Preparing for the Unexpected

IM packed his bags and headed up North for a Half IM over the weekend. Good preparation leading into Hawaii I was told....also good to practise the bag packing and weighing. (will dedicate other posts to packing lists and the weight issue!)

What I want to focus on now is preparing for the unexpected. Or really, the question of whether you can prepare yourself for something that happens which is out of your control?

Our household had some nasty tummy bug doing the rounds last week and IM stayed as far away as possible. A few days before he felt like he had something but it didn't seem to take hold. Training kept going and the excitement built as it always does in the lead up to a race.

The support crew did not have tickets to this race (can't always be there) but there were other friends attending and we were there in spirit.  In fact, maybe we were not meant to go, as the weekend may have been even less manageable if there were kids around.

In a nutshell, IM came down sick with gastro type bug night before race, attempted to race next day and ended up not finishing as was so ill. Then he proceeded to be stuck in bathroom of hotel room for next 24hrs and only just managed to make it home in bus/plane/car. (really felt for his room mate!)

Still not feeling well three days later, IM has been fairly accepting of the situation and is now just focusing on feeling better and getting back on track with the training plan.

What else can you really do? It is something you cannot prepare for and you cannot dwell on too much.

You can have a healthy diet and lifestyle and take all precautions to not getting sick, and you can pack in your bags all sorts of medication, but really when something like that hits it is just the unluckiness of it that it happens to be on race day.

It reminded us both about our China IM experience - well the fact that we were lucky not to get food poisoning in China when so many did (and many attempted to race or managed to race through it but it was not pretty!).

This was a first time experience of this sort for IM. Was there lessons to be learned?

Maybe he shouldn't have raced and it just made the sickness and dehydration worse but thats a hard decision when you have paid money, made the journey and planned so much for that day.

Maybe a few more medications could have been packed - we have since discovered that Gastro-Stop  is a great one to have in the medical kit (think Imodium is similar).....but actually the one most important thing you need is rehydration and most triathletes will have some sort of hydration drink or powder in their kit - perfect! I think a few satchels of hydralyte is also a must for a travel medical kit.

I did find a good rundown on what to do for diarrhea on a US website which talks about natural remedies and diet  (www.health911.com) and I learned a very useful acronym everyone should remember: BRAT - only eat Banana, Rice, Apple and Toast (lots of other useful stuff on this website!)

Back to the point of this post...

There are a number of things that can happen (not just sickness) that may result in not racing to your full potential or not even making it to race day. You can not be prepared for all scenarios. 

However, what you can do (this is not just for the competitor but his supporters too) is to accept the outcome, try to look at the positives of maybe not such an enjoyable journey and try not to dwell on it too much post-race day.

There will be another race. We all know that the most important thing in life is our health and that of  our families, so we need to remind ourselves of this, be thankful when health returns and all is well again, and just look ahead and plan for the next challenge.

In signing off,  I just have to say, that although we may now be slightly more prepared for the unexpected, I really hope we don't have a repeat performance in Hawaii :-)

Here's to our health!

Surviving the Post Race Come Down

It has been almost 2 weeks since our return and still I don't feel we are back into regular routine. It probably didn't help that we both returned with chest infections, children needing our attention, work to catch up on, a blocked sewer to add to the chaos, and lots of phone calls and emails to send reliving the race and our China experience.

The elation of grabbing that Kona spot remains (flights, accommodation and car hire have been booked - it may be early days but we have been warned to get in on it as soon as you can as places book out and prices rise!) but Ironman's body is suffering and general enthusiasm for life is rather low.

The days after the race are ones of mixed emotions which obviously depends on wether the race was considered to be successful or not (which all depends on your goals) and most significantly, the body is in shock and in need of desperate re-cooperation

I have come across a few articles about how the race effects the body and mind. One I must mention (after discovering it on our trip to China) is by UK triathlete Mark Klentheaous titled "Beating the Post Race Blues" who has a great website www.ironmate.co.uk (will dedicate a separate blog to this website one day soon).

Mark reminds us that after an Ironman race, which is "one of the most physically and mentally demanding challenges of the sporting world", the body will suffer both physically and psychologically. Even after the soreness in the body subsides there is a lot of internal recovery still happening. I remember reading a while back it takes six weeks for the body to be back in condition and ready to take on the next challenge!

My Ironman returned home with a chest infection, the usual aching limbs and a body that needed readjusting, toenails sore and black and ready to drop off and a bit of chafing (thank goodness it wasn't as bad as our NZ experience!).

What you can't see - I keep having to remind him- is a the massively compromised immune system that can't fight off the infection and a come down from the highs that any major event in your life can bring. It didn't help that he had to jump straight back into a suit and tie and deal with end of quarter sales stresses at work. This is the reality that is easy to forget.

This is the time that you must continue to eat well, fill up with vitamins and herbal supplements to boost the body back to health - and rest as much as possible!

The rest part is not easy for someone who has been training so hard for so long. They can't sit still. Exercise is part of daily life. A stress relief. A time of oneness to reflect or time of togetherness with  mates. It was also the means to a long time goal that is now no longer. It is not easily given up even when the body tells you to take time out.

It's now that I realise I have an important role to play. To remind him to take it easy, keep exercising but easy and short sessions, fill him up with good food, spend more time with the kids and around the house, discuss the race (the outcome, the highs and the lows), set new goals, and make plans for how we manage the next Ironman challenge.