Friday 29 January 2010

life after epic

funny that the last post starts with the news that a stress fracture has been 'confidently ruled out' - 'cos now it's looking like that's likely wot i got! of course, i got an unusual one, and its yet to be fully confirmed that's hat it is, but a bone scan shows definite bone damage in the joint between cuboid and 3rd&4th metatarsals. an xray done today will confirm it. after 4 weeks resting the foot, it's starting to feel better - though that could be down to the psycho- samosa effect of finally feeling close to knowing what the problem is, and soon able to think about causes and options/timescales for recovery.

Otherwise, recovery from Epic camp goes well. in terms of my longer term training, it's probably a bonus that i avoided the depths of fatigue that running >10k/day would have sent me too, however that's not to say i wasn't very, very tired from ----miles of cycling plus ----km of swimming. It is remarkable how it jumps on you though. i swear, that if we'd gotten up on teh 16th day and had a nother 200km ride to do, i'd have felt fine...and could have continued for another week, probbaly more. But as soon as i stop - well, then teh tiredness just descends! For a couple of days i had barely the energy to read emails. A couple of nights +9hrs sleep, did a couple of light swims, yoga class a spin on the bike and light gym. By teh weekend i felt liek i had soem energy and enthusiasm to ride, so headed out around teh Gorges. It was a little windy, and i got a little lost but i was certainly not pushing it along. Even so, after 3 hours, i was wasted and at more or less at the furthest point on my route. I stopped and sat in the forecourt of a closed petrol station for about 15 minutes befreo i coudl face getting back on my way! I was out about 6hrs. The following day I went out on a planned ride with Scott, Steven, and Pete and Bruce from the camp over the summit roads. I was so wasted. I felt like waves of fatigue were crashing over me as i rode....got so left behind by the guys, even though they said they were apparently riding easy. Scott said i was riding like a tourist! well, that's true i guess - sometimes i do like to just cruise!! though going up Cooper's knob its just not possible to ride easy, so i was making the most of the flatter sections :o).

Truth is i was sulking a bit. I was feeling weak, useless, embarrassed, and totally unenthusiastic about being there. Though i generally consider myself to be a positive and driven person, over the last year or so, I have found myself susceptible to depression. This is usually when fatigue is coupled with stress in my life - i find it more difficult to think rationally when i'm tired and feel too weak to deal with the source of stress in a constructive manner. I'm not sure why this is occurring recently - selective memory may be one of them. Too much fun through my late teens and twenties another (possibility -what if there is a limited amount of happy hormones that the body can produce in a life time?) Or simply the instability of this period of my life; the financial dependency on others, not knowing if this new 'career' will work out, being temporarily estranged from the close relationships in my life and not knowing where any of my stuff is! Of course post Epic blues, like the come-down that follows any really great experience, cannot be entirely overlooked on this occasion.

Certainly i've learned that monitoring my fatigue and reacting accordingly is a very simple and effective preventaive step! Anyway, this week i have been getting back into training - starting a litte light, but with 4 swims, 4 gym sessions, and a few rides ranging form 2-4hrs, so far. And by wednesady i'm feeling back to normal. If a little heavy - 5 weeks to trim it!

1 comment:

H said...

Good luck on the road to recovery with the foot Jo, I'll cross my fingers that you'll be fixed in no time. I loved reading your Epic blogs, you're truly living out all the things I just know I was never capable of but would have loved to have had the guts and talent to do. At the end of the day you're human and even though you've the ability to push your body and mind in super-human ways I'd say it's inevitable that the come down is difficult. Give in to it and when you're body and mind has had it's rest you'll be back with uber gusto. Keep up the great work girl. Take care. H x

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