SOME HIGH’S AND LOWS So after finishing Ironman Mallorca last year I had a pretty dismal end to the year. I took about a month off training after Mallorca (coach’s orders) and with about a weeks training, I decided to give 5150 African Champs (Germiston) a bash. I started the swim off really well and managed to pull quite a lead over the rest of the swimmers. Upon exiting the dam I ended up standing on a broken glass bottle. My race was over! Paramedics quickly rushed to my side, on the embankment next to the dam and started applying pressure to the wound. Blood was flowing like a waterfall and this was a deep wound. I ended up hobbling through transition and jumped on a quad bike which took me to the medics tent for stitches. A couple of stitches and pain killers later I was supporting my friends and team mates from the side of the road. I really wanted to podium at this race and after checking the results that night I noticed that I had managed to gain a 6 minute lead in the swim over the podium finishers. Well anyway, we live on to race another day.
While I was waiting impatiently for my foot wound to heal and seeing though I couldn’t do any training, I thought I should go get a mole checked out at the Dermatologist. The Dermatologist immediately cut out the mole and sent it off for testing. More stitches can you believe it! A week or so later I got the call from the Doc to say that the mole was malignant (cancerous) and I would need surgery and further testing. This was a pretty scary moment and right up until that moment you always think you will be ok but from that moment on some doubt and worry creeps in. My grandfather had died within a year after they had found a malignant mole in the same place as I had. A few appointments at the doc later I was operated on and a large piece of skin tissue was removed from my shoulder blade and a gland under my arm. This tissue and gland was sent for testing and a 2 week wait began. The constant worry is on your back of your mind at this time and you start to think what if I do have advanced stages of cancer? what if I have to do chemo ? I won’t lie it’s not a great time of your life, there is also no way of releasing the stress with a run, swim or bike ride, it just sucks to be honest. Luckily, the test results came back ok and I wouldn’t need chemo which was a relief. I still need to go back to the doctor for blood tests every few months just to be sure I’m ok. The weeks that followed were miserable, I started swelling under my arm from the operation and needed to drain the fluids every 2 days. This went on for a weeks until I put in a permanent drain under my arm. Not the most comfy thing to carry with you. At the beginning of Jan, the swelling stopped and I could start my training again. I hadn’t trained in 3 months and was now a little plumper (happier) than my 74kg Ironman race weight. A few weeks on now it’s been great to be back with the Trifactri gang. After riding countless hours in the Cradle in preparation for Ironman the year before, I never thought I would say it, but I had missed our cycling home (The Cradle). The Trifactri peeps have all really become great friends, I suppose that is what happens when you spend 20 hours a week with them, and I had missed them, big time! So out of all the turmoil at the end of last year, some great news has finally come my way – I am going to be a Dad! Cands (my wife) is 4 months pregnant and we have a little Jan Frodreno or baby Daniela Ryf in the making. So out of this experience what wisdom can I bestow upon you ? Don’t stop training ever! It leads to having babies J Regards Ty
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Authors:Where Trifactri athletes get to tell their side of the Swim, Bike and Run Archives
May 2018
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