Weekly News Number 34
The start of the week was still a little bumpy because of my cold, but by the end of the week everything was back on track. My foot is also slowly but surely getting better, so overall it was a positive end to the week.
The foot is making progress
This week, I had another shockwave therapy session and we're continuing to make progress. I've also started doing some fast uphill walking and stair intervals. I definitely enjoy that more than training on the elliptical at the gym. At least when I'm walking uphill, I'm rewarded with a beautiful view over the ocean and the river in Noosa.
Mel thinks I could be running again by the race on 13 September. However, I've decided not to rush it and will stick to swimming and cycling for this race. That way, I can slowly get back into racing before I line up for the 70.3 in Port Macquarie in October.
Of course, I'm still really looking forward to being able to run again in the near future.
This week, I started with stair workouts because they don't have the same impact on the foot as normal running. Muscularly, it's still challenging and it gets the cardiovascular system working as well. The same goes for fast uphill walking.
By now, I can already take two steps at a time. The next step will be to introduce some small hops on the stairs and slowly start putting a little more load through the foot again. I'll wait until next week before trying that, though, to give the plantar fascia enough time to heal completely.
Slowly getting back to normal training
Apart from that, not too much happened this week. The main focus was on fully recovering from my cold and being patient with the first more intense training sessions. Luckily, we managed that pretty well.
I'm now really curious to see where my fitness is after all these weeks of training. With running missing from the programme over the past few weeks, it's obviously a little difficult to judge. But I've still been able to train really well on the bike and in the pool.
For now, it's simply about staying patient and not suddenly trying to do too much just because the foot is starting to feel better.
A perfect start to Friday
On Friday morning, I was treated to a beautiful sunrise along the coastal road. I headed out shortly before sunrise, at around 6 am, and during the ride I could watch the sun slowly come up over the ocean.
After the ride, I went to work with a smile on my face.
One thing I really like here is how many people are already active before they start work. By the time everyone arrives at work in the morning, many of them have already done something. Someone has run to get a coffee, someone else has been out for a run or a swim, and I had been out on my bike.
I really like that mentality. Somehow, you start the day differently when you've already been outside and done something in the morning.
Brisket burger instead of an almond croissant
Apart from that, there wasn't too much else worth mentioning this week. Except maybe that last Sunday I had a brisket burger with my coffee at Belmondos. An absolute recommendation if you're ever in Noosa.
Unfortunately, there was no almond croissant this week, which was obviously a little disappointing. But luckily, they're not going anywhere. This week I'll have another chance to get my hands on one.
And that's another week done. The foot is making progress, the cold is behind me and slowly there's a little more normality returning to training.
To everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, I wish you a good start to autumn. Over here, we've now left winter behind and the sun is coming up a little earlier every morning.
So I'm enjoying these last few weeks without the high humidity before we start sweating again.
See you next week.
Cyrill
