body needs some rest. I really want to make the race next Sunday in Singapore, and I want to finish it, but not sure if I will be able to make it. I don’t think doing an Ironman is hard, neither its preparation. Life is Hard, and trying to prepare for one while trying to juggle other parts of your life that are a mess makes it difficult. Something’s got to give, and I guess I have been having some sleep depravation, which makes me more tired and less resistant to stuff. In the past 4 or 5 days I have slept more than probably in the last 2 to 3 weeks before. In average I think I’ve been sleeping something around 5:30 per night, which is too short.

I strongly believe that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and hopefully smarter. I have been learning a lot in the journey, and hopefully I’ll keep learning and using what I’ve learned. I’ve been getting a lot of fun and sense of achievement on this journey since September, on my first Sprint Triathlon, till Abu Dhabi one week ago, and I hope I can still do Singapore. But if I’m not, there will be other opportunities.

Doing an Ironman (70.3) isn’t difficult, Life is.

Abu Dhabi Race Report

Now that the euphoria is gone, it is time to look back.

It was an amazing day for me. I set myself the targets I’ve been setting for my “big” events: 1) Stay Healthy 2) Have Fun 3) Learn Something 4) Reach to the End 5) If possible in less than x time.

In this case, I wasn’t sure if I was going to reach to the end. A deep cut on my right heel on the race the weekend before, had made me limp when walking (I could cycle and run without any problem, but not walk). This changed my biomechanics and caused enough stress in the calf and Achilles to provoke an acute pain after 1-2kms in 2 training run sessions a few days after.

After visiting the physio on Thursday, on top of having a very painful and needed massage, I’ve found out that there wasn’t a major injury in the Achilles, was just that both the Achilles and calf were very tight, and there were some lumps. I’ve decided that I was going to do the race anyway, but not take any risks: if I would feel any pain during the run I would stop, as an injury in the Achilles would mean somewhere between 2 to 6 months of recovery. And 2 weeks after Abu Dhabi, there’s the half-ironman in Singapore, which is my current main goal.

So the day before the race, I went to Abu Dhabi early morning with the goal of doing the swimming practice between 7 and 9am. Soon I realized that my plan of driving there on the race day was a bad idea. We didn’t reach on time for the swimming practice, even though we left around 6:30am. We went to the hotel where the registration was taking place, and we had breakfast there. It was great to see some of the stars, their bikes, and all the atmosphere of an event like this. My cousin Nuno even took a picture with Faris Al Sultan . We bumped into Andy Veall, a fellow beginner triathlete that I’ve met at Dubai Masters, and the weekend before we chatted in Ghantoot triathlon. We ended up hanging out with him the rest of the weekend, which was great. And of course, there were so many familiar faces from other triathlons in Dubai, or Dubai Masters. I ended up getting to know a few more people, which is something I love about sports events: the social environment.

Change of plans: finding a room in Abu Dhabi, driving back to Dubai to get our stuff and drive back to attend the race briefing, that in the meantime had been changed from 1pm to 6:30pm. We did the bike check-in, and than we started the driving saga. I think I’ve drove about 6-7 hours just on Friday, including the driving around in Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, it was a wise choice to stay there the night before.

Race day, all set, everything prepared the night before, and here we go. It seemed like everything was perfect. I didn’t forget anything (so I thought), we could see the stars taking off, and it was a nice day, without wind, unlike the night before. When the race started, it felt good. There was still some “traffic” on the swim, but it was enjoyable. I had fun swimming, and I could feel myself gliding and being faster. When I got off the water, I was tired and it seemed that the wetsuit was too tight, but I wasn’t really worried. I was convinced that I was not going to be able to reach to the end (at least running), so no need to rush. I ended up taking almost 7 minutes on T1, which is a lot. Most of the people took between 3:30 to 5 minutes.

A few things that I could have done better: 1) use the compression sleeves and socks under the wetsuit 2) leave the helmet and sunglasses in the transition area 3) put the bike shoes on transition area (I don’t have tri shoes and I haven’t practiced putting them on while on the bike).

Throughout the bike ride (3 hours), I had lots of food , chatted with a lot of people, and had a lot of time to think. One of the things I was thinking was on the money I’ve spent buying bike gadgets, bottle holders behind the seat so that it reduces attrition, smaller toolset and bag so that it reduces the weight, etc., etc. The night before Andy said that he was thinking of not spending any money till he would lose 5kgs. How much impact would that have on his performance? What about on mine, if I would get below 80kgs (lose 3 kilos)? Probably a lot more than buying a new expensive set of wheels or a bike computer. Ok, so here we go, I’m not going to spend money on improving the bike until I’ve done 80 or 90% of what I can do on the rider. It will be cheaper and healthier for sure .

So, after the 4 GU gels, 2 energy bars, 2 half bananas, 2 energy drinks and about 2-3 litters of water, I’ve reached to the bike end after 3:04 and an average of 31.5km/h. Not bad, and I was feeling good, and having fun.

Transition 2 was fast enough, I just took the shoes and the helmet off, put on the running shoes and off I went. Started too fast (when you get off the bike it seems you’re not going that fast), so after the 1st kilometre I started slowing down. At that point in time, I decided that I was going to complete the triathlon, even if I had to walk. I didn’t want to hurt myself, but I wanted to reach to the end of the race. So I slowed down, and kept running. Along the way I’ve met Bronwen, who’s also doing Singapore 70.3, so we chatted a little bit, and when I noticed I had done 4 kilometres and no pain.

I kept chatting with other athletes, from Russia, from Argentina, from everywhere, and thanking the people that were cheering along the way. It feels great to have people cheering, and I like to thank them.

When I noticed, there was 2kms to go, I was almost there, though feeling a bit tired. But it was almost done. I remember that when I was reaching the finish line there was classical music playing, and I was striding to the sound of the music and waving my arms.

I’ve reached to the end and I felt euphoric. Not because I didn’t think I could do the distance, but because of the calf/Achilles condition. At the end, I’ve achieved all my goals, even more I’ve done 4:33, while I thought I could do around 5 hours. I couldn’t believe it.

I’ve celebrated. Not by going out, because training isn’t over, body was tired, and used to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 5am, but by watching over and over the pictures, and publishing every new one on Facebook. Looking back, I think I’ve over done it . But who cares, I was/am happy, and I wanted to share with the world.

Post Race Analysis

Now that the race is over, some things to think of. First, don’t forget to put sun cream !!!!! That was the only thing that didn’t went so well during the race, though I only really felt it when I got home.

The second thing is that I don’t need to share that much pictures. Think it is good to share with friends and celebrate, but not that much.

The third thing is that stretching – before and specially after - is extremely important. The calf/Achilles could have had less impact if I would be more disciplined on the stretching. For the past 2 days I have been having a very strong headache and dizziness that, possibly comes from the “closed” position that I’ve spent on the bike on the last few weeks, with multiple rides of 3-4 fours. Not stretching properly, not opening the body (even when swimming you only open your body when doing backstroke) might cause locking and nerve compression. Learned this the hard way, and hopefully I’ll be recovered soon and back on track to Singapore.

At the end of the day, I’ve stayed healthy during the race, I had huge amounts of fun, I learned several things, and I’ve reached to the end in 4 hours and 33 minutes. What an amazing day.