Tick, tick, tick, boom!

Friday was not a good day. Friday, my back was still painful. I went for a swim and swam 1,000m (40 lengths) just like the previous day, however, I did not feel great for so doing. My back continued to hurt and I thought my chances of cycling the TAW were slim.

Woke up Saturday feeling much better with less pain in my back. Once I was up, the pain had returned but not to the same extent as previous days. Felt much more optimistic and believed that I may get to the start line after all. Such excitement caused me to ponder my kit list(s) again and have now decided to drop the pants and silk ls layer to save just a bit of extra weight. Had no idea what it might feel like to be on my bike but figured I'd wait a while yet. Hoping!

Sunday morning was awful. I woke up in a lot of pain. Seriously doubted that I would be cycling the TAW and felt like I had already let down myself and Jamie. All the money I had wasted spent, all the hours training, all the effort to take time off work, arghh, my head-space was all mashed up. Reflected on how this past week was pants. I had waned to buzz and be filled with excitement the week before this event. I had wanted to look at everyone's bikes and FaceBook posts. Instead, I was full of doom, gloom and anxiety. In the afternoon, I asked SJ to take me to work just so I could collect my (commute) bike and cycle home. A 'test' is what I thought was required. I would not listen to the advice from others and cycle a short distance near home, no, I wanted to see if I could ride my bike and pedal with a certain amount of pain. So, I cycled from work all the way home. Sure, I was in a little pain and my back felt tight but I could cycle. 25k later and I had reached home. Better yet, I had reached the decision that I would cycle TAW even if it killed me (let's hope it doesn't). I figured pain relief would be the way to go and Lin said she'd get me some tiger balm as she felt that'll do wonders. Took a quick trip to my parents (who will be away until my return) to say farewell (and inform I planned to cycle), borrowed some cash and printed copies of route profiles. I had started to buzz a little.

Monday morning saw me re-visit the GP. Thankfully, she felt my back issues were muscular in nature. GP advised I 'listen to my back', I swear I heard my back say 'to Ireland you must go'. Kind GP gave me some exercises to perform to manage back pain and some codeine to take at night. Sweet. I was advised to continue with Naproxen during the day. I felt swimming helped a little last week, so I swam a little today too. Just to make sure riding my bike really was a good idea, I cycled about 20k today for test purposes. Ouch, back still hurt.

Tuesday came. Mixed emotions. Race to get packed. So pleased I was able to go. Am I really a crazy goon? Miss my wife and kids and family. Back soon. Boom!

Check my progress/regress here: TAW Race 2018