For those of you that weren't aware, on Monday 5th May I was at work. Now usually I wouldn't complain about this because most of you were probably in the same boat, but on this particular day I was in a fair bit of pain. My back was sore for what I believed was the aftermath of a 6hr MTB Race I had completed on the weekend, and I was grateful to finish work that day and go home to rest it. The following morning I found myself resting again, before and after work, and by the end of the week, when I hadn't touched the bike, I realised that this back pain was different. Sometimes it spasmed, other times it was a sharp stab, but most importantly it lingered. Not only for the day, but for a whole week.
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With all this spare time I can even fit in some Media!
Thanks to Kath Bicknell from Flow MTB Magazine for a beautiful 4-pg spread |
If you are an avid reader of my blog, you will know that I then attended an AIS study camp in Canberra, and then raced at the Tour of Adelaide. I missed many a session throughout the camp and this recovery allowed me to race the Tour of Adelaide pain-free. But upon my return home, or more importantly my return to work, the pain just kept getting worse to the point where 10-days off the bike has become norm.
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| This was a pretty big feat for me! |
This is the first mention I have made of my back, and for good reason. I thought that if I didn't speak of it, then it wouldn't be real. But it is very much real. It's now been eleven weeks since my back first played up, and my god the time has gone slow. I managed three rides last week and plan to race this weekend in a triple team for the Blores Hill 6hr near my home town of Traralgon. I also started back at work this week after a two week break to recover and believe that I am nearing the end of my treatments.
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| To help my back, Jarrod has built me some stairs lol |
Three months may not seem like a big deal, but it meant that my plans to go overseas were put to a halt, and that my early season base for 2014 has all but gone. Most importantly it means that I have put on 8kg that will be mighty hard to lose! In my time away I have had a chance to 'help' - some call it watch - Jarrod make some advancements on our home reno's and also make some big plans for next season and all I can say is world watch out!
Such first world problems...I'll soldier on and update you all again soon :)
