Ironman New Zealand Update: Past the point of no return....

Well Today was my deadline to bail on Ironman New Zealand...I didn't so now in the words of Survivor "there's no easy way out." It's put up or shut up...go hard or stay home, man up or wuss out, evolve or die..etc..etc..

I have to pay for my flight ( which is getting cheaper every time I look at Air New Zealand .com now down to under $1300.) and pay off my hotel, which will actually be cheaper than last year, granted I'll be working without a net (ie Ken Glah's staff) in Taupo this year, if I make Kona I think booking with him will be a smart investment but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Right now I've got to trigger point my IT band with my wonderful tool ( ie former fishing pole holder made of PVC pipe.) and get my training in gear. Saturday and Monday are looking like my best days to ride but it is supposed to be bitter cold, and brutally windy...man 40F and raining sounds like an upgrade, the trainer is aggravating my IT Band and it's bad enough I went 6 days without running 6 days of no riding and running would be suicide but it might be a reality if I can't work this issue out...or maybe it would be the rest I need. After swim practice my coach aka Stef noticed how swollen my ankle looks I've decided to bite the bullet and let my doc look after it, if it's just a bruised tendon it will hurt but I can probably run on it if it's a tear well as the Aussies say "I'm in the shit mates." Regardless Taupo is definitely happening barring New Zealand somehow sinking beneath the Pacific Plate and becoming magma...even if that means I'm walking the damn marathon...mediocrity be damned.
Hopefully the prognosis from my doctor will be good, and I'll be able to get back on the road soon until then it looks like it's going to be a lot of pool and bike work if the leg allows.

Well that's all from my neck of the woods, my swimming is looking solid and hopefully my running and biking will be back on track.

Cheers,

R.D.

Edit: Achilles Mystery Solved..maybe...

As I sat at my desk this morning thinking about what I could have possibly done to hurt my ankle it dawned on me. Last year while Spinning at Newington Bike I noticed my ankle got a little tight after the workout. Didn't spin for a week, problem healed. Fast forward to this year...the weather has made Siberia look like St. Martin. Riding the trainer like it's going out of style.The ankle acted up after a 12-15 mile run but I had been doing 2 to 3 8-9 milers a week before progressinging up, granted I did roll the ankle a little bit. but I've rolled my ankle like that before with no real issues. Running progressing conservatively, ankle always flares after spinning, doing more spinning than normal ankles hurts worse than normal 2+2= spinning is what's inflamming my IT band hence inflamming my ankle. Solution stop spinning let the IT/ ankle heal then get back into it. Still going to the Doctor on Monday to make sure I didn't screw myself up that bad.