Never gets easier

Goal setting

It's been awhile. Lots has happened..

Just after I recovered from my back injury I learned the hard way what doing nothing about a hernia can do for you. It'd been sore for some months but as usual, in the interests of continued cycling I let it go, and put the irritating pain to the back of my mind. Finally, something I did (no idea just what it was) triggered a massive wave of pain and I had no option but to book in to see a specialist about it.

Specialist Day came and his words were "This is bad, we can do you tonight". Hmmm not exactly what I needed to hear as I wanted to have (yet) another go at Everesting and things had been going really well, I had a decent climb in mind, and I was confident in pulling it off this time. So, in my normal fashion, I put it off for a week to see if it would settle down and I could continue training.

Come my scheduled appointment time my stomach was killing me and I could barely move without searing pain. Spent a couple nights in hospital and finally went home with a large patch across my stomach. When I was being released from the hospital the nurse took out the "line" in my hand only to have blood go spouting all over the floor and everywhere else cause they've given my blood thinners overnight to stop any potential blood clots. So with blood all over my clothes I headed home.

So now it's been several weeks since the operation and I've tentatively started back on the bike. Taking things easy, and although there's some mild pain it's bearable. So for now it's just one day or so "on" and a couple days "off" till I'm sure nothing's going to burst open! Because the hernia was deep, they put a patch over it, about the size of my palm. Reminded me of patching a tube, which basically it was. My daughter tells me those things can move if you're not careful or do too much too soon. Again, not something I wanted to hear.

I've also started running again. I used to be "a runner" for many years, doing half and full marathons and quite enjoyed it. I'd seen a race in NZ called "Motatapu", and it's always drawn me to the scenery and the nature of the trail marathon through some epic countryside. The thought of doing a trail marathon in such a spectacular place (Lake Wanaka - Queenstown) is really a drawcard and so I've decided that will be next on my goal setting list for next year. It's somehting I know I can do since I've done it several times before.

With that in mind I've started running in to work a couple days a week when times permits. It's only 17k, but with a pack of clothes, shoes, lunch etc on my back it's definitely not easy. I'm running, or shuffling along pretty slowly for now, just till I get back into the swing of foot power again. The first few times were really tough, but now I'm settling in to a slow but sustainable pace and in the coming weeks I'll start to speed up a bit.

It's certainly working wonders for my weight (I put on too much sitting around the house for weeks). Along with my daughters famous "Green Soup" for lunch I managed to lose 5 kilo's in 5 weeks so far. Another few kilo's and I'll be in a good place.

After reading "The Dandenong Ranges" Everesting articles I'm motivated again to have another go. That and having my Hells 500 jersey on certainly gives me the desire to prove I can do and rightly belong to the crew. It's never over till the fat lady sings....

The Intervening Months

Well, what a few months it's been. Just as I was getting fitter and reaching a reasonable standard, aiming for an Everesting in June/July I came off my mountain bike and smashed my back quite badly. Badly enough it seems that I injured my Psoas Major, a large muscle at the bottom of my spine (which continues down through your hip). That was enough to see me off any exercise for several weeks, along with several trips to the doctor to get some sort of electrical prod shoved into my back.

Just when I thought things may have been getting better it then turned out I'd made a slight hernia far far worse, necessitating immediate surgery. If I'd thought my back injury was painful, this was another level altogether! So in reality it's been the best part of nearly 3 months of doing nothing but sit around feeling sorry for myself and driving my wife up the wall complaining about getting fat because I wasn't able to do anything. I was right though, I've put on several kilo's that need to be shifted in a big hurry.

It's been several weeks since my surgery and I'm only now getting back into some gentle exercise. I did ride into work last Tuesday but that saw me quite sore by the time I got home, not to mention exhausted, which only made me feel more irritable about my situation. It also saw me get a scolding from my wife about the hazards of cycling (she's not a fan..).

Short Term Goals

My son, being an excellent runner, suggested I set some running goals since it's been 12 years since I last did a marathon. Running always got me lean and fit quite quickly and "back in the day" I could smash out a half marathon under 1hr 50 minutes (just over 5:20min/km pace). Buoyed by that we've decided we'll try and do the Gold Coast 50 Ultra in December together. I've told him he'll be waiting a few extra hours for me to finish, however the goal is to train and get thin, and above all, to finish.

Running is another world to cycling. It may take me 5-6hrs, but I see it as a fairly easy target provided I do the requisite training beforehand, and I don't bust my notoriously weak knees in the lead up. My knees were the reason I stopped running in the first place and took up cycling again. I figure it's an easier path to weight loss and that ever present "want" to doing an Everest. Weight weenies should start with their body first, then worry about the weight of the bike. It's less costly :-)
So from here on it'll be a combination of both running in to work and commuting by bike, with the monthly Strava Climbing Challenges thrown in to provide some extra motivation.

I have to say though, following #withallihaveblog, #worldeverestingproject and #yodaandthebike provides me more than enough motivation to want to continue with my desire to complete an Everesting. I bought a Hells500 jersey too a few months back and that also is a source of inspiration and aspiration.

Anyhoo, off to do some of the "wombat shuffle" and remove some fat from this sturdy frame of mine. #pathlete

See you on the road.