Garda cross-country on 18 February 2012 at Phoenix Park There is so much that has happened since my last blog that I could write a book on it. Alas, a blog entry will have to suffice! I’m sitting here in Stockholm airport, but more on how I got here in a sec. I went home for Christmas and really enjoyed the break from Dublin. It was made even better by the fact that we had extended our training phase by almost a week so that our easy week was over Christmas. This turned out to be a great idea and is something that I would definitely do again.
Then it came to New Year’s Eve. I wouldn’t normally be a big fan, and my party pooper nature took on an even bigger slant when I decided to travel to South Africa that day for my 3 week training camp. There was method in my madness though. Firstly, it was cheap. Secondly, and most importantly, it fit perfectly into the training programme. We would be able to slip back into the new phase of training without having to adjust things too much. The end result….I spent New Year’s Eve watching subtitled films somewhere above Algeria. It was a wild one I tell ya!
Stellenbosch was a fantastic place to train, as predicted. It has it all really. Good weather. Good facilities. Good food. Great vibe. And to top it all off, you are surrounded by practically every top class European athlete. To be honest I think the latter is the most important factor in making Stellenbosch the training destination it is. Watching everyone from the Borlees to Gillick, from the Brits to the Swedes, killing themselves in training every day makes you realise that for the majority of European athletes, at least, success comes from hard work and dedication. Of course, we worked hard ourselves putting in some of the toughest weeks of training I’ve ever done. Generally speaking, things came on a lot out there. I felt great for the trip, especially the first 2 weeks when Mac was there. Having him there was, I guess, an experiment into how beneficial daily therapy work is. I found that I was looser and recovering better than at home. Definitely all the massage and stretching that we did seem to help an awful lot, plus the heat had a great effect on the body. I must say a word of thanks to Mary Shaw who put me up for almost 2 weeks of the trip. Her hospitality was great and got me out of a bind when I needed an extra bed!
Unfortunately, on the last day in Stellenbosch my Achilles problem again flared up during a session of 120s. I think there were a number of reasons for this. Firstly, Mac had gone home and my access to good massage was limited. This was the longest I had gone without work all winter and it was going to be one of my hardest weeks. Secondly, I got sick on the Wednesday before so that, thirdly, we tried to make up a speed session I had missed. All in all, I guess I broke down at my weakest point. It just shows that you really have to be sensible at all times. Anyway, I didn’t think too much of it as my Achilles has been a (well-controlled) problem for about 4 years now.
Anyway, I came back to an easy week so took it handy in Sligo for a few days before returning to Dublin. I was due to race in London that weekend and, after travelling over, my Achilles was again sore. I ran poorly in the first round and then dropped out of the final. The same happened in Birmingham. It was clear that I needed to give the Indoors a miss and just get things back to normal. Therefore, I eased back completely on the sessions in spikes and got back to some lower intensity running. Allowing myself not to rush things because of Indoors has helped me a lot and by last Sunday I managed some 150s at a decent pace. I was very happy with them.
Anyway, that brings me back to Sweden. After Birmingham I was fed up of the way the Achilles was dictating things, especially since South Africa, and decided that I needed another opinion on things. I wanted to go to the best so asked the IIS to set up an appointment with Hakan Alfredson in Umea, Sweden. Thanks to the medical team in the IIS for dealing with it so quickly. Unfortunately my flights and accommodation cost about close to €1000 but that’s where I have to thank my sponsors Cadbury’s, Aspen and Adidas for there help throughout the year. It is for eventualities like this that their help really becomes vital. Anyway, I decided it was worth the cost, so off I went to Umea. A whole day of travelling (it’s pretty much in the Arctic circle!) was followed by a good consultation with the doc, where I got a really definitive answer on what was going on. Basically, he told me what I was doing was the best approach. I could get an operation but it would be a big one with 3-5 month rehab so that was not a runner for obvious reasons. He gave me a few extra pointers on my rehab and sent me on my way. It’s easy to see how this might be thought of as a wasted trip, but I didn’t think so. I got some great info and, while he said there was no quick fix to my problem, I know that I can keep training away and just be sensible.
So that’s why I’m in Stockholm airport right now waiting for my second of three flights home. Back to training tomorrow. One problem with the trip was my training had to take a back seat for a couple of days. Running in the snow of Umea would not have been advisable! Again this was a sacrifice worth taking I reckon. Anyway, the Achilles feels pretty good and I think I should be back to normal. I just have to be careful in my transition to very fast running. Lesson learned…sometimes less is actually more!
Then it came to New Year’s Eve. I wouldn’t normally be a big fan, and my party pooper nature took on an even bigger slant when I decided to travel to South Africa that day for my 3 week training camp. There was method in my madness though. Firstly, it was cheap. Secondly, and most importantly, it fit perfectly into the training programme. We would be able to slip back into the new phase of training without having to adjust things too much. The end result….I spent New Year’s Eve watching subtitled films somewhere above Algeria. It was a wild one I tell ya!
Stellenbosch was a fantastic place to train, as predicted. It has it all really. Good weather. Good facilities. Good food. Great vibe. And to top it all off, you are surrounded by practically every top class European athlete. To be honest I think the latter is the most important factor in making Stellenbosch the training destination it is. Watching everyone from the Borlees to Gillick, from the Brits to the Swedes, killing themselves in training every day makes you realise that for the majority of European athletes, at least, success comes from hard work and dedication. Of course, we worked hard ourselves putting in some of the toughest weeks of training I’ve ever done. Generally speaking, things came on a lot out there. I felt great for the trip, especially the first 2 weeks when Mac was there. Having him there was, I guess, an experiment into how beneficial daily therapy work is. I found that I was looser and recovering better than at home. Definitely all the massage and stretching that we did seem to help an awful lot, plus the heat had a great effect on the body. I must say a word of thanks to Mary Shaw who put me up for almost 2 weeks of the trip. Her hospitality was great and got me out of a bind when I needed an extra bed!
Unfortunately, on the last day in Stellenbosch my Achilles problem again flared up during a session of 120s. I think there were a number of reasons for this. Firstly, Mac had gone home and my access to good massage was limited. This was the longest I had gone without work all winter and it was going to be one of my hardest weeks. Secondly, I got sick on the Wednesday before so that, thirdly, we tried to make up a speed session I had missed. All in all, I guess I broke down at my weakest point. It just shows that you really have to be sensible at all times. Anyway, I didn’t think too much of it as my Achilles has been a (well-controlled) problem for about 4 years now.
Anyway, I came back to an easy week so took it handy in Sligo for a few days before returning to Dublin. I was due to race in London that weekend and, after travelling over, my Achilles was again sore. I ran poorly in the first round and then dropped out of the final. The same happened in Birmingham. It was clear that I needed to give the Indoors a miss and just get things back to normal. Therefore, I eased back completely on the sessions in spikes and got back to some lower intensity running. Allowing myself not to rush things because of Indoors has helped me a lot and by last Sunday I managed some 150s at a decent pace. I was very happy with them.
Anyway, that brings me back to Sweden. After Birmingham I was fed up of the way the Achilles was dictating things, especially since South Africa, and decided that I needed another opinion on things. I wanted to go to the best so asked the IIS to set up an appointment with Hakan Alfredson in Umea, Sweden. Thanks to the medical team in the IIS for dealing with it so quickly. Unfortunately my flights and accommodation cost about close to €1000 but that’s where I have to thank my sponsors Cadbury’s, Aspen and Adidas for there help throughout the year. It is for eventualities like this that their help really becomes vital. Anyway, I decided it was worth the cost, so off I went to Umea. A whole day of travelling (it’s pretty much in the Arctic circle!) was followed by a good consultation with the doc, where I got a really definitive answer on what was going on. Basically, he told me what I was doing was the best approach. I could get an operation but it would be a big one with 3-5 month rehab so that was not a runner for obvious reasons. He gave me a few extra pointers on my rehab and sent me on my way. It’s easy to see how this might be thought of as a wasted trip, but I didn’t think so. I got some great info and, while he said there was no quick fix to my problem, I know that I can keep training away and just be sensible.
So that’s why I’m in Stockholm airport right now waiting for my second of three flights home. Back to training tomorrow. One problem with the trip was my training had to take a back seat for a couple of days. Running in the snow of Umea would not have been advisable! Again this was a sacrifice worth taking I reckon. Anyway, the Achilles feels pretty good and I think I should be back to normal. I just have to be careful in my transition to very fast running. Lesson learned…sometimes less is actually more!
