Friday 18 January 2013

19.01.13 Pre race preparation

1 Day to go

I can't believe that the Auckland Half Ironman is tomorrow.  It has come around so quickly and it does not feel like two weeks since the Tauranga Half Ironman.  A lot has happened since that race however not much training.  After my Tauranga race I was back in the pool on the Tuesday and felt really good.  My intention was to then do a light run later in the week followed by a mountain bike ride and long run on the weekend and then a couple of light runs in the week leading u to the race.  I got as far as the swim and then work took over...  No problem I thought to myself.  I can still do my weekend exercise.  So the mountain bike took place and 3 minutes from home ended up in disaster with me ending up in A&E and my arm with two stitches and several deep grazes over my legs and hands.  Since then nothing has been done in the form of training and to top things off, I have come down with a bad head cold.  All the plans in the world would not have prepared me for a cut up arm and a cold but I have tried my best to get over both.  I have had dressing changes and done the whole 'hang your arm out of the shower routine' to ensure that it stays dry.  To be fair, the healing of my leg and hand has been amazing due to this care and the great dressings that I was given.  I was told by the nurse that the dressings were used for burn victims and promote the skin to heal.  Well I can confirm that they certainly do that.  The forearm where I have my stitches and deep graze feels like it has healed and the dressing has neared the end of its life however I just need it to get though the swim and whatever happens to it then does not bother me.

The cold has been may biggest issue.  Swimming with a blocked nose as well as feeling crap for the bike and run was not something I was looking forward to.  In fact on Thursday, I did think about pulling out as I was feeling that bad.  All week I have been trying all manner of remedies to make sure that I was feeling at least 90% come race day.  I am beginning to feel like a lemon based on the amunt of homemade lemon and honey drinks i have had over the last week!  One thing i have been careful to ensure is that i was doing it naturally rather than the usual cold and flu tablets i would normally take.  I wanted to beat the cold not just hide the symptoms.  On Tuesday I was told about liquid echinacea from a friend (thank you Georgina).  The stuff tastes horrible but I was hedging my bets on it working.  As mentioned on Thursday I was feeling that bad that I did contemplate pulling out however by Friday the nose had started to clear, the runny nose was minimal and the headache had all but disappeared.  Today, I class myself to be at 95%.  The body feels good but still a little congested in the head.  Hopefully by tomorrow the percentage will have increased slightly.  The last drop of echinacea was drunk today at 4pm so it is all down to my body now.

Today it was all about getting into town and checking into the hotel and registering.  We arrived about lunch time and checked into the Mercure Hotel.  They upgraded me to a suite so a thank you card will be going to the GM next week.  We went down to the Viaduct Event Centre and there were people everywhere.  I registered without hassle, watched a video on the rules of the race and race day bike in transition.  For the second time, I have been near the pros.  Putting Chloe the 10 year old Cannondale near these bikes is like turning up to a Porsche convention in your Camry...  Anyway, the bike was racked and we headed out to do the final shopping in readiness for our early start tomorrow.  Dinner was had in Vue restaurant where the chef did a Chicken Carbonarra for me and was appreciated.  It is now time to head to bed.  Enjoy watching the race from your bed tomorrow on line.  Just go to http://ironmanauckland.com/ and you will hopefully get your updates there.  My athlete number is 146. Have a great sleep and I will catch up when I am a dual half ironmaner.

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