Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Picking up the pieces...
Nice touch of melodrama in the title...
Well despite the hand surgeon's receptionist not knowing when he could possibly see me, or when he could possibly fit me in for surgery when I rang on Monday morning, at 12:15 I was having my consultation with him, and at 5:30pm I was being operated on.
I assume the operation was a success, with a metal appliance not unlike a hand razor in shape being attached to my wrist. Out of hospital the next day, and on a steady dose of painkillers since. Predictions that I could drive and type by today where a little optimistic, although I am composing this with 1.5 hands at the moment (mostly the backspace key). Fairly useless around the house, a status my wife is not letting me easily forget.
Despite planning to take a week out mentally from thinking about running and double decathlons, I have started to mull over the options in my head.
The surgeon was very optomistic about my recovery. He even wrote down what events were in a decathlon, although I think he was humouring me a bit. By his estimations, I should be doing the following:
* running - 2-4 weeks
* strength training - 6-8 weeks (wrist based, anything else (e.g.) legs 2-4 weeks)
* pole vault/throws - 3-6 months
Worst case, that means running by March. This gives 4-6 weeks of training leading into the state and national masters titles, making them a possibility. My original plan was to compete in all events, as a practice for the double decathlon. Given a likely drop in form, particularly in events 800m+, I have 2 options:
1. Race a restricted program, maybe just the sprints, as a stand-alone contest
2. Compete in all the events (except the pole vault, throws and possibly the high jump), with
greatly reduced expectations
The other option is to forgo these two events completely, and start an 8 month build-up to the double decathlon champs. This would give two extra months of training, and provide a better base to attack the event. It would also allow me to seek out some more expert advice in areas I am less knowledgable in (strength training, field events, hurdles) and put in place a long-term program for these, rather than the suck-it-and-see approach I have adopted over summer.
The third option is to ditch the whole double-decathlon goal, and go back to being a regular runner. This has a couple of advantages:
1. I don't have to train as hard
2. I don't have to go to the gym
3. I don't have to do hurdles (which quite frankly have me spooked at the moment)
4. I don't risk going through this all-over again in 6 months (if Mrs Sparkie's reaction the second time I sprained my ankle is anything to go by, I do NOT want to break my wrist again)
However, I have accrued a collection of big goals in my life that I have walked away from, and however good some of the reasons, they still represent disappointments, and in some cases out and out failures. I can start pole vaulting on the 1st of July, which is 3.5 months prior to the world champs. Having gone from 0 to 2.7m off the back of 3 session, I see no reason why I can't build on this significantly over what may potentially be 14 sessions. Likewise, the throwing events. And with 4 months without these events to focus on building strength, and building my endurance base, I should be better equipped to handle the training than I was when I started back in November. So no, quitting is not an option.
Which brings us back to options 1 and 2. In all honesty, the Masters competiton in the M35-39 category is not that competitive (good athletes in this age group tend to still compete inOpens), so focusing on a limited program for these wouldn't achieve much, apart from allowing me to derive some rewards for the past few months training. Doing an extended program would be a good mental exercise, but I am unlikely to be in any sort of form to have a serious crack at most events, so it would just be two days of run-throughs.
So it would appear that come March, I will kick-off my build-up for the World Champs. The key advantage of this is that I will not have to rush my build-up, and can focus on strength and endurance without worrying about competition. The challenge now is to talk to the right people and get the right program, so I can take advantage of the opportunities this injury has given me.
BTW - thanks to everyone who sent words of support and encouragement. It really meant a lot, and the support has allowed me to quickly move on and refocus on the future.
Well despite the hand surgeon's receptionist not knowing when he could possibly see me, or when he could possibly fit me in for surgery when I rang on Monday morning, at 12:15 I was having my consultation with him, and at 5:30pm I was being operated on.
I assume the operation was a success, with a metal appliance not unlike a hand razor in shape being attached to my wrist. Out of hospital the next day, and on a steady dose of painkillers since. Predictions that I could drive and type by today where a little optimistic, although I am composing this with 1.5 hands at the moment (mostly the backspace key). Fairly useless around the house, a status my wife is not letting me easily forget.
Despite planning to take a week out mentally from thinking about running and double decathlons, I have started to mull over the options in my head.
The surgeon was very optomistic about my recovery. He even wrote down what events were in a decathlon, although I think he was humouring me a bit. By his estimations, I should be doing the following:
* running - 2-4 weeks
* strength training - 6-8 weeks (wrist based, anything else (e.g.) legs 2-4 weeks)
* pole vault/throws - 3-6 months
Worst case, that means running by March. This gives 4-6 weeks of training leading into the state and national masters titles, making them a possibility. My original plan was to compete in all events, as a practice for the double decathlon. Given a likely drop in form, particularly in events 800m+, I have 2 options:
1. Race a restricted program, maybe just the sprints, as a stand-alone contest
2. Compete in all the events (except the pole vault, throws and possibly the high jump), with
greatly reduced expectations
The other option is to forgo these two events completely, and start an 8 month build-up to the double decathlon champs. This would give two extra months of training, and provide a better base to attack the event. It would also allow me to seek out some more expert advice in areas I am less knowledgable in (strength training, field events, hurdles) and put in place a long-term program for these, rather than the suck-it-and-see approach I have adopted over summer.
The third option is to ditch the whole double-decathlon goal, and go back to being a regular runner. This has a couple of advantages:
1. I don't have to train as hard
2. I don't have to go to the gym
3. I don't have to do hurdles (which quite frankly have me spooked at the moment)
4. I don't risk going through this all-over again in 6 months (if Mrs Sparkie's reaction the second time I sprained my ankle is anything to go by, I do NOT want to break my wrist again)
However, I have accrued a collection of big goals in my life that I have walked away from, and however good some of the reasons, they still represent disappointments, and in some cases out and out failures. I can start pole vaulting on the 1st of July, which is 3.5 months prior to the world champs. Having gone from 0 to 2.7m off the back of 3 session, I see no reason why I can't build on this significantly over what may potentially be 14 sessions. Likewise, the throwing events. And with 4 months without these events to focus on building strength, and building my endurance base, I should be better equipped to handle the training than I was when I started back in November. So no, quitting is not an option.
Which brings us back to options 1 and 2. In all honesty, the Masters competiton in the M35-39 category is not that competitive (good athletes in this age group tend to still compete inOpens), so focusing on a limited program for these wouldn't achieve much, apart from allowing me to derive some rewards for the past few months training. Doing an extended program would be a good mental exercise, but I am unlikely to be in any sort of form to have a serious crack at most events, so it would just be two days of run-throughs.
So it would appear that come March, I will kick-off my build-up for the World Champs. The key advantage of this is that I will not have to rush my build-up, and can focus on strength and endurance without worrying about competition. The challenge now is to talk to the right people and get the right program, so I can take advantage of the opportunities this injury has given me.
BTW - thanks to everyone who sent words of support and encouragement. It really meant a lot, and the support has allowed me to quickly move on and refocus on the future.
Comments:
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So sorry to hear about the wrist. It's damn frustrating but it eventually stops hurting and you can still keep some training going. You've just got to be more creative :-). Good time to work on legs and core and I found the bike at the gym was good for aerobic workouts. Good luck.
TA
TA
Really hope the wrist doesn't hold you back from running altogether mate. Perhaps its an opportunity to really have a crack at some of your old running PB's and re-focus on the field stuff in the next season?
All the best mate
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All the best mate
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