Thought, seeing as I only have three weeks until I catch the big bird to Euro land I should start up a wee blog for anyone who is interested in following my progress in my first International Road season. This entry will be a long one...but bare with me they won't be this long after this one.
Better update everyone on what has been happening in my life lately. Last October I fractured my Tibial Plateau racing on the track in Invercargill. Couldn't have been worse timing. I was a month out from southland and preparation was going rather well. A track carnival followed the Yunca Junior road tour which I thought I better do seeing as I was down there already. To cut a long story short I got my front wheel taken out and hit the deck pretty hard at about 55km/hr. Was pretty sore but didn't think it was as bad as it was. Invers radiologists (USELESS) told me it was just badly bruised.
So off I went to the physio to begin treatment on an apparently bruised knee. A week later leg wasn't feeling mint at all. Luckily Dad is very good friends with Scott Thomson who used to own SporstMed and he fast tracked the whole thing and I was in for an MRI the next day (which revealed a bad fracture which would need surgery) and then in to hospital for the operation the day after that.
Surgery went well. They fixated the fracture with three screws and a plate. And thus begun the long journey back to being a cyclist again...
That is the scar about 2 weeks post op.
The first two months of rehab were by far the hardest and most painful. The main goal of this early rehab was to regain full flexion and extension. Shit it hurt. Physio would literally grab my leg and bend to where it couldn't bend anymore then get his bodyweight into it to force it to bend. Very thankful to all involved in those early days however because it has given me a fully functional 100% working leg!
Over the X-mas holidays I enjoyed shorter rides in the sun most days just easing back into it with a much heavier focus on off-the-bike exercises, mainly in the gym, to build back all the strength I had lost in the leg through lack of use during my 9 weeks on crutches.
About midway through January I got the go ahead to start ramping up the training on the bike and started to put in some longer rides and lift the intensity. Can't describe how mentally demoralizing it is not being able to sit above 200watts for more than an hour and a half. Safe to say I was weak as piss.
Took about a month of solid road training until I was able to race at a level high enough to keep up with A grade at club racing. Things were going perfectly - I was getting some form back and starting to feel like more of a cyclist. Then disaster struck once again (not as bad as last time, but still shit nonetheless). I got septic appendicitis...took a pretty big blow mentally from this because it put me into a hospital bed for a week which pretty much took me back to square one in regards to building strength back up again. So once I was out it was straight back into the gym to build back everything I had lost (you can lose A LOT in a week lying down.)
It is 3 week after getting discharged from hospital now and I have had a solid 450km week followed by another solid 700km week without any niggles whatsoever. So I am well and truly back on track and everything is going well for my arrival to Europe!
Hoping for another couple big weeks on the bike continuing to build the platform for the season ahead before finally racing the tour of Northland then winging it all the way to Blauberg, Belgium! I hear it is lovely there at this time of the year....or any time for that matter....should be an interesting season!
Would like to also say my heart is with all those affected by the earthquake in Christchurch. Especially those who have lost loved ones. It is a devastating thing to happen and what I saw of it before I left was pretty unreal. Stay strong! I know Canterbury will come through it bigger and better!
Would like to also say my heart is with all those affected by the earthquake in Christchurch. Especially those who have lost loved ones. It is a devastating thing to happen and what I saw of it before I left was pretty unreal. Stay strong! I know Canterbury will come through it bigger and better!
Cheers for reading and once again my other posts WILL NOT be this long just had to catch everyone up on shit that's been happening! I'll get better at formatting etc as time goes on too.
Chur
Will
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