Where have I been?

So you may have noticed a huge gulf in time between this post and my last! This is because as far as sport has gone, I have been away! Away for a long time and this is because of injury, the kind that gnaws away at you unrelenting! 

Since June 2014 I have had a very opinionated ankle that has refused to sort itself out. Despite a history of ankle rolls in the past, there was not such event during this month. This may have been because I had been trying to get by and refuse that there was a problem, in truth I do not really know but from June onwards, I decided to take a rest from running. Later I dropped cycling as the pain was still persisting and not running was still not helping. 

Then my beautiful daughter arrived and I thought, in the new year I will seek out help and get this sorted. However disaster struck in January when my son fell awkwardly and broke is femur. How could I get myself fixed with chaos around me, so I soldiered on.  Thankfully by May my son was back on his feet and I got referred to see a specialist. Months of physiotherapy followed but still no improvements were being made and the pain pushed on relentless, not even with pain relief could I get any closure and my mood began to suffer. I'm sorry for that.

In the Summer of 2015, I had a MRI scan and Xray on my ankle and another specialist recognised the problem and advised that surgery would be required. I was shocked. For the first time in over a year I had an answer, and it was not in my head.  I tried a steroid injection to get me through to the next term, it worked amazingly but sadly it did not last. Taking time out for surgery and the subsequent recovery took some careful planning to fit in my day job as a school teacher.  But we got there, so on 16th November, I went under the knife with a skilled surgeon in Singapore. Which brings me to today. Half way through keeping it elevated not putting any weight through it. It is also the longest time possibly in my life that I have not been in the pool.

Which is why I took an usual step in having a tattoo. A tattoo with a name, the Bungai Terung. This was performed with the traditional hand tapped method. Living on the island of Borneo, I have always been interested and intrigued by the tribal culture of the people who live here. The tattoo I have had is from the Iban tribe of Sarawak, who traditionally have lived around water ways (their transport links) in buildings called Long Houses that home people closely together. They have also been called 'head hunters' due to an ancient tradition however this is no longer practised. The Bungai Terung is the first tattoo that young Iban men get and is there first step in becoming a warrior. After receiving the Bungai Terung, received in pairs across the front of the shoulders (where the straps of a back might go) they were ready to go out on their 'Berjalai' journeys.I was interested to learn the deep meaning behind it. On each shoulder  they make you stronger to carry your travelling pack, they give protection and the centre coil, the rope life to symbolise the transformation from tadpole to maturity.

Well after the year my family has had, I would welcome further protection. As for my 'Berjalai' I am working abroad to help improve the lives of my family. I am or was a fit athletic person, a swimmer, and a triathlete. Hence my journey is going to be getting back to fitness and beyond...

Thanks for reading, I might do another blog about the tattoo experience, which with the absence of any sporting adventures, might be what the doctor ordered? As for 2016, bring it on!

The four hour process was not dissimilar to many endurance events for both myself, Pemantang (tattooist) and Ten (the stretcher and assistance.)

Run 30 miles on the last day of being 30. April 1st 2012

I thought up this challenge for myself a while back, I also had the goal to try and get as fit as possible to compare being 31 with being 21.  The main advantage I have over my 21 year old self is my mental attitude - put bluntly, I'm stubborn. 

Previously, I would have said that it's strength and ignorance that get me through, but with age, I am trying to worker smarter and not just harder.  That started with nutrition and gear.  I took on the trip a back pack, carried 4.5litres of squash, 3 bagels, 2 bananas, a cream egg and some sweets! (I factored on 500ml of fluid per hour)

Weather was also a major factor, when I began, it was minus 1 degrees so I needed to dress appropriately, yet as the day progressed and warmed up, I had to ditch the clothing, the plan was that as I drank through my fluids, it would lighten up my pack and help as I tired, yet as it filled with discarded layers, it remained fairly heavy.

The large part of my route was away from roads and took advantage of the canal paths in the local area.  I found the following sites really useful; http://canalplan.eu/cgi-bin/canal.cgi and http://jwultra.org.uk/ which is a similar challenge.

I've got to say, I had a total blast and really enjoyed the day, although I had to dig deep between 17-22miles as that was when  I found it most difficult.  Now a day later, I've got the ache in my body that tells me that I did something awesome! The Miicoach app on my Blackberry made it so easy to track, luckily, the signal maintained for the whole journey and my battery survived the duration however it was flashing red at the finish!

I finished 30miles within 7 hours, I estimate that the total stoppage time for food and changing clothing was in excess of 1 hour yet the time was not the challenge here, it was to run 30miles on the last day of my 30th and that is what I did!  All 18stone1 (+my backpack) of me lasted the distance.  The only thing I forgot was the sun cream!!

Looking forward now, I need to continue to work on consistent training per week, (currently around 5hours), carry on building my confidence back on the bike and shed the weight that is giving you other athletes out there an unfair advantage over me!!  Knowle 5mile fun run in May and City of Birmingham Olympic Distance Triathlon in July.  My wife is also expecting our 1st child in May which should bring its very own 'secret training' into the mix!  Hoping to get some outdoor water time at Sandwell Valley Park lake from May onwards.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!  I'm 31, aching somewhat but buzzing!!
Matthew Hunt