The road to Doha!

Since I last posted a few weeks ago I had done a few runs and was feeling ok but not fully right! I pushed through the pain barrier until I got to the stage where I had to stop all exercise completely. Even walking became painful. I knew there was something else going on.....not another injury to add to my already disabling condition !?
I was due a 2 week break from work which would be an ideal opportunity to get to the bottom of this injury. Little did I know it would take separate visits to 4 different hospitals around the country.
First stop was the limerick clinic for an MRI of the hip / pelvis. This revealed 'intense osteitis pubis'.
Bone marrow odema or in other words inflammation around the pubic bone.
According to the radiologists report this would be greatly improved by a cortisone injection into the pubic symphysis.....only the problem with this is steroid injections,while they sort the inflammation they also weaken the bones.
So do I take the injection to become pain free,while risking to further weaken my bones and worsen my osteoporosis ??

Next stop was euromedic clinic in dundrum,Dublin for an emergency consultation with professor O Brien(my treating consultant for the osteoporosis). I received a phone call the previous evening from the professor informing me to attend the clinic to discuss an irregularity in my blood tests.
When I arrived in dundrum fasting from the previous day I was then sent to St Vincent's hospital for urgent bloods.
On my return to see the professor I asked her whether it would be advisable for me to get a steroid injection to clear up my injury and the ramifications it could have on the osteoporosis. Steroid injections are one of the main causes of osteoporosis so for her to give her consent to something like this would go against everything she stands for!

I needed to weigh up the pros and cons and consulted various specialists in the area. The overwhelming response I got was that the inflammation I had in the pubic symphysis needed to be reduced and steroid injection was the best method. One injection would do very minimal damage to the bones and the advantages of the injection would by far outweigh the possible side effects to the bones.

I thought long and hard and finally came to the decision to get the injection.

Next stop was the Galway clinic....

My instructions after the injection where to rest for one week. After that when I was pain free it would be time to strengthen the core area while beginning to resume light training.
It's now over a month since the injection and I'm back running 4 weeks and the pain in my pubic bone is completely gone!
Along with the training I'm supplementing with a lot of core work thanks to my Physio Leon Raath who has guided me through a thorough rehab plan.
Weekly treatments from Leon are giving me great relief and the core exercises are adding a lot of strength to previously weakened muscles.
My coach Howard Nippert has also been a great help and has steadily re introduced me to training again. One of the advantages of having a coach is being able to bounce ideas and questions off. After the injection it would have been very tempting for me to go back training again gung-ho but Howard has very carefully managed my condition and ensured that my return to sport has been gradual but smooth. Howard himself who knows full well the torment of facing career threatening injuries has first hand experience of coming out the other side and achieving great things,none less than his fifth place finish at the world 100k and multiple American national titles,so that gives me great hope and
motivation to win my own battle and come out the other end even stronger.

It's just less than 14 weeks to the World 100k in Doha and I am fit and ready to begin my training plan specific to this race.
I have the qualifying time in the bag so it's just a matter of waiting to see if I will be selected??

THE ROAD TO DOHA !

Since being diagnosed with Osteoporosis last month I have received amazing support from family,friends and fellow athletes alike,which has helped me tremendously to come to terms with something so unexpected.
Because of this I have decided that I will post weekly updates on my progress back to competition.If this helps others out there going through the same situation it will be worth sharing my good days and bad days here as I do everything that I need to do to get fit and healthy again.
Having already achieved the World 100km qualifying time last June in Belgium my target is to get back to full fitness and get selected on the Irish team.
So D-Day is November 21st in Doha,Qatar and the first steps on this road are....... walking!!

                                                               Week 1 of Rehab

After being referred to physiotherapist Richard Shortall by IOS (Irish osteoporosis society) he devised a route back to exercise for me which involved walking for at least 1 hour per day provided I was pain free in doing so. Weight bearing activities are a great way of strengthening bones and increasing bone density. Running long distances is a great way of keeping bones strong and healthy,but unfortunately mine are very weak and running these distances will only increase the risk of  fractures to the hip and spine which are the worst affected areas. Skipping and star jumps were also part of my daily routine along with a gluten free diet.The first few days were pretty sore but it eventually eased and after around a week I was now walking 1-1.5 hours comfortably.
I continued this for a couple more weeks,and as the weeks progressed I became more anxious to get back running.
Now was the time to be sensible and be patient.It will take time and cannot be rushed. Thats what the doctors and physios kept saying.
I was out for a walk last Sunday week and I managed 10km which was somewhat of a milestone for me,but all I could think about was how pathetic that was! This time 12 months ago I was setting a national record for running 100km and now all I could manage was a pathetic 10 km walk.  WTF !!!

I persisted with the walking til last weekend I asked the physiotherapist if I could try some running.
He agreed to allow me to introduce 10 minute segments of running during my walks,and provided I was achieving this pain free I could add 10 minutes per day.
Today I ran for 50 minutes and the only pain I experienced was embarassment from being so unfit !!
But I gotta start somewhere.At the moment I'm managing to run short distances slowly without any great pain,but at the same time I don't feel strong. I need to remind myself that structurally I am not as solid as I once was,and it will take time to rebuild.

The running/walking will continue for another few weeks when hopefully I will be able to get back to doing something which resembles 'training'.

So thats my story so far. I'm a long way from where I want to be but I'm on the right road.

  

LONG TIME NO BLOG !!!!

So it's been a while since my last blog post,I said I would give you all a little insight in to what I have been up to.......

After pulling from the Euro's at the 45 mile mark due to injury I recovered pretty quickly and focused my attention on another 100km,which was to be the 'Night of Flanders 100km in Torhout Belgium.
I knew I was in good shape for the Euro's and injury prevented me from achieving my goal.This is why I sought out this particular race only 8 weeks later as my 'Irish Record Attempt' at 100km.
Richard Donovan made it all possible along with the ever reliable John Collins on support duties.
Long story short I just had one of those days that you only ever dream of. Hard training,good luck and very intelligent support crew made for the best 7 hours 3 minutes and 53 seconds of my sporting life !!

After this I took a nice family break with the missus and kids and then a week later it was off to the beautiful West Cork village of Courtmacsherry for a very scenic 36 miler. I managed to get the win and got one of the best welcomes you will ever get anywhere.I have since met many great friends in West Cork,which I now call my second home.Without naming too many names I do feel I have to mention one particular individual for his genorosity,friendship and support........ Thank you Bob Hilliard
This year Bob has named the event after me!!! To say I am honoured is a complete  understatement.
This years event on July 19th will also have a 10k and 18 miler along with the 36 mile ultra,and I would highly recommend it (obviously!!).

So what have I been doing since last July I hear you ask ??

Short answer is not alot !!

Over the past year I have been having alot of trouble with various injuries. I would get a couple of months of decent training in and then breakdown with another injury,and then another and another and so on.
It all finally came to a head in early march when I put a joint in my back out for no apparent reason. I was unable to walk for days and when I finally did manage to get about it was with great pain.Once this subsided after a couple of months it was the turn of my pelvis.

I knew something wasn't right! There was more going on with my body than I knew. I couldn't run a mile without having to turn back with a crippling pain!

Over the last fortnight after tests and scans I have been diagnosed with Osteoporosis. Anybody who is unfamiliar with this condition,osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease which decreases bone mass density. In other words your bones become more 'honeycomb' and more prone to fracturing very easily.I always associated osteoporosis with elderly women and was in shock when I got the news.In truth it is more common in women over the age of 50 although it can occur at any age. There are a lot of varying factors which contribute to its developement,such as age,diet,exercise etc.....
A simple DEXA bone scan will determine whether you have it or not and also your risk of developing the condition. I would highly recommend fellow athletes to get themselves checked. I've found mine before it got too serious. Even though we all like to think because we can run long distances we are invincible to these sort of conditions,it's not always so straight forward.

On a personal note I will be out of action for a while and my sole aim at the moment is to get myself healthy again.When I have achieved this my sole purpose will be to get back competing against the best ultra runners in the world again.

Have a read of this if you get a chance

  http://www.irishosteoporosis.ie/index.php/expert_views/osteoporosis_in_athletes/    

Well now that I got my first race of the season out of the way I could focus my attention on the Euro's.My last four to five months training have been specifically based on peaking for the Euro 100km this coming Saturday.
Two weeks ago I ran the Connemara Ultra will the sole intention of using this as a race pace training run for the Euro's.The pre-race plan was to run at my goal 100km race pace for the first 26 miles and then take my foot off the gas for the final 13 miles and save whatever was left in the tank for France.
Running a fast time or placing well didn't come into it....like I said it was all preparation for the 100km.
I ran a nice comfortable pace going through the marathon in 2.50. Up until then I was in second place and it was at this point that I passed the leader who seemed to be struggling......possibly from taking it out a little too hard in the early miles ??

My pre race plan was working a treat.I was running the pace in which I had set out to run and had also found myself in the lead as well.It was now time to wind it down and start saving the legs for three weeks later......but I was leading.....was I going to take my foot of the gas and throw away a chance of winning ??

I kept it steady for a couple more miles than I had planned,but once we hit mile30 I knew that I had a decent  lead and that I could now allow myself to ease back on the pace.
It was at this point where the course gets difficult and also when we faced into a very strong headwind,and fortunately for me others behind me started to struggle with these very tough conditions.

So even though I won quite comfortably in the end I was also very conscious of the threat posed from those behind me.

On reflection I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season......

* A training run which worked to perfection
*A very enjoyable win
*Great preparation for the Euro 100k

So next up is the European Championships in Belves,France on Saturday.

Fingers crossed Dan and myself can put in a strong Irish performance on the day !!

LET THE RACING BEGIN !!

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=31366

Today I received confirmation from Athletics Ireland of my selection to the national team for the European 100k Championships,which will be held in Belves in France.It is always a privilege to get the opportunity to represent my country on the international stage and I am very honoured to be earning my 6th senior international vest in 2 years.The race will take place in 3 weeks time on the 27th of April.

The team will comprise of Dan Doherty and myself.Dan recently won the ACP 100k,keeping up a winning tradition for Irish athletes after I won the same event last year.

I started training for this event last December with the hope of being selected and the last 4 months training have been fully geared towards this race.Most major ultra distance championship events are staged on a short course with multiple laps (eg. 10 x 10k ),however this particular race will be one big 100k lap.

The support team will play a vital role here given the logistics of the course and a lot of emphasis will be placed around adequate re-fuelling during the race and given temperatures will be somewhat warmer in the south of france this time of year than what we are used over in this part of the world,it will be very important to keep an eye on hydration levels throughout the race.

With John Collins,Kevin Belton and Jeff Fitzsimons keeping a watchful eye over us and keeping us fuelled throughout I'm very confident we'll be in very capable hands.

The rest is up to us............  

Before all that though I will be making my first outing of the year on Sunday when I take to the start-line in Maam Cross for the Connemara Ultra(39.3 miles).

This should be a good training run for the Euro's and give me an idea of what to expect in 3 weeks time.The Connemara course isn't the easiest of runs so it will provide me with a good test of speed endurance and also allow me to experiment with various pacing strategies and pratice taking on fuels and fluids in race conditions.

So it's all systems go from now on.Hopefully I will have some good race results to report back with over the coming weeks  !!!

Dan Doherty and myself after last years world champs

SKECHERS TO SPONSOR IRISH INTERNATIONAL ULTRA MARATHONER

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                

Skechers Performance Division is delighted to announce that they will be the official footwear sponsors for Irish international Ultra marathon athlete Keith Whyte. Keith will wear the Skechers GoRun2 in his first race of 2013 in the Connemara Ultra marthon in the west of Ireland this coming Sunday. He is then hoping to be selected for the Irish team which will compete in the European 100km Cahmpionships later this month in France.                                                               

Here is a list of Keith's achievements from 2012.......

Anglo CelticPlate 100km Champion 

Longford Ultra marathon Winner

Dingle 50 mile Ultra marathon Winner

Represented Ireland in both European and World Championships

Finished top of the European rankings and 2nd in the World rankings over the 50 mile distance

http://skechersperformance.com/running/all

               

DOHERTY WINS ANGLO CELTIC PLATE 2013

I'm absolutely thrilled for my Irish team mate Dan Doherty who yesterday won the Anglo Celtic Plate in a personal best time of 7.05:24.

Dan was representing UltraRunning Ireland as an individual and won the race outright just as I did last year.It is a fantastic achievement for Irish athletes to win back to back titles especially against such stiff opposition.

Dan has been in flying form of late and won quite a few races in the lead up to the event,and well and truly delivered yesterday in Scotland.

Dan and myself are hoping to be selected for the European 100km Championships later this month in France.
If there was ever a year in which Ireland can win it's first ever team medal at a major championships in ultra running this is that year.