It has almost been 2 weeks since I took my place on the start line of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii yet in many ways it feels like it could have only just been yesterday!I have spent the last 2 weeks running over the last few months in mind, trying to figure out if the decisions I made were the right ones but as a good friend said I can't change the past - I can only move forward with the future. So whether or not my decision to continue training for Kona and lining up for it were the right ones I can't change it but I can learn from it - and so the single most important lesson learned was - you can't beat physiology - fact!
The last week has therefore been filled up with lots of waiting as I attempted to find the answer to fixing my physiology. It would be fair to say that for the majority of my time out on the marathon course in Kona one thought kept popping into my head - I never ever want to put myself through this again - In my mind I was hanging up my swim cap, selling everything Ironman related and going into retirement! However as the dust settled and I began to gain a little more perspective I pondered the statement 'you are only as good as your last race' and with that came the thought - was that the result I would want to go out on - I know that I can do better than that. So as I sat chatting to my Haematologist on Monday I quantified that statement - I never want to do an Ironman again with a haemoglobin of 80 - fact number 2!
And so together with my Haematologist we formed a 'race plan' for a different kind of Ironman - a Haemoglobin Man! The goal is a Haemoglobin count of 145 in a finish time of 8 weeks! Achieving that means I need to suppress my immune system for the 8 week period with some high powered drugs. At the moment my immune system is attacking my red cells because it is a little confused - my immune system seems to think my red blood cells are dangerous and so it is breaking them down - the only way to kick it out of it's confusion is to try and knock my immune system out! So at the end of the 8 weeks of super drugs my immune system should be back to being its friendly old self and my little red cells will be plentiful! Hard to imagine what I will feel like with a haemoglobin count of 145!!!
Training wise I'm on a bit of an enforced break for a week or two while the dosing of the super drugs are worked out based on how I respond to them! After that I can train when I want for how long I want when I feel that I want to!!! So that should make for an interesting few weeks!! Quite a few people have come up with some ideas for me to focus on training wise during that time - mostly technique stuff and gym work (groan) so we shall see what the next few weeks brings!
I made the decision mid week to pull out of the Tauranga Half Ironman which is an event I absolutely love! However knowing myself I felt that having an event looming just a week after finishing my 'Haemoglobin Man' would probably result in me trying to train more than I'm able to during the 'Haemoglobin Man' which would most likely affect my overall finish time! Having just failed to come anything close to the finish time I wanted in Kona I decided a repeat performance in my Haemoglobin Man or the Tauranga half Ironman would not be cool! So my focus this season is going to be Ironman New Zealand and getting the result I want on the finish line......Roar!
Once again as I have slowly filtered out the news of my Haemoglobin Man to my family and friends I've had so many warm fuzzies sent my way by phone, text and email that it has at times been pretty overwhelming! So 'Big Up Thanks' to all those people - you know who you are - for continuing to support and believe in me and instill the notion that if anyone can - I can!
And so together with my Haematologist we formed a 'race plan' for a different kind of Ironman - a Haemoglobin Man! The goal is a Haemoglobin count of 145 in a finish time of 8 weeks! Achieving that means I need to suppress my immune system for the 8 week period with some high powered drugs. At the moment my immune system is attacking my red cells because it is a little confused - my immune system seems to think my red blood cells are dangerous and so it is breaking them down - the only way to kick it out of it's confusion is to try and knock my immune system out! So at the end of the 8 weeks of super drugs my immune system should be back to being its friendly old self and my little red cells will be plentiful! Hard to imagine what I will feel like with a haemoglobin count of 145!!!
Training wise I'm on a bit of an enforced break for a week or two while the dosing of the super drugs are worked out based on how I respond to them! After that I can train when I want for how long I want when I feel that I want to!!! So that should make for an interesting few weeks!! Quite a few people have come up with some ideas for me to focus on training wise during that time - mostly technique stuff and gym work (groan) so we shall see what the next few weeks brings!
I made the decision mid week to pull out of the Tauranga Half Ironman which is an event I absolutely love! However knowing myself I felt that having an event looming just a week after finishing my 'Haemoglobin Man' would probably result in me trying to train more than I'm able to during the 'Haemoglobin Man' which would most likely affect my overall finish time! Having just failed to come anything close to the finish time I wanted in Kona I decided a repeat performance in my Haemoglobin Man or the Tauranga half Ironman would not be cool! So my focus this season is going to be Ironman New Zealand and getting the result I want on the finish line......Roar!
Once again as I have slowly filtered out the news of my Haemoglobin Man to my family and friends I've had so many warm fuzzies sent my way by phone, text and email that it has at times been pretty overwhelming! So 'Big Up Thanks' to all those people - you know who you are - for continuing to support and believe in me and instill the notion that if anyone can - I can!
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