Orthotics for cycling

With a bit of extra time on my hands at the moment I have decided to do a few little podiatry-related blogs which people might (or maybe not) find interesting.  Kicking it off is orthotics for cycling.

Ever get sore feet while riding? Toes or feet go to sleep? How about feeling like you have been burning piece of coal underneath the ball of your foot? Maybe you have knee or hip pain? Or maybe you just feel a bit wonky or crooked on the bike?

Many cyclists will have experienced at least one of the things mentioned above, but not a lot of people know what they can do about it or where to find help.  Not everyone knows that a sports podiatrist can help to solve these problems with a pair of orthotics to go into your cycling shoes.

Orthotics are also known as insoles and are inserts which are placed in the bottom of a shoe to provide extra support and to address any biomechanical abnormalities of the foot or lower limb.  They can be prefabricated (“off the shelf”) or custom made. 

They can either be rigid or soft; made from a variety of materials such as polyethylene, carbon fibre, EVA and plastazote.  They can have modifications added to the rearfoot (back of the orthotic) or the forefoot (front of the orthotic) depending on the issue which they are addressing.

How can orthotics help me on the bike?

Orthotics help to redistribute pressures within the foot, they correct biomechanical abnormalities of the foot and lower limb, and also provide additional cushioning and support to the foot.  They can be used to reduce pain or to improve alignment in the foot and lower limb.

I have orthotics in my running shoes – should I be wearing them in my cycling shoes?

People need orthotics for a variety of reasons and they can be temporary or permanent.  A lot of people mostly associate orthotics with running, however the orthotics used for running and for cycling are quite different as there are different forces placed on the foot with these two activities.  There is a lack of impact in cycling which can neutralize biomechanical abnormalities seen in weight-bearing (ie. running).  Just because a person uses orthotics for running doesn’t necessarily mean that they need them for cycling, and vice-versa.

The most common complaints requiring orthotic intervention for cycling include:

-       -  Numbness/tingling in foot

-        - Arch or heel pain

-        - Knee pain

-        - Leg length discrepancy

-        - Pain/burning under the ball of the foot

-        - Achilles tendon, shin or calf pain

-        - Hip pain

-        - Iliotibial Band pain

If you do not experience any pain or discomfort while cycling then you may not need orthotics, however sometimes by adding in an orthotic which can help to redistribute pressures on certain parts of the foot, people realize that they are far more comfortable with one.  Sometimes you don’t realize that you have been uncomfortable until you try something new. 

Cycling is not supposed to be uncomfortable (it’s supposed to be painful when you are riding hard…) so if you are experiencing any type of pain when sitting on your bike and going for an easy ride then something is wrong. 

So what is the difference between cycling orthotics and other kinds of orthotics?

Cycling shoes are very different to running shoes and therefore the orthotics are very different as well.  Cycling orthotics need to be narrower and have a lower profile to be able to sit comfortably in the shoe and accommodate a foot as well (most important!).  Running orthotics tend to focus more on the rearfoot as this is often the first point of contact, as opposed to cycling orthotics which focus more on the forefoot as this is where the foot contacts the pedal.

Anything else I need to know about cycling orthotics?

Because of the repetitive nature of cycling an incorrect biomechanical pattern will more than likely result in an injury.  It has been estimated that a competitive cyclist performs more than 8 million hip and knee flexions in a year¹ – even for a recreational cyclist this number is in the region of 2-4 million.  Therefore it is important to address any foot or lower leg abnormalities before they cause pain or muscle imbalances.

Shoe and pedal combinations, as well as cleat placement, are also factors which can either help or hinder the biomechanics of the lower limb and should always be taken into consideration when assessing for orthotics.

Last and certainly not least, a proper bike fit in terms of frame size, saddle and bar height and saddle position, in conjunction with pedals, shoes and orthotics, are imperative for maximising power transfer and creating a comfortable ride.

 ¹Schep, et al (1999), Flow limitations in the iliac arteries in endurance athletes. Int J Sports Med.

At least my feet were happy

Big Jo training 11 April - 17 April

I just took this week as it came with my sad shoulder problem.  I started the week taking Tramadol for the pain but it didn't seem to make much difference so cashed in my Codiene prescription which definately didn't help. I went back to the doctor in desperation after having to spend a night sleeping sitting up on the couch because it hurt too much to lie down and got some Prednisone which combined with the Tramadol and some acupuncture seems to be working. I have never taken so many drugs in my life as I have in the last week. 

Drugs anyone?

Prednisone has also been shown (anecdotally...) to help to lessen the extent of the muscle weaknening and to shorten the whole duration of the condition so fingers crossed... My muscle weakness is still about the same and hasn't gotten worse which is good news.  The physio thinks that when the pain has settled if I am able to swim without aggravating it then I should be ok to do so which is very good news.
I'm still hopeful I can do the Raro Tri which is now in just under 3 weeks time, based on the amount it has improved in the last few days I am sure I will be able to wing my way through it... I looked at changing my flight so I arrived after the Tri and wouldn't have the temptation, it would cost about $450 to change my flight which cost me $143 so I don't think that is going to happen...

BIKE

Biking probably hurt about as much as sitting on the couch so I figured I may as well keep riding plus I had pre-entered the CMC club race and didn't want do a no-show so I dragged my sorry ass out to Ararimu to race in the rain.  The rain cleared up a bit for the race and it was a nasty 2 lap course with lots of hills.  I was good on the uphills and would clear out from the bunch pretty easily but really suck on the downhills so needed to get a gap going up so I didn't get dropped going down.  There was a little hill about 300m before the finish so I went super hard up there to try and gap the other girls but didn't have enough grunt on the flat and got pipped by about half a wheel length to come 2nd girl.  Stink.  I tried pretty hard and felt like my intestines were going to burst out and my legs were going to explode but was still pretty dark at myself for letting her pass me.
The rest of the week was just tootling around and nothing too exciting.

RUN

Still just testing out the hip and not doing much, did 4 runs this week with my longest run since IMNZ of 32mins woo-hoo!  Hip seems to be all good, shoulder hurts to run but no more than doing anything else.
I'm looking forward to watching the Boston Marathon early tomorrow where NZ's own Kim Smith will be looking to take it out, go KIM!! I used to race against her when I was at school.  Actually I use the term 'race' a bit loosely - we would run the same course and she would lap me...

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS

This weekend was the last race in the People's Tri series and a big showdown between Jared, David and Kezzle.  Jared lead Kezzle out the water then Kezzle dropped Jared on the bike and went on to take the title.  Davo was never quite in the race... It was a fantastic performance by Kezzle-Anne who hasn't raced anything shorter than a Half for many, many years.

Davo leading a train of boyfriends, they could recognise a powerhorse when they saw one. Pity no-one could stay on

Post-race muffin time

 PUSSY CAT ANTICS:

Ever get the feeling you are being watched? Go on Murfy... enjoy your dinner...

A Sad Little Ironman

Since my last post I started my swim program and knocked out the first 6km session like I was supposed to, a bit of a mission but I got the job done.  My shoulders actually felt tired for once so it must have been good for me.
The next day over the space of about an hour I got this severe aching/throbbing pain in my left shoulder which was relentless.  It was probably some of the worse pain I have ever felt and meant that I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing and no changes in position or pain killers helped.  It settled a bit over the next 24 hours but I was unable to swim the next day because it hurt to lift my arm.  At this stage I thought it was related to the big swim set two days before but wasn't really convinced. 
A few days went and it gradually got better, not the full 100 but on its way and I was able to do an easy 1500m in the pool on Friday.  Saturday came and the severe aching pain started creeping back, probably even worse that the first time. I was at a hen's night and had to go home because the pain was so bad and then I couldn't sleep because there was no position that I could lie in which didn't hurt.  I was pretty miserable.  I managed to get in with a sports doctor on Monday (yesterday) and on describing my symptoms and doing a couple of muscle tests he concluded that I have something called Idiopathic Brachial Neuritis otherwise known as Parsonage-Turner Syndrome.  I didn't really care what was wrong with it I just wanted the pain to go away.
I had never heard of this before so he started telling me the usual course - severe pain in the shoulder/upper arm (check), no trauma or aggravation (check), pain settles over a couple of weeks (thank god), followed by painless atrophy (wasting) and paralysis of the shoulder girdle muscles which can take 6 to 18 months to resolve (HOLY SHIT).  He did a couple of muscle tests and the left side was definately weaker than the right but since I am right handed and pretty much have no upper body strength anyway I am not reading too much into that.
So he has given me some drugs to get me through the painful stage so I can sleep at night (which didn't really work last night anyway) and has said that once the atrophy kicks in swimming will not be a good idea as I will develop muscle imbalances from the unaffected muscles making up for the wasted muscles which could then cause subsequent rotator cuff/impingement type injuries.  Even cycling on TT bars or on my drops could be a problem because you need some control over the shoulder blade when you are in those positions.
I wouldn't say that I am in denial and he is a well respected sports doctor, but it is early days yet and I am trying to stay positive and hope that either he is wrong about the diagnosis or I manage to escape with little or no wasting/paralysis... I did a bit of a google search (as you do...) and unfortunately my symptoms so far fit into the symptoms they describe.
So I am pretty devastated that this is the course that it could take.  At least I will still be able to run and ride my bike but if it is going to take 6 months + then there is a good chance I may miss some or all of the next triathlon season.  And its a pretty scary thought that my muscles are going to waste and maybe become paralysed, not just in terms of triathlon but in terms of everyday life.  Things like tying up my hair and maybe even getting dressed could become a problem if I can't use some of my shoulder muscles.
So at the moment I am just taking it as it comes and running and biking as I can and once the pain settles I will hopefully start on some exercises to help maintain any strength I have.  Unfortunately I have seen too many ongoing shoulder problems so I know what a pain they can be.  Sometimes having too much medical knowledge is a curse especially with my ability to dramatize everything - by the sounds of things things could be dramatic enough.

Life can be a bit more bearable with a fake moustache

The rest of the week wasn't too exciting, did a couple of shorts runs with no hip issues (yay) and the usual riding.  We got caught up in a bunch on Saturday which we couldn't get away from despite a couple of diversions from the route, so eventually gave in and rode with them.  The bunch then got blown apart by the Mechanics Bay bunch and I lasted about 30secs... I did manage to get a new max power of 481w - woo hoo!!

Murfy getting all razzled up by my catnip plant which she is crushing

Big Jo training 21 March - 3 April

Lets get ourselves back to our usual format...

SWIM

My hip was still a being a bit fidgey-widgey with kicking and there is only so much PB I can take so I decided to take the last week completely off swimming.  I met with Haydn about my piss-poor swimming and he devised a program for me starting with a 6km session EEK!! So I am hoping a week off will settle the hip enough so I can start with Program Fishy.  Unfortunately my week of swimming meant that I would miss the annual Waikato Five Bridges Swim which somehow increased from 5km to 7.1km despite using the same course, odd.  I was there anyway as the driver and only had a little bit of FOMO. J-Rad razzled the field and led from start to finish while Davo attempted to swam with Jared but only lasted about 200m.

Swimmers waiting to start the big float

J-Rad and Davo in 1st and 2nd

 BIKE

In attempt to become a better cyclist I have turned up to the Counties Manukau club races the last two weekends.  The first one was a complete waste of time with both me and J-Rad puncturing on the first lap ending our races. I thought my puncture may have been karma for not stopping for Jared when I saw him walking back but I figured he would be mad if I sacrificed my race, of course had I have been dropped from the bunch it would have been a different story. But any case I had a puncture of my own about 10mins later and had to pull out anyway. And it rained the whole time so all in all was not a fun afternoon.
The following week was an 80km handicap race in perfect weather. I was on quite a large handicap but the group was too big and after 3 laps out of 5 me and a few others peeled away.  Our new little group got along quite well until some of the faster bunches caught and obliterated us so I ended up sad and alone for the last lap.  But I got there in the end, smug in the fact that out of the 16 people who started in my group only 6 of us finished.
So club racing is to be a permanent fixture on our weekend calendar from now on.

My dear friend Neilio hooked me up with some winter BMW kit.

RUN

First run since Ironman woo-hoo!
Did a series of little intervals with one minutes walking in between and all seemed pretty good, not quite the full 100 but almost there. Going on the flat and downhill is ok but uphill was still a bit iffy.  So I'll just keep it easy and on the flat for now and hopefully we'll come right.

Practicing my walking and enjoying the scenery

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS

The Serottica enjoying the Thursday ferry ride.

Don't be fooled - its not the Serottica. Davo specializing in bikes for midgets, this is Lesbo's new steed. Nude titanium, nom nom nom

 

Big Jo Update

So what have I been doing post Ironman?
Mostly appreciating being warm and dry...
My hip is still settling - an MRI showed that the bone was actually ok but I had Psoas and Greater Trochanter bursitis and inflammation on the Rectus Femoris tendon and, oddly enough, a labral tear.  Which basically relates to ouchy hip flexors and a tear in the cartilage - I haven't have any symptoms from the cartilage so will chose to ignore it, I may have just had an overzealous radiologist... This is settling but is still a problem with kicking in the pool so I have become re-acquainted with my pull buoy in the pool.  My foot was even more of a problem post Ironman and I become convinced that I had a cuboid stress fracture but this seems to have settled with strapping, so maybe just a bit of instability around the joint. Phew.
So for the last two weeks I have been tootling in the pool and tootling along on my road bike, having a few sleep-ins and eating whatever I want.  I had my first pie in about 4 years and have had McDonalds TWICE - woohoo!! And have really been overdoing it in the banana chip department nom nom nom...

McD's post Ironman - delicious... A Happy Little Ironman

Pie and coke. Nom nom nom

I did the Kohi Swim (since I was already entered) but only did 500m the week after IM, and then attempted the 2000m the following week but had to abort to 1500m because my hip decided not to come to the party.  Sadly I think I think I set myself back a bit in the hip department after that swim - bad Muppet behaviour... I won a pair of Rudy sunglasses though which pretty much paid for my entry for the series :)
I have realized how poor I am so am focusing on working a lot in the next wee while I am not training much.  I am going to Rarotonga for a wedding in May which just happens to coincide with the Raro Tri (how convenient...) so need to save some money for that.  Lucky I already bought my flights when Air New Zealand were having a sale for $350 return saving myself about $500 yesssssss... I'll just have to live on crackers, fruit and wedding food while I am there.  Shame its not a longer race then I could stock up on gels, bars, chips, pretzels and chocolate from the aid stations ;)

My Thursday lunch spot. Nice

Ironman NZ opened up its entries 10 days after the race which was crazy soon. By that stage I had convinced myself I wanted to do it next year and decided if it stayed open long enough so that I could afford to enter I would enter AG - it sold out in less than 2 days... So I have made a deal with myself and The Directors of Muppetry that if I am in the state to swim 60mins or under I will race Pro.  Obviously this is going to take a bit of work but something has to be done, so I have sent an SOS message to Haydn Woolley who is widely regarded as one of the best swim coaches around. I have complete faith in him and I have a year to do it so think it can be done.
Other things I have been doing in my down time is playing with the new kittycat who lives next door and mowing the lawn at the Cambridge Training Camp. And I got my car serviced - exciting.

Murfy and ThunderCat making progress

IMNZ Race Report - If you are going through hell, keep going

Ironman New Zealand 2011 - what a day. It will go down with the 2006 race which got blown out into a short bike/run, 2011 will be remembered as the day that the sky cried for us.  Coming from New Zealand we are used to rain and unpredictable weather in summer, but generally if there is rain for a while there will eventually be a break in the weather.  It was almost like someone was taking the piss out of us on Saturday with non-stop rain from early in the morning until the following day. Over the course of my race I think there may have been 30-40mins through out the whole day when it didn't rain.  It was awful.

PRE-RACE
I had been humming and haa-ing over clothing choice for the bike since I have a history of hypothermia in wet weather, I knew that if I got to the point of the uncontrollable shivers (it doesn't take much for me) my race would be over.  When the pounding rain woke me at 2.30am and I lay in the bed awake for the next 2hrs I decided to add an extra baselayer to my outfit for the day.  I think that was the smartest decision I have ever made in a race.
Pre-race stuff was pretty standard but made very unpleasant by the rain. I was in and out of transition as quickly as I could with tyres pumped up, bottles filled (fronty was already a bit filled with rain water despite my helmet being on top of it) and chain lubed.
Wetsuit on and then down into the water for a quick warm up.  There was the usual Maori waka entertainment plus a minutes silence for the victims of the Christchurch earthquake two weeks ago.
Our race start was 6.45 and it was dark and poor visibility due to the rain - awesome.

Kezzle and I. The last time I would be dry for 11hours

Nervous much?

SWIM
My favourite part... not. Off went the gun and I assume I got dropped pretty much straight away but since I couldn't see anything its hard to tell.  There was a group of three of us for the first 400-500m or so which was then reduced to two as we lost the feet in front.  I could not see where I was going at all and had to stop and lift up my goggles a couple of times to check.  Luckily the tail-end kayak let me know when we were swimming in the middle of the buoys where we weren't supposed to be.

Can't see much? Neither could I

So it was just me and my friend Laura-Clare Whelan out for a nice Saturday morning swim.  I felt like I was going quite hard but knew when the first AG'ers came past us quite early on that this was not going to be a good swim time for me.  I was actually pretty stuffed by the end but was dreading seeing my time at the end and it turned out to be pretty bad - 1hr 09, my worst swim time in recent years.  Based on how many AG'ers passed us I thought it would be more like 1hr15 so I guess that is something.
I then tripped up the stairs on the way to T1 after being warned that the steps were slippery. Good one.

Hanging my head after a pitiful swim

BIKE

Had a reasonable T1, struggled to zip my vest up with cold hands and all the helpful volunteers loaded up my pockets with my food.  Had a bit of a chat to Nick Lawson up the Napier-Taupo and then tried to settle in a rhythm from there with lots of men passing me. I felt like quite a fraud with my pro number on being so far behind everyone else.  After about 10-15mins the rain started to come down even harder and already I could feel my spirit breaking.  Its not a good feeling starting a 180km bike ride and wanting to stop already, I was cold and wet and miserable.
I had made the mistake of not pre-opening any of my Em's Cookie Bars and my cold hands were not coping well but I knew I had to eat to keep warm.  Jess Lawson came past me not long into the bike so I stuck with her for the next 60km or so until I grabbed a bottle to fill up fronty from an aid station but was having trouble squeezing the bottle and had to slow right down and lost Jess.
We had a tailwind from Reporoa to Taupo which was one saving grace so the hills before the end of the bike weren't too bad.

The spectators on the course were great in such awful conditions and it certainly pepped me up whenever I saw someone I knew.  My coldness was coming and going and the rain would ease up a bit and then it would hammer down.
I finally managed to overcome my inability to go wees on the bike which was a small ray of sunshine in my dark day, and it was lovely and warm :) I am sure there was more than enough rain to wash it away but I did still feel bad for RooRoo.
Coming down back into Taupo for the first lap is a few long downhills and I started to get very cold and shiverey.  I knew this could be the beginning of the end for me and I had already seen Hannah Lawrence pull out I suspected due to the cold.  There was a time there that I really believed I wasn't going to make it to the end of the bike, despite having 4 layers on top plus arm warmers - I was very cold.  I couldn't believe that people were out there in just tri tops and arm warmers, just looking at them made me shiver.

Hating life

I started to make a slight comeback and generated a bit of heat up the hills of the 2nd lap and started to feel a bit more positive about things.  I finally made it to Reporoa for the last time and concentrated on getting home.  My power had been a bit lower than what I was aiming for but my poor leggies were so cold it was hardly surprising, I didn't think running a marathon on cold legs and numb feet was going to be pretty either.  Finally rolled into town only to realize I had a punctured my rear tyre, a couple of times during the ride I thought the rear felt a bit suspect so it may have been going down for a while.  I had to run the last 20m or so because it was pretty much dead flat at this stage and there was a nasty speed bump at the end, so I rolled into T2 with a 5hr38 bike split which is the same as my 2009 time.  I think that given the conditions I should be happy with that time because 2009 conditions were much better but I'm not sure that my opinion is shared with the Directors of Muppetry.

RUN
Started the run and my trusty Gayman told me I was running 4.40's - whoops. It felt so easy. So I slowed right down and aimed to keep it at 5mins/km.  The rain was hammering down and my visor became so waterlogged that it was sliding down my head.  I had given my feet a thorough vas-ing up in T2 but was starting to develop a blister on my arch so I had to have a couple of sit downs in the medical tents over the course to get that fixed.
My 5min pace started to slip a bit above that but would have the odd sub-5min km.  My hip flexor started to get a bit sore by the 7km mark but just niggled away for the next wee while without getting too much worse.

Happy to be off the bike. Peace out Neilio

 5 mile bay came and went and soon I was on my way back to town.  The support on the course was amazing from the spectators and the volunteers, I had BIG JO printed on my ass so got a bit of extra support once people saw that.  My family and Jared and the PooParaders and Neilio and Laura kept me amused by popping up in different places on the course.
The rain never stopped on the run and parts of the footpath were flooded.  Soon I was back in town and heading out for lap number 2, I had come this far I wasn't about to stop now. All I could think about now was the towel that they would wrap around me at the finish.

Resembling a drowned rat

About 25km was when it all caught up on me with my quads starting to seize up.  Maybe a combination of the cold plus lack of run training, or just merely the fact that my legs had had enough.  It was baby steps from here on with a couple of unscheduled walking breaks... My hip was pretty sore and I had popped a few drugs for it, my ITB was getting a bit irritated and everything else just hurt.  I desperately wanted to walk but could only think about how long it would take to get there and my poor supporters who had been out all day in the rain. So I gritted my teeth (literally) and told myself to HTFU.  It wasn't fast but it was faster than walking.
I finally crossed the line with a 3hrs58 run (only about 30mins slower than I was aiming for...) with a total time of 10hrs54 - eek.  While it was noway near the time I had hoped for I am not disappointed because I wanted to quit so, so badly during the race (which many people did) but I didn't, I sucked it up and toughed it out.  It truly was a day of attrition and through no fault of my own since I can not control what the weather does.  I think I prepared myself for the elements as well as I could and short of wearing gloves and knee warmers I believe there is nothing else I could have done to produce a better result.
Don't get me wrong - I am certainly not saying I think I did well and I am certainly not proud of my time but I think I pulled through in a tough situation.  As Winston Churchill said "If you are going through hell, keep going", I went through hell and I came out the other side.

Thank god that is over. Give me my towel

POST-RACE THOUGHTS
During the race I first decided I never want to race Pro again (unless I can swim at least 60mins) and then that I never want to do Ironman again.  But lets face it - what else would I do if I didn't do Ironman?! I wonder how much I am cut out for it though - I can't swim, I can handle the cold or the wind, I can't get anything to fit me, I'm not good if its too hilly or if its dead flat, etc, the list goes on... I have really been put off racing Pro though unless it is a mass start which it usually isn't, and at the end of the day I can either bring up the rear of the Pro field or bring up the front of the Age Group field (maybe not quite this time...) and I'm leaning towards AG.  I have no plans (and no money) for any future Ironman's this year so can mull it over for a while anyway.
I think my poor bones need a good rest from running now while I get this hip sorted plus I need to work out what the hell to do about my swimming so I may turn into a swim/bike specialist for a few months.
22 of the athletes competing in the weekend were from Christchurch and as a very special touch they got their own race numbers in black and red with the words "Christchurch is my home" printed under their name.  I thought this was such an awesome thing to do for them with all that they have been through and certainly gave me some warm fuzzies when I saw one of the course.

NEWS FROM THE TEAM
Top efforts from the Lawson's with PB's from both of them and Jess maintaining her 100% Kona qualifying record.  Kezzle-Anne did it tough and didn't quite come away with the result we knew he was capable of but he did the best with what was given to him.  Sammy the Seal had a great first race in such awful conditions so it can only get easier from here.
And obviously Cam Brown and Sam Warriner for their victories and being the toughest of the tough.

Well done Jess

Nick breaks the illusive 10hr mark. The pose says it all - one happy man

Special thanks goes to my supporters to made the trip down to Taupo and suffered nearly as much as me in the rain - Mum, Paul, Roach and Alex, and J-Rad, Davo and Nicky, and Neilio and Laura.  Sorry you all had to wait so long for me...

Pre-IMNZ update

Hello and welcome to Taupo!!
We arrived at Tri-geek central yesterday and had a busy afternoon with registration, seeing and being seen at the expo, race briefing, massage and then carbo dinner.
Taupo is crawling with compression-clad, visor wearing, water bottle sipping athletes so I fit right in.
The nerves are definitely starting to creep in especially seeing all the race paraphernalia, fit people and fast bikes.
I had finally managed to get my weight a bit closer to race weight at my last weigh in before leaving Auckland only to get to registration and to somehow have gained 2kg over the course of the morning!! I was NOT impressed. I was wearing heavy denim shorts and shoes which they wouldn't let me take off though but my volunteer was not very nice about my weight anyway and said that I was too light anyway - how rude, does she not realize I'm probably about a foot shorter than anyone else she has weighed?!! It pisses me off when people feel the need to comment on my weight - I'm not underweight just underheight!! Anyway the general consensus is that the scales were making everyone heavier so I'm glad it wasn't just me.
RooRoo is all ready to go, sporting some sexy new bar tape care of my dear friend Neilio who was horrified at my rangi looking patched up bar tape.

Neilio you are my hero :)

Unfortuately Neilio's generosity didn't extend to a pair of Zipp's so I will be the only Pro rocking the training wheels but I have good tyres so in my little mind that is all that matters...
Sadly the weather does not look like it will be coming to the party with a forecast of rain with some heavy falls, it doesn't look like it will be too cold which is good because

rain+cold=very bad for Little Muppets

But I am still indecisive about the best clothing choice for the bike ie vest or no vest, I don't want to get cold if it does rain a bit but don't want to overheat if the rain doesn't really happen... Decisions, decisions...
The forecast today was not so great but so far it has been cloudy without any rain so fingers crossed for the same tomorrow. The sun even poked its little head out a few minutes ago.

Come out tomorrow sun, please, please...

This morning we went for a 10min run through the bush with no hip fidgey-widgeyness which is good news, followed by a quick swim in the lake.
I didn't want to get too excited in case it was a fluke, but last week I did up my LittleMuppet B70 Helix suit BY MYSELF!! And I successfully repeated it today, here is a video of it for the non-believers out there. Starts out a bit slowly but I get there in the end, the comments from Kezzle gives you an insight into what I have been having to put up with for the last 24hrs.

So the big unknown for tomorrow is how my hip will go. Swim and bike should be ok but I have no idea what to expect from the run, but lets face it - its Ironman, anything can happen, I could be in the best running form of my life and run myself into some kind of injury so I don't really think I'm any worse off than anyone else here. Luckily I have the use of the Gayman so will start out nice and easy and plan to maintain that pace.
Not much I can do about it now anyway so I will sit here and relax and take silly photos with Kezzle and just hope for the best tomorrow. 

Pre-Ironman madness