Rehab Plan - Week 9 - Feb 26 to March 4

I have my first bike miles on the plan for this week. I put 3 miles in just to try and encourage me to get the turbo set up and to start a careful ramp up towards commuting in a couple of weeks time. After the quick checks I did on my road bike and turbo trainer on Saturday it is more likely that these 3 miles will come as a careful mountain bike loop of Dyce. 

The rest of the week is just a copy of the plan from the last couple of weeks. A full swim target and a bit of aqua-jogging. Weights and core to round out the week.

This should also be my last full week in the boot. I have been doing occasional time out of it already but from next Wednesday I should be completely out of it and on to physio. 


Targets - Run 0.2* miles, Bike 3.0 miles, Swim 3.0 miles.
*Including Aqua-jogging.

Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

Rehab Review - Week 8 - Feb 19 to 25

Another week where I arrive on Monday morning ahead of my end of week targets. I may have been a bit light on the targets so far but trying to keep myself from abusing the limits set by the Orthopods. 

Monday I planned to go to Inverurie for an aquarium-jogging session and then the club swim session. The whole set was built around kicking and wasn't adaptable to suit my ankle so I had to change to a swim at bucksburn instead. That also cost me the chance to do a pre-swim aqua-jogging session as the pool timetables don't fit.

I settled on a set of 400m reps. The intention being to get a decent chunk of distance in so that I could focus on shorter (and potentially faster) sessions through the week depending on fitting them around aqua-jogging. I did 6 reps, and then an easy 100m of breast stroke to cool down. Pace was pretty variable, a couple in 7:11, 7:13 felt good, but even those are 15-20 seconds down on this time last year. 

Tuesday I managed to fit in my missed aqua-jogging session and then went for a steady swim as well. Neither were particularly good sessions but kept the numbers ticking over. 

Wednesday was just aqua-jogging, but my longest session so far, and done as a reps session. 1-minute on, 1-minute off for 50 minutes. That was a brutal reality check for my aerobic fitness. Over the last few weeks I have worked on my basic fitness, rebuilding some muscles in my leg, and a bit of swim technique. I have done nothing specific on aerobic fitness and every minute of effort was a huge struggle. 

When I arrived home I went in search of my powerbreathe. It has been in a drawer pretty much since I got it. I don't like it, mostly because it is hard work but partly because I am never convinced it works. In the absence of other aerobic options at the minute, it can't do any harm. I then realised it could potentially do some harm as it has been in a drawer for a few years and potentially has things growing on it that are unique to medical science. So first up it got dunked in a bath of disinfectant and boiling water for an hour.  

Thursday was a double session of aqua-jogging and then a steady swim. I took both of them fairly easy and still ran out of gas long before the end. Thursdays seem to be too deep into the week on my current programme. Doing 10 sessions in 6 days is probably pushing it. 

Friday I had most of a rest day, but with weights and core in the evening just to clear them out from the weekend. 

Saturday I did my early swim before spending a chunk of the day catching Pokemon during their Dratini event. In the afternoon I had a look at setting up the bike on the turbo. It is not in great shape but more importantly there was no space in the garage to set it up. I abandoned any attempt to climb around in the mess and dig it out and decided just to stick with aqua-jogging and went to do another set of reps in the pool. 

Saturday totalled out at 13,026 steps. Over my 12,000 steps target for the first time since my break. 

Sunday morning I went to the pool, purely out of habit and because it was written on my diary. I did another steady 1,000m in 20 mins. At some point in March I am going to need to try and do a serious, and rested, 20-min test to gauge my swim fitness properly. It is fine churning out several of these steady 20min / 1,000m efforts each week while I am tired but I need to convince myself that I can shift that back to a 17min time before I seriously commit to Denmark. Even if I am going to struggle once I get out on the run, I at least want to be in the midst of the race rather than just dawdling round at the back for the sake of it.

My aqua-jogging numbers are already up this week so I decided to skip another session but I did keep the visit to McDonalds on the way home. Not hard to justify this week. I have upped all my numbers from last week and done over a mile of aqua-jogging and plenty of reps within that.

Skipping that session also gave me a chance to watch the wrap-up of the Winter Olympics and a lot of the Closing Ceremony and then to go to "I, Tonya" in the afternoon.

In the evening I did weights and core just for the numbers. I am doing a much better job of completing these this year. Partly because I am missing so many other 

My swimming binge since I have been allowed to get in the pool means my cumulative swim miles are already ahead of every previous year except 2017. I am gradually closing in even on that number. I spend so much time at Bucksburn Pool now that some of the pool staff have now stopped checking my membership card when I arrive and they just wave me through. 7 more visits this week probably added another unnecessary layer to that familiarity. 

I cleared 60,000 steps this week. Up 10% on last week. Still plenty of scope before I reach the 100k that I consider normal during normal commuting and training blocks.


Targets - Swim 3.0 miles, Bike 0 miles, Run 0.2* miles.
Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

Monday - Swim at bucksburn 2,500m in 55 mins. 

Tuesday - Aqua-jogging 40 mins ~460m.
Steady swim 1,000m in 20 mins.

Wednesday - Aqua-jogging 50 mins ~620m.

Thursday - Aqua-Jogging 30 mins ~300m.
Steady swim 550m in 12 mins.

Friday - Weights session.
Core session.

Saturday - Steady swim 1,000m in 20 mins. 
Aqua-jogging 50 mins ~640m.

Sunday - Steady swim 1,000m in 20 mins. 
Weights session.
Core session.


Actuals - Swim 3.8 miles (6,050 m). Bike 0 miles. Run 1.3* miles. 
2 short core, 2 short light weights and 0 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga.

Cumulative actual, (Cumulative target), [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 16.8, (11.2), [12.3], 
B 0.0, (0.0), [0.0],
R 3.0*, (0.4), [0.4].
Core      - 13, (10)
Weights - 13, (10)
Yoga      - 0, (0)

*Includes aqua-jogging.

Rehab Plan - Week 8 - Feb 19 to 25

Another exciting week of aqua-jogging and swimming as I wait for clearance to get back to running and cycling.

At the weekend I may set up the turbo trainer and spin out half an hour on the bike instead of one of my aqua-jogging sessions. That will be a last minute decision based on how my ankle feels and whether the my commuter / turbo bike is actually in a rideable condition after nearly 3 months in the garage. 

I also intend to start doing a bit of walking. Not a lot, maybe a lap of the park on days that I am not aqua-jogging to try keep the increases in my step count trending towards normality. 


Targets - Run 0.2* miles, Bike 0 miles, Swim 3.0 miles.
*Including Aqua-jogging.

Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

Rehab Review - Week 7 - Feb 12 to 18

Another week where I arrive on Monday morning ahead of all of the cumulative targets I have set for the end of the week. That should mean a relatively easy week, but it is also my first week of driving to the office on top of working. I was exhausted by the time I got home from work but I didn't get a chance for a nap before going to training. 

I went to the pool early so that I could do an aqua-jogging session before swimming. 

Tuesday I just went for another steady 20 minute swim. Without the pull buoy and tired from a tough Monday session is slightly slower, but I am still managing a fairly respectable pace despite the one legged turns and the lighter kicks. 

Wednesday I had a long day at work and a trip to the cinema. In training terms it goes down as a rest day but in reality was the most exhausting day of the week. Going back to full time next week is going to be hard work. 

Thursday evening I was exhausted from work but dragged myself to the pool for an aqua-jogging and swim double. Aqua-jogging went well, but I completely ran out of gas and only managed a 10-minute swim. 

Friday was a bit stressful as Mrs M's car failed it's MOT in such a spectacular way that it resulted in a one-way trip to car heaven. That meant another expensive weekend. It also made for a weekend of trudging round car showrooms so I decided to prepare by taking an unbooted half lap of the park to test my ankle. It was a bit stiff and achey, but definite progress and the limp reduced noticeably just within that kilometer of walking. That gives me the option to switch in and out of the boot a bit over the weekend to suit. 

I did my weights and core sessions in the evening, just to try and make the weekend a bit lighter. 

Saturday I did a set of swim reps in the morning before we spent a chunk of the day car shopping. In the afternoon I went back to the pool for 30 minutes of aqua-jogging. To give it a bit of variety I did harder efforts in one direction and slow recovery in the other. The novelty of aqua-jogging is starting to wear off now. 

Sunday I decided on a long steady swim in the morning and after a short refuel at McDonalds, back in for a 20 minute aqua-jog before lunch. 

Coupled to a weekend of car shopping it has been exhausting. 

Another solid week, but a shorter Monday and an almost non-existent Thursday meant that it did take all 5 trips to the pool together my swim miles in. 

53,000 steps this week. That has more than doubled since two weeks ago and 8,000 more than last week


Targets - Swim 3.0 miles, Bike 0 miles, Run 0.2* miles.
Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

Monday - Aqua-jogging ~300m in 21 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,550m in 48 mins. 

Tuesday - Swim at bucksburn 1,050m in 20 mins. 

Wednesday - Rest Day.

Thursday - Aqua-jogging ~500m in 41 mins.
Swim at bucksburn 500m in 10 mins.

Friday - Weights session.
Core session.

Saturday - Swim at bucksburn 1,200m in 27 mins. 
Aqua-jogging reps ~400m in 30 mins.
Weights session.
Core session.

Sunday - Swim at bucksburn 1,500m in 30 mins. 
Aqua-jogging reps ~240m in 20 mins.


Actuals - Swim 3.6 miles (5,850 m). Bike 0 miles. Run 0.9* miles. 
2 short core, 2 short light weights and 0 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga.

Cumulative actual, (Cumulative target), [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 13.0, (8.2), [9.0], 
B 0.0, (0.0), [0.0],
R 1.7*, (0.2), [0.2].
Core      - 11, (8)
Weights - 11, (8)
Yoga      - 0, (0)

*Includes aqua-jogging.

Rehab Plan - Week 7 - Feb 12 to 18

Officially counting myself as being into the rehab phase now that I am putting in almost full amounts of training hours.

I am up to my full swim distances now from my original pre-injury draft plan. I am about 10-15 secs/100m down on the pace from this time last year, but a lot of that is coming from careful turns and a still very careful kick. 

I am going to count the aqua-jogging distances as straight run miles. That probably isn't a fair way to measure the distance, as the time and effort is significantly higher but it is simple. 

I am not going to get on the turbo yet. I think I probably could manage something gentle, but the risk vs value is probably still not quite right. Also I have no idea what state my winter / turbo bike is in after 2 winter months in the garage and I don't even know if I can get into my cycling shoes over the still slightly swollen ankle. Maybe next week or the week after I will try a short exercise bike ride at the work gym and take it from there. I am in no huge rush to get on the bike for its own sake this year, but it will be a useful tool for rebuilding the lost muscles and aerobic fitness while minimising risk.

This week I add commute driving to each workday, so rather than getting 30 minutes each way of chilling in the car, or even having a nap while Mrs M acts as chauffeur, I have to pay attention and make my way through Aberdeen traffic twice a day. I expect that to slow me down a bit as it is a big addition of effort. I am still on reduced work days this week, but 6 hours plus driving both ways is still likely to lead to me dropping a couple of session through the week in favour of evening naps.


Targets - Run 0.3* miles, Bike 0 miles, Swim 3.0 miles.
*Including Aqua-jogging.

Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

(Training) Review - Week 6 - Feb 5 to 11

Starting the week already ahead of my end of week swim target makes this quite an easy week to come out happy with the numbers. But that was never going to be the measure of success for this week. It was all about what the Consultant said at my fracture clinic appointment on Wednesday morning.

Monday was my first time back at a Club session. I shifted down a lane. There was a bit more space and it gave me options ovary my pace if required without interfering with anyone else. I also still have to do the whole set with a pull-buoy, but that worked out fine as it was an arms-only set for everyone else as well.

Tuesday I went to bucksburn for another 20 minute steady swim. 

Wednesday started with a trip to the fracture clinic. 7 weeks since the break, 6 since the surgery. Big update from the fracture clinic. Only 4 more weeks in the boot, but I can lose the crutches and start to walk around on it. Also I didn't specifically ask, but I have taken that as permission to go aqua-jogging based on the loading being no worse for one than the other. 

Aquajogging is not the mind-numbingly boring activity I was promised. At least not if you do it during a public swim session where you have to dodge all of the other patrons, (I won't say swimmers because that only covers a small fraction of the pool users during the public session). I did 23 widths of traffic dodging in 20 minutes. It took me a while to get the hang of it but by the end I was definitely getting some effect from it.  

Thursday is 22 weeks to World Champs. And that reminder pushed me to try my first double session of the year. Thursday's lane session follows on from a standard public session so I can aqua-jog in one and then swim in the other. I had planned 20 minutes of each but arrived at the pool slightly early and managed to do 30mins of aqua-jogging and then a 20-minute swim. I think I have the aqua-jogging sussed now. There are obvious ways to cheat it, which come in handy for little bursts of speed and avoiding traffic but obviously reduce the effectiveness. 

For the swim this was the first time I didn't use the pull buoy. I was very careful to only do a light and slow kick to try and help my body position rather than for propulsion, and I am still only doing one-legged turns. This (and the surprisingly heavy arms from aqua-jogging) meant I was actually slightly slower than the last few pull buoy sessions, but I am still really happy with managing a double session and definite progress. 

Friday I had planned another aqua-jogging trip in the afternoon but my day was hijacked by Mrs M smashing her phone and needing to shop for a replacement. 

Saturday I did a set of 100m swim reps in the morning. they are about 10 seconds each down on this time last year. I think most of that is from still being careful in turns but there is probably still a little that is from not kicking properly. In the afternoon I went back to the pool to do a 30 minute aqua-jogging session. That is definitely working, my right leg feels like I have run a marathon on it. 

Sunday morning I went for a steady 25 minute swim session, then a break for a McDonalds breakfast and to do some work, then back in to the pool again for another 25 minutes of aqua-jogging. I was shattered for both sessions and I have probably just done a little bit too much this week for my current fitness levels. Ankle seems to be coping well with the aqua-jogging though.

I rounded out my week with core and weights sessions in the evening.

I will have 18 weeks from finally removing the boot to ITU Denmark, but I am going to start the official rehab clock now that I am aqua-jogging. So from now I am going to call it 8 weeks of rehab (4 in the boot, 4 out of boot) then 7 weeks of fitness and 7 weeks of speed. I am going to go and build my plan for the year on that basis. 




Targets - Swim 2.7 miles, Bike 0 miles, Run 0.0 miles.
Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

Monday - Swim with TPT 1,650m in 45 mins. 

Tuesday - Swim at bucksburn 1,050m in 20 mins.

Wednesday - Rest day.  Aqua-jogging 20 mins (~230m).

Thursday - Aqua-jogging 30 mins. (~390m)
Swim at bucksburn 950m in 29 mins.

Friday - Rest Day.

Saturday - Swim at bucksburn 1,500m in 36 mins.
Aqua-jogging 30 mins. (~400m)
Core session.
Weights session.

Sunday - Swim at bucksburn 1,150m in 25 mins.
Aqua-jogging 25 mins (~300m).
Weights session.
Core session.

Actuals - Swim 3.9 miles (6,300 m). Bike 0 miles. Run 0.8* miles. 
0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga.

Cumulative actual, (Cumulative target), [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 9.4, (5.2), [5.7], 
B 0.0, (0.0), [0.0],
R 0.8*, (0.0), [0.0].
Core      - 9, (6)
Weights - 9, (6)
Yoga      - 0, (0)

*Includes aqua-jogging.

(Training) Plan - Week 6 - Feb 5 to 11

I am back at the fracture clinic again on Wednesday for my 7 week review. Hopefully I can get some progress towards walking and aqua-jogging as I have the less paranoid conservative of the Consultants this week. I also have major progress on ankle mobility and reduction in swelling.

I expected to be just getting back to swimming normally by this point on my phased return to training, so this week is built on the assumption of 3 full distance swim sessions. I will probably try and get to 5 again but that depends on what else I am allowed to do. 

I have assumed that I still wont be allowed to turbo, aqua-jog or do any physio yet so I have left them all at zero. 


Targets - Run 0 miles, Bike 0 miles, Swim 2.7 miles.
Stretching session x0, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

(Training) Review - Week 5 - Jan 29 to Feb 4

Monday at work was a tough day and I was shattered in the afternoon. I went to the pool in the evening with a plan to do a steady swim but traded that for a set of 200m reps to fit around the other swimmers. 

Tuesday I was exhausted again when I got home but I dragged myself to the pool again in the evening. I managed another steady swim, slightly quicker again than previous sessions. Through 1,000m by 20mins and on through 1,500m in just under 30 mins. 

Wednesday there isn't a suitable lane session at bucksburn and travelling any farther than that is still out. So I had a rest day.

Thursday I had my toughest day at work so far. I was in for a full 5 hours and I had the HSE in for a pipelines audit in the afternoon. While the meeting went well, it was draining and I almost fell asleep in the car as Mrs M drove me home. After a few hours rest and a nap on the sofa I went for a swim as planned. Still arms-only with a pull buoy for the entire session, but I did change it from just grinding out distance to a structured set of 10 x 100m reps starting every 2:25, (was meant to be 2:30 but the traffic was easier to miss by cutting the 5 seconds) and I added in some very slow and careful one-legged tumble turns.

Friday at work was easier but I was still exhausted by the time I got home. In the evening I was planning to do core and weights sessions. I had to settle for just the core work and even that was a struggle. 

Saturday morning I went to the pool to do a steady 20 minutes of arms-only with the pull buoy again, but this time with tighter tumble turns. Still only pushing off with one leg but making a big difference to how comfortable I am in the water. I covered 1,075m in 20 minutes. That is still 100m down on what I was doing this time last year with a full kick and proper turns, but is actually pretty comforting. It should put me under 20 minutes for a wet suit 1km swim which would be enough to save me from embarrassment at the Worlds, and I still have nearly 6 months to improve that.

Sunday I dragged myself to the pool again in the morning. Arms-only with the pull buoy is getting very boring but now that I am back on one-legged tumble turns it is slightly faster and a little bit less frustrating. I had planned a pyramid of reps but was too asleep to count properly. 

In the evening I did my second core and weights sessions for the week. 

Ankle inversion / eversion has improved massively this week. While there is still some ankle swelling and the surgical scars are still not healed, my ankle mobility is improving daily. I know I have been impatient throughout but it is getting really frustrating now that I am pain free and have most of my unloaded mobility but am still not allowed to put weight on it or start learning to walk again. 

Smashing through my swim targets. No real surprise there as I put in 5 swims rather than the planned 2 or 3. 


Targets - Swim 1.9 miles, Bike 0 miles, Run 0 miles.
Stretching session x1, Core session x2, Weights session x2.

Monday - Swim at bucksburn 1,000m in 25 mins. 

Tuesday - Swim at bucksburn 1,500m in 30 mins.

Wednesday - Rest day.

Thursday - Swim at bucksburn 1,000m in 24 mins.

Friday - Core session.

Saturday - Swim at bucksburn 1,100m in 20 mins.
Weights session.

Sunday - Swim at bucksburn 1,000m in 23 mins.
Weights session.
Core session.

Actuals - Swim 3.5 miles (5,600 m). Bike 0 miles. Run 0 miles. 
2 short core, 2 short light weights and 0 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga.

Cumulative actual, (Cumulative target), [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 5.5, (2.5), [2.8], 
B 0.0, (0.0), [0.0],
R 0.0, (0.0), [0.0].
Core      - 7, (4)
Weights - 7, (4)
Yoga      - 0, (0)