At the end of last year I shot my mouth off and said I wanted to do Bussleton Ironman. For those of you that aren't aware of what that is. A 3.8 km open water swim, a 180 km bike ride and a 42.2 km marathon.
I was confident I could do it. If only I could get that persistent plantar fascitis pain in the right foot to settle down. Come February I was still struggling with it. There were good days and bad days but I saw no real end in sight.
At the end of February I attended a running workshop in Sydney with a well know podiatrist and for the first time had some running technique coaching. The pain was there but I definitely felt better running than I did previously. I was able to run for 1 - 2 km with out aggravating the foot too much twice a week.
Then came Dubai. Amino NeuroFrequency Therapy has a specific protocol designed for plantar fascitis and on the second day of the course I did the protocol and crossed everything I had that it would work as well as it had on my glutes the day before, I am no Mikel Hoff when it comes to Patch placement. But with in 60 seconds the pain was only a hint of what it once was and by the end of the hour I was walking around pain free and grinning like a kid in a candy store.
I woke up the following morning and thought there is no time like the present. Lets go for a run. 5 am in Dubai is an amazing time to be running around that city. Most of the city is still a sleep and quite tranquil it almost had a slightly eerie feel to it. Mostly it was just awesome to running pain free. The whole time running I concentrated on my cadence and posture which was one of the drills I had been taught in the running clinic. Once I returned from my first run I realised two things. I just ran 5 km and not once had I actually had to think about my foot. It didn't hurt .That was my first run in 8 months.
That was the 1st of April. 5 weeks later unbeknown to me at the time, in only 5 weeks time I would complete my first triathlon since July 1998, the Port Macquarie 1/2 Ironman. Don't get me wrong at the time I already knew I would be doing that race. But only as a team in a relay of two as there was no way I could ever safely prepare for a 1/2 Ironman on such a short preparation. I was going to do the 1.9 km swim and the 90 km ride and a friend of mine was to do the 21.1 km run. But we were too slow putting our entries in and 4 weeks before the event the teams entries sold out and I was left with the choice. Don't do the race at all, or jump in to the deep and and attempt it solo. I chose the later.
I was confident of being able to do the swim and the ride already but I was trying to take my time to build the distance in to my run injury prone legs. I now didn't have time. I had to build a reasonable amount of kilometres in to my legs quickly to at least give me some confidence of being able to complete the course no matter how slow.
Up until that moment I had taken for granted that I now had access the greatest rehab weapon I have ever known. Amino Neurofrequency Therapy has very potent anti-inflammatory properties that enabled me to jump from doing small runs twice per week to jumping to half race distance 3 times per week very quickly. I was able to keep the old injuries at bay and was actually feeling stronger than ever in the swim and bike. For the first time since entering I actually was quietly confident that crossing the finish line was a possibility.
With out going in to specifics Amino Therapy kept my calves supple my glutes engaged my hip flexors open and activated and reduced the systemic inflammation from the chronic training load being being undertaken on a daily basis. I was still doing my weekly Plantar fascitis protocols as after such a long period of inflammation in that area and the constant pounding of my running. It would be a while before I would likely be problem free. I was rarely having any foot pain anymore. But if I have learnt one thing in my time as a remedial therapist, it is that don't stop the treatment as soon as the symptoms disappear.
The night before the race I received an urgent message from a good friend of mine that was competing in the full distance Ironman the following morning. He had a really sore hip and glute complex. He was limping a little bit and I could barely palpate the area to find the source of the problem. He was in fair amount of pain and stressed to the eyeballs. You need to understand with Endurance Athletes and amount of training that as part-time athletes they put in to their sport and these events. It needs to be seen to be believed. So when on the eve of one of the biggest days of the year and something like this comes up. You better believe that your stress levels are sky high and you are panicking like crazy.
Long story short. 5 minutes later we were back sitting out side his caravan drinking some water having a laugh about his skinny bum. He was relaxed in no pain and ready to rock for the following morning. That gentleman ended up finishing the race and told me that he felt no pain the entire race in the hip and felt calm and in control all day.
Race morning was cool with a slight breeze. Weather for the day was as it turns out was one of those days that you wished every race could be like. Somehow saying the weather was perfect under sells just how good a day it was. On the morning of the race I employed an anti-inflammatory patch protocol on my calves and an Range of motion protocol for my hip flexors because after a 90 km bike ride quite often it is hard to stand up straight and run and not look like you are crippled.
All day I felt great. I never even noticed my calves. Normally after 5 kilometres I generally feel tightness and I have to manage them carefully until the end. Not that day however. Not a murmur from them. All run the only thing that was apparent was that I needed to improve my endurance further. Something that I already knew any way.
Out of the day I found that Amino Neurofrequency Therapy is a powerful tool that can be used to help mitigate acute inflammation caused by chronic training loads and can help prevent injuries from happening. It won't get you across the finish line. That is completely up to you. What it can do is help you get to the start line and take out some of the stress on the body leading up to the event. I know from what I have experienced. It will be a part of my build up and preparation for all my future events.
Does this sound like something you need to make a part of your training? Well you know where to go.
Total Performance Centre