32 / / June 2019TRIATHLONNEARLYKILLEDME
Myrelationshipwithtriathlonhas
beenbumpytosaytheleast,asit
nearlykilledme.DuringIronman
70.3Dubai 2017 I fellduringthe
bikeleg,plungingfacefirstintothe
tarmacatapproximately30mph.I
hada concussion,memorylossfor
a fullday,andfivefracturesinthe
bonesofmyface.I finishedthebike
legbutwasforcedtostopduring
therun,whena friendsawme
coveredinbloodandapparentlya
bitincoherent(allthisaftera
remarkablycoordinatedT2,whichI
havenorecollectionof).
I wasfeedingmyselfthrougha
strawforoneweek,it wasa full
monthbeforeI couldbiteanapple,
andI livedwithriskofsuddendeath
for a month due to my concussion.
I was lost, defeated, shattered. I
had prepared for that race like a
mad dog and had been wrapped up
in this idea of winning. I was a crazy
focused and driven guy. Despite this
obvious and utter defeat, I felt
lucky. I could have died.
I am the luckiest man alive
because I now see what a gift we’ve
been given. The accident forced me
to identify a dimension of my own
self where there are no fights, no
debate, no intolerance for others
or for myself. A space for which
the building blocks are only love,
gratitude and compassion. True
self-confidence is never built onwinning, but on this awareness
of one’s self-worth. And then and
only then can you truly become
fearless and formidable.
I know I’m an idiot who will
slowly spin in the same hamster
wheel. I know this is unavoidable
but I hope I will remember that, for
a short period of time, I was able to
see just how amazing life is.
Mihai Guia, RomaniaSAFE BLOOD DONATION
I can relate to Lynden’s experience
of giving blood [FAO 220 , issue 363],
and have had the same problem
returning to training. But I now give
platelets instead. These are
urgently needed and the process
is similar to giving blood. The
difference is that the equipment
removes your platelets and returns
the rest of the blood into your body.
This means there’s no loss of
energy – I’m able to cycle home
afterwards and run the next day.
Dave PitcherDISC WHEEL QUERY
In a recent feature by Janine
Doggett, ‘Are deep-section racewheelsalwaysa goodchoiceforrace
day?’,shestatesthat“British
age-grouptriathlon,forexample,
banstheuseofdiscwheelsatall
events– thoughdeep-section
wheelsareallowed.”Areyousure
that’sthecase?I knowthatdiscs
are banned for draft-legal events
but I am sure they are fine for
non-drafting, unless the event
organiser considers them to be too
dangerous due to wind conditions.
Robert Harrison220 replies: You are indeed correct,
Robert. Apologies for the mistake.
British Triathlon rules state: “For
age-group draft-legal races, wheels
must have the following characteristics:
wheels shall have at least 12 spokes;
disc wheels are not allowed. For all
draft-illegal competitions, covers are
allowed on the rear wheel. However,
this provision may be changed by the
event organiser in the interest of safety,
i.e. high winds.”TIME-CRUNCHED TRAINING
I’ve just been reading your article
Time Crunched Triathlon [issue
364]. I’m signed up for my first
sprint triathlon in June, and as a
husband, father of three kids under
10, and working 42 hours a week,
I know planning is important. So
I spoke to my employer and they
were more than happy to flex my
lunch breaks to 2 x 30mins and
3 x 80mins, so I fit in three better
sessions. I’d like to cycle to work
more but the door-to-door time
would increase too much and have
a negative effect on family life and
overall training!
Allan Wallstar
letter“True self-
confidence is
never built
on winning,
but on this
awareness of
one’s self-worth”
Your emails
& pictures
FA0
220
Got an opinion
to share? Then
email us at fao220
@220triathlon.comReader Mihai Guia
on the bike leg of 70.3
Dubai in 2017. He fell
face first at 30mph but
still continued on to
the run. He eventually
pulled out with severe
concussion and
now counts himself
very luckyWRITE
IN AND
STAR
LETTER
WINS A
MAURTEN
FUEL BUNDLE
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