Blog
The (off-)road to Switzerland - fitness and setbacks
20th Jun 2016
2016 has been a very non-typical season - first thinking I wouldn't be racing, then accepting it, then the slow process of getting fit again! I had acceptable performances at ETU Romania and Xterra Greece, but it wasn't until Xterra Portugal that I started to feel something like my old form coming back.
I loved the whole trip to Golega for Xterra Portugal. It's easy to get there by train, a lovely quiet town, and perfect holiday weather! Last year we had a 35-40* heatwave for the race, but this year was much more manageable. I was also encouraged to see my bike skills had improved since 2015 on all the same technical parts of the course - OK I still crashed a couple of times, but so did most people - and at least I attempted to ride everything, unlike last year!
There was a different challenge this year thanks to recent floods - I have never ridden through water so deep my wheels completely disappeared! The bike did not thank me for this afterwards - and nor did Mountain Trax who sorted out the mess as graciously as ever! - Wheel rims full of water and silt, and most of my new bearings had to be replaced!
It was an enjoyable race, and I was happy to be back in the mix and doing myself justice - 6th place in the toughest field so far.
I was hoping this upward trajectory would continue for my next 3 races in 3 weeks - Xterra Belgium, Switzerland and France. But life is rarely that straightforward!
While I was finally racing well, I was concerned about a niggling shoulder pain that would not go away, and I couldn't work out what was causing it. Trying to learn bunny hops on the MTB had aggravated it, so I stopped practising. Some of my swim drills and upper body work in the gym became too painful, so I cut those out as well, but nothing improved and I was sure that wasn't the cause. I could still do front crawl without pain or making things worse, so nobody seemed concerned about it - except me!
It was finally on a big bike day at Cwmcarn that something clicked. With Simon following behind me he could see I wasn't sitting straight on the bike, and as we hit the ride - with jumps and drops, much rockier than anything at home, the kind of stuff where you rattle the s*** out of a hardtail and wish you were riding full suspension! - For the first time I actually felt sharp pain while riding. Finally the pieces of the puzzle came together, and I realised I had been getting this pain since a few months ago when we had changed the stem...
It gets more complicated because I have freak arms (one is 2cm shorter than the other!) meaning I have to ride with the handlebars at an angle. Messes with everyone else's minds, but I am used to it! With the new stem we had not off-set the bars enough... so I had been over-reaching with the right shoulder all this time, made even worse by changing to a longer stem!
So this was good and bad news - we finally discovered the cause, but at what cost?
Fortunately I could see Alex at Drummond Clinic that evening for soft tissue work, but it was too soon to assess the damage. But when I woke up the next day, I had so much pain from sleeping on it, and lost so much range of motion that it was difficult even to get dressed. It was like back in the days of rehabbing a broken collarbone, not being able to reach up and wondering how I would get a sports bra on! Swimming was out of the question, and unfortunately a week later nothing had improved.
I was gutted I had to pull out of Xterra Belgium, and instead try and get an MRI scan and an appointment with Harry Brownlow, the shoulder consultant. I can only thank Alex for pulling some strings and playing the "Elite triathlete, representing Great Britain in the European Champs in 3 weeks... needs to be seen ASAP!†card, for getting me seen so quickly.
I was massively stressed but hoping at least a scan could put my mind at rest. First stop x-ray, but first question "is there any chance you could be pregnant?" While I doubt this, I can't rule it out and I am not willing to take the risk. So no x-ray. What about MRI? Apparently that is not safe either. The only option is an ultrasound, but I have to wait a week for an appointment. I saw Mr Brownlow anyway, but it's hard to make a diagnosis without any scan. He thought most likely I had inflammation of the rotator cuff tendons, and booked me in for the ultrasound the following week - along with a cortisone injection if the scan confirmed this.
So another week of worrying, and no swimming or MTB... It was set to be one of those weeks! The day before my scan, Simon fell off his bike and dislocated his shoulder, not only outdoing me but making us both incapacitated! Thoughts of how he was going to drive to Switzerland next week crossed my mind, but the main worry was still whether I would even be able to race there... I also confirmed that I wasn't pregnant, so by sod's law I could have had the scan and any treatment a week earlier...
The shoulder ultrasound showed no inflammation, so I didn't need the cortisone injection that I psyched myself up for (I hate needles!) and this was the point where I felt like I had been holding it together for so long (and better than I ever would in the past) but I had had enough now and I felt like I couldn't take any more... At the point of despair and thinking - I fly in 3 days, I am still none the wiser and what the hell am I meant to do now?
Thankfully Andy my sports psychologist was on the end of the phone to deal with my irrational thoughts and inability to see beyond the worst case scenario. He pointed out that not finding anything on the scan was *good* news! I am even more grateful that he gave up an hour of his time when he was meant to be writing up his PhD!
Next it was back to the Drummond clinic to see Alex, who again said it's good the scan was clear, and now he could carry on with treatment! I only had 3 days left before flying to Switzerland, but the clinic managed to get me an appointment every day. After some release work by Alex and Gee, for the first time my shoulder was feeling better. Although still not back to normal, I am finally confident that I will compete in the European Champs!
Thanks to my friend Eloise for sending me this in a time of need - I can't claim to behave like a diamond yet, but the stresses of this year are helping me on my journey. I am already a different person to the one who won silver in Spain last year and I will continue to get stronger.
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