During a quiet training ride, just two weeks before I was to race Ironman New Zealand 2005, I had a spot of bad luck: I was involved in what should have been a minor traffic accident. Because I was on a bike, however, it was anything but. I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and missed my race, what would have been my first Ironman, because I was still in hospital in a coma! I lost my health, I lost my career, I almost lost my life! Through all of it, though, I never lost my desire to race an Ironman, slowly but steadily rebuilding my strength, fitness and abilities.
On March the 6th this year, five years after I should have, I finally ran home an Ironman!
How does it feel to have finally completed my goal and raced an Ironman? In a word, fantastic! Ironman has been such a saga these last five years; although my race wasn't the best, I feel like I've been released, like I can now go on to other things. And there are indeed other things! Of course, finishing my 50,000 word Masters thesis is currently my biggest goal, but really there's a whole bunch of things I want to improve at. My recovery - my race - isn't over yet!
(This is my favourite photo from Ironman because, while it shows me running towards the finish, it doesn't actually show me crossing it, as if my race isn't over. I like it because, as I explain below, I don't feel like "my race" is over yet!)
For me, Ironman (which involves a 3.8k swim, 180k cycle and then a 42k run) wasn't what I'd expected at the start of the day. I had a good swim...
(A shot of the mass start involving over a thousand swimmers - I'm in there somewhere)
... and a reasonable bike ride...
(looking settled)
... only to have problems on the run!
(feeling the pain! That is a frown, or as much of one as I can manage!)
Unfortunately, I became quite ill about a quarter of the way through the run. However, after the saga that's been my build-up to Ironman, I wasn't going to let a bad stomach get in the way of finishing. Things gradually improved, particularly when four supporters came off the sidelines and starting running with me. Gradually, my running style came back together and I truly enjoyed the final stages of the race, running home in a time of 12.54.
(me with my fantastic support crew afterwards!)
How does it feel to have finally completed my goal and raced an Ironman? In a word, fantastic! Ironman has been such a saga these last five years; although my race wasn't the best, I feel like I've been released, like I can now go on to other things. And there are indeed other things! Of course, finishing my 50,000 word Masters thesis is currently my biggest goal, but really there's a whole bunch of things I want to improve at. My recovery - my race - isn't over yet!
I remain committed to the process of recovering. Ironman was only a step along the way and I hope for all the best in furthering recovering. I wish other recoverers out there well and hope I hear stories of things other people have gone on to do, following their brain injury.
Cheers,
Mike
10 comments:
Congratulations Mike!!! I am truely inspired by your energy, your attitude and your determination.
Since meeting Lee (Mum) through work a couple of years ago I have watched your journey with smile and with admiration. I agree that the finish line you crossed on the weekend was actually just a marked point along the way.
It was a hard day but a good day. Very proud of your performance. See you in the next race! Heidi-Jane James
Well done mike.
I too have A servere head injury and am all about progress and therapy.I ride A bicycle but would like to run again.So I'm going threw the processes of doing that.Thank you for your much needed advice. David
Thanks David. Good stuff on your riding. Best of luck for the running. Can I encourage you to get in the water, too? If so, maybe you can make a triathlete out of yourself, yet.
Your timing with your comment on running is actually pretty good: I've been thinking about putting another post up about my running, post-TBI. Until I get around to writing it, though, my advice is, keep at it, keep talking to useful people about it and, most importantly of all, keep it enjoyable.
Best wishes,
Mike
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Hi - Awesome and thank you for sharing. I too have suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2009 due to a bike vs car collision while training for 70.3 Ironman World Championships. Now 3 years removed from my coma, I am registered for the St. Croix Ironman 70.3 and the Florida Ironman 140.6. Needless to say, it has been and remains a struggle. I have ambitions to improve my Ironman time, but I realize that I have a long way to go. Anyway, I was thrilled to find your blog and am very inspired! Thank you and train smart.
Hey dickdime, wishing you all the best for your race. I think a 70.3 is a great stepping stone to a full Ironman, although even just in itself, it is an awesome race.
As I described in this post, I didn't have a great race during my Ironman. However, I did make it home. That's allowed my life to move on to other things.
I hope you nail your race. Although I have a bit of a story of recovery, I'm sure there are others out there. I hope you're one of them. Best of luck for nailing those time goals. Race hard, but race smart!
Cheers,
Mike
P.S. Can I invite you to come on here and leave another comment to let us know how it went?
Hi there. I had an accident in January this year and was in a coma for 5 days. My first memories are two and a half months after my accident and I am slowly improving. My right hand side was put out of use at the time but with regular work I can now walk and building strength in my right arm. I used to be a showjumper and professional horse rider and now I don't know what I want to be. Your story has really encouraged me and its good to hear of people recovering from a TBI. My vision has been impaired and I tend to lose my balance at times, but hope that I will go jogging one day as I got quite fit running with my dogs at the beginning of the year.
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for the comment. If you were a professional sportsperson, you will be having an experience other recoverers of us can only guess at, your TBI will have set you back so. I hope, however, that you take your recovery seriously and know that it will take some time to make progress with it.
As you restart living life, who knows whether you'll start serious riding again? Who knows where your will head next? I for one hope that, whatever you do, you get stuck into it and you enjoy it. All the best!
Cheers,
Mike
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