Five Days to Go: Wind, Worries, and a Slipped Disc (Why Not?)

Five Days to Go: Wind, Worries, and a Slipped Disc (Why Not?)

Apparently, today wasn’t just another training day, it was the last training session before the big event. Five days to go. Oh my goodness. Terrifying. Exciting. Mostly terrifying.

Packing still hasn’t happened. (Of course.) But on the bright side, the car isn’t the shoebox I feared, so I may not have to sacrifice half my belongings for space after all. Cat will be relieved, she had visions of me trying to smuggle an entire race kit in a lunchbox. Speaking of kits, mine still hasn’t arrived. It was due today, but now it’s “tomorrow.” Nothing like cutting it fine, right?

Today’s training was supposed to be about mental preparation, a nice, confidence-building 35km. Instead, it turned into a battle with summer-holiday crowds, gale-force winds (easily 55 mph), and drivers who mistook me for a moving chicane. One actually clipped my elbow. Not exactly the zen mental boost I was going for. I called it quits at 25km before frustration swallowed the whole session.

At least I salvaged the day with a massage from Indy, who works miracles on my stubborn back. The catch? It seems my L4/L5 disc has prolapsed again. Just what I needed five days out. But here’s the thing: when you live with CRPS (the most painful condition known to humankind... fun fact), a slipped disc is, bizarrely, a bit of a side note. What would floor most people is just another irritation on top of an already sky-high pain scale. Silver linings, I guess?

Now I’ve got one full day at home before heading to London. I still don’t know the exact itinerary (cue anxiety), but I’m trying to roll with it. Fingers crossed the kit finally shows up tomorrow, the packing gets done, and I can start focusing on the exciting part, because despite the chaos, I am looking forward to it.

One way or another, the countdown is on. Five days to go.