I've just finished a month long training camp in Cyprus. Whilst there was some good training banked, there was also my fair share of ups and downs, teaching me many things about setbacks and how to deal with them.
If you didn't read my last blog, I was in Cyprus training alongside my coach's squad who are based out there in spring. In addition to this I'm part of ETE race team, who run training camps out in Pafos.
Cyprus is increasingly becoming a destination for sport holidays with very good pool and running track facilities complemented by some tough yet enjoyable mountainous cycling. The best part of Cypriot roads for cycling, in my opinion, is that they are relatively quiet, juxtaposed with the busy climbs of renowned destinations such as Mallorca.
By the end of the camp I'd deposited some big hours in the pool and I was leaving a stronger swimmer than when I arrived. I also managed to piece together some good quality bike sessions leaving me better equipped in this respect as well. Running, on the other hand, was limited to say the least.
Without boring everyone to death with specific details, I somehow have 4 different niggles in the space of 4 weeks. Leaving my run training significantly compromised. I made the best I could of a bad situation with some aqua running and 'shuffling' to keep things ticking over. But these issues just sent alarm bells ringing. It's not normal for an 18 year old who is running very little mileage to get injured repeatedly. Clearly, my body is significantly under conditioned to take the demands fast running places on it. The reason for being so under conditioned? A combination of my genetic makeup and poor rehab following old injuries. The result is all my muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones have lost their conditioning with regard to running. Therefore instead of my body returning energy into a running stride through the elasticity of tendons, I absorb most of it. When you consider that this force is around 5 times your body weight, and you take a stride 180 times every minute, that equates to your body dealing with a mass of 54 tons or absorbing 529200 newtons of force every single minute. In other words, it's no surprise I get injured. To resolve this, the next 12 weeks will have a focus on rehabbing properly to make my body healthy again before, hopefully, coming back a stronger, more efficient runner.
Another setback I had whilst on camp was a little tumble off my bike. I was doing a Triathlon race as a bit of training and was going to pull out after the bike as I was injured running. I was 38 mins into the 40k bike leg when I rear ended another cyclist at around 30 MPH. Not ideal. Fortunately, I crashed 'well', tumbling and rolling rather than a bit hit and slide so I didn't have any major injuries but I was pretty beat up and had a bit of cosmetic damage. The most saddening thing about the experience was that I snapped my seat post and buckled my front wheel so I had to borrow my coach's bike for the rest of my time on camp.
Sport is tough sometimes, especially Triathlon, but the challenge of overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles is what makes this sport unique and is the reason I love it. The next couple of months on my rehab to running will be a case of 100 steps backwards, 101 steps forward. But nothing is worth having if you don't have to fight for it.
Thanks for reading.
If you didn't read my last blog, I was in Cyprus training alongside my coach's squad who are based out there in spring. In addition to this I'm part of ETE race team, who run training camps out in Pafos.
Cyprus is increasingly becoming a destination for sport holidays with very good pool and running track facilities complemented by some tough yet enjoyable mountainous cycling. The best part of Cypriot roads for cycling, in my opinion, is that they are relatively quiet, juxtaposed with the busy climbs of renowned destinations such as Mallorca.
By the end of the camp I'd deposited some big hours in the pool and I was leaving a stronger swimmer than when I arrived. I also managed to piece together some good quality bike sessions leaving me better equipped in this respect as well. Running, on the other hand, was limited to say the least.
Without boring everyone to death with specific details, I somehow have 4 different niggles in the space of 4 weeks. Leaving my run training significantly compromised. I made the best I could of a bad situation with some aqua running and 'shuffling' to keep things ticking over. But these issues just sent alarm bells ringing. It's not normal for an 18 year old who is running very little mileage to get injured repeatedly. Clearly, my body is significantly under conditioned to take the demands fast running places on it. The reason for being so under conditioned? A combination of my genetic makeup and poor rehab following old injuries. The result is all my muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones have lost their conditioning with regard to running. Therefore instead of my body returning energy into a running stride through the elasticity of tendons, I absorb most of it. When you consider that this force is around 5 times your body weight, and you take a stride 180 times every minute, that equates to your body dealing with a mass of 54 tons or absorbing 529200 newtons of force every single minute. In other words, it's no surprise I get injured. To resolve this, the next 12 weeks will have a focus on rehabbing properly to make my body healthy again before, hopefully, coming back a stronger, more efficient runner.
Another setback I had whilst on camp was a little tumble off my bike. I was doing a Triathlon race as a bit of training and was going to pull out after the bike as I was injured running. I was 38 mins into the 40k bike leg when I rear ended another cyclist at around 30 MPH. Not ideal. Fortunately, I crashed 'well', tumbling and rolling rather than a bit hit and slide so I didn't have any major injuries but I was pretty beat up and had a bit of cosmetic damage. The most saddening thing about the experience was that I snapped my seat post and buckled my front wheel so I had to borrow my coach's bike for the rest of my time on camp.
Sport is tough sometimes, especially Triathlon, but the challenge of overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles is what makes this sport unique and is the reason I love it. The next couple of months on my rehab to running will be a case of 100 steps backwards, 101 steps forward. But nothing is worth having if you don't have to fight for it.
Thanks for reading.
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