Haven't had too much to say !!

So that's why I haven't blogged in a while. I can't remember when it was the last time since I put a TIMELY post in, so I'll give you all the short version of what has happened (chronologically) since Christmas.
X-Mas day - Spent down in Gippsland with the whole family together again for the first time in well........... 5 months. Always good to catch up with them all.
Boxing Day - Drove to Jindabyne via Buchan, Suggan Buggan, over the Snowy river, around near the back of Kosciuszko then Jindabyne. A dirt road that has the most spectacular views of the Snowy River and the Snowy mountains. The next 8 or so days were spent chilling out in Jindabyne, not far from Cooma where I grew up as a kid/teenager, it's sort of my 'spiritual home'. We had a great time with 'Team Lewis' and Jill, Sean and kids, the weather was great and I rode the bike heaps. Rode from Jindy to Thredbo, Perisher, Charlottes Pass all on various occaisons. I hope to add some more details on those rides later.
Quinny - Started back up post Xmas albeit for a few sessions before going in for an op.
Alpine Classic - Rode the 140km ride which was Bright/Tawonga Gap/Bright/Mt Buffalo/ Bright. Did this with good mates Grechy & 'The Gaz' and had a ball. The hip gave me no grief at all, the weather was great and our 'Team' of riders took up nearly 1/4 of the caravan park!
Metal removal !! - Went in for an op on the 3rd Feb to get the 3 monster 110mm long screws taken out of my once sheared femoral neck (femur where it kinks to go up towards your hip socket). I was on crutches for a week and in a touch of pain. Again limited amount of painkillers used, it wasn't that painful compared to the last hour of an Ironman (hehehehehe).
Quinny - again - Back with the GURU. He even took Matty E, JB, Mike C, The Gaz and I for a killer water session the Monday before the Grand Prix. We all know that JB won in Melbourne and Quinny will no doubt put this down to his killer hypoxic workout that nearly drowned myself & the F1 World Champ !!!
Back on the bike, again 5 weeks after the hip op I was given the green light to ride again. No specific goals at hand, just get the hip used to moving without binding up too much. It was great to be back on it.
Ironman Oz, Port Macquarie 2010 - This time as a spectator. Again we stayed at the Sundowner Caravan Pk. 'Team Lewis' also flew up for 5 or so days and it was on !! Fair dinkum it was like an end of season footy trip. I haven't drank that much sice the last West Brunswick Amateur FC EoS trip to the Gold Coast last century, 1999 from memory. I've been told that I'm not allowed to support anymore as I'm too over the top. Nothing to do with the slab of Draught and all the Bundy that Stevo and I drank. It was great to watch the event 'from the other side'. I felt like a prophet at times with people asking me what would be happening next and what would be going through peoples minds throughout different parts of the race etc. My answers were truthful at the start of the day but no doubt would have been sprinkled with a touch of poetic licence as the day wore on and the esky got emptier. Great holiday though with great weather (again) and one which Marie and the kids truely enjoyed.
We bought and sold a house - Our humble little home of 11 years was great before the kids hit their teenage years. Having sprawling lounging spider monkey like teenagers getting in your way is now par for course in the 'Lewis Manor'. A bigger place was needed, found & purchased. The ensuing scramble to get the 'Manor' up to speed was pretty comical. In the end all worked out well and we are still over the moon with the price we got.
Serious plans - serious actions - I passed my next 12 month Sporting plans onto Quinny for his appraisal. I got the double thumbs up from the Guru, so then put those plans into action and as Borat would say - "Great success"

My training is going quite well with a few smaller goals in place before a few half Ironman races towards the end of the year, then Off to Ironman Oz 2011.
I placed 2nd (out of 118) overall in the Northern Combine Alf Kimpton Memorial Handicap which was a 99km road race in Broadford. I raced in C grade but ended up breaking away with the eventual winner. We solo'ed off and I got beaten in a sprint between the two of us by a wheel. I'm by no means disappointed as this far exceeds my expectations and to get home well before the A & B graders made it all the more special. Check the results here -
Next race - My next race is this weekend at Calder park as part of the 'teams challenge'. Hoping to get around and have as much fun as i did in Broadford.

Until next time, train hard, train safe.

Check This !!

A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step !!

Back in December last year I dropped by RMH for one of my regular appointments with my Orthopaedic Surgeon. It was hopefully one of my last appointments, my hip got scanned and during my consultation with Dr. Love, he muttered the words that I've been hanging out to hear for a long time - "It's all good, you're right to run"............. So run I did. I took a photo of my first 'running steps' on the beach in Lakes Entrance later that day. It felt awkward, it felt strange. It didn't feel the way I remembered it - effortless, loping, whisking along at a quick pace with my 'chicken wing' arms sticking out. My gait and stride length was cautious, my core even though the strongest it has ever been felt inadequate. All this for just over 30 metres in loose sand.
The emotional feeling though was one of the strongest I have ever felt. I had been waiting for that moment for such a long time, I have been through a lot - from near death, to a hospital bed for a month, a wheel chair for 6 weeks then on crutches for another 2 months. To be able to do what is probably one of the greatest gifts given to me and do it after some professionals predicted that I wouldn't was a feeling of sheer exultance. It wasn't as if I was saying 'stuff you' to them, it was the fact that I was doing something that I have done all my life and to have that taken away from you with no set certainty of getting it back has been at the back of my mind since the crash. Free as a bird, and yep - I teared up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Train safe, Matty

I'm back - well not quite

My first 'race' back since Ironman Oz 09 and although it wasn't the the full '3 legs' it was still racing for which you had to train and prepare for. Shepparton 1/2 Ironman signalled the start of my 'comeback' to triathlon and racing. Not long after this I backed up with 2 legs of the Canberra 1/2 Ironman - the swim and ride. Again a steady progression back to what I truely love doing.
I was always going to race Shep i just had to assemble a team. My neighbours and all round good guys Anthony & his son Patrick helped out and formed the 'Rough Diamonds'.
We had a few hiccups along the way. So many in fact that we nearly didn't get to the start line, Patrick is under age so we had to do a 'dodgy' on his birth date, then Anthony, on the debut ride on his Mega quick Carbon Fibre track bike got his front wheel taken from under him at the DISC indoor velodrome track in Thornbury. Usually falling on an indoor wooden track means only burns & splinters but he fell low side and subsequently broke his collarbone - 6 weeks out from the race! It all came together well and the team ended up finishing the race in 5hrs12mins08secs, finishing 21/48 in the teams section. My swim time was a very leisurely 37:20 while the winged warrior Anthony rode a blistering 2:34:46 on a road bike, his time also included my walk to T1 as I can't run yet!! Patrick finished off well in the heat of the day with a 2:00:01 run.
Onto mid December and it was up to Canberra with Gary 'The Gaz' Pertot and myself to stay with a good mate 'The Legend'. Ledge as he is affectionately known is a great mate who I have known since I was 16 and have lived together in various different batchelor pads all over the inner city area. He now subsides up in Canberra where he works as a policy adviser for the government. It's always a trap going up to see Ledge as he is known for his love of an ale and a late night so you have to be ultra disciplined if you are going to be serious about your race. This was the 5th time I've been up to Canberra for the 1/2 so what better time to rake Ledge into a race than now. I asked him at the start of November if he'd be keen on doing the run leg of the race, with myself doing the swim & bike combo. No worries he said so it was job done.
Only 4 stubbies and a Subway foot long tuna & salad roll on Saturday night was part of the carbo load then it was onto race morning. The Gaz & I started off in the last wave, 30mins behind the pro's so there was a lot of swanning time to be had. It turned out to be good as there was a good bit of time to warm up in the water. The swim went off without a hitch in the vile waters of Lake Burley Griffin. The lake stank like dead cows in a few spots & didn't taste much better, still I swam well (for me) and ended up plodding out a 36:28. The walk to T1 took forever, and that combined with getting my road riding shoes and socks on added probably another 5 mins to my ride time. The ride was probably one of my greatest. Sure it wasn't the quickest but I was consistent, attacked the hills hard, even passed Jason Shortis & Sam Hume on the 2nd lap going through the hills (they were about 10km/h faster on the flats!!). I simply road hard all 3 laps, the looks on peoples faces as I passed them on their TT machines with deep dish carbon wheels etc. was priceless. I rode Top 50 overall and 4th in the Team category, ending up with a 2hr 42min 44sec ride. Legend finished off the race with a 1hr 53min half mara. Afterwards was great with takeaway Turkish pizza’a and plenty of Boags being consumed. The Gaz and I left Canberra on the Monday morning and headed home after a great weekend in the nations capital.

Give so the Mo may GROW !!

OK, OK, I know - it's whispy, patchy, insipid, a poor excuse, it makes me laugh, how can I take you seriously? etc. etc.
Well now its time for you all to help me out. As you can see I'm well past the half way point of Movember. The donations are coming in nicely at the MOment, BUT, I really want to bolt home with this. Help me out by donating to the Mo cause at my Movember page below
Remember, Donations above $2 are tax deductible.

Thanks and SHOW ME THE MONEY !!!

http://au.movember.com/mospace/344158/
Please cut and paste as I can't get the link to work.

I'm back.........

In more ways than 1 ! I know I've been real slack and haven't posted for a while, it's due to a few things (work) and the other major thing - THE BIKE.



This pic was taken on my first 'spin' back on the bike on 14th July, 3 months after the accident. Since then things have progressed slowly from 15 minute light spins to full 3 hour cruises with the Rapido training crew with itermittent bursts of speed and pulls on the front which are now increasing in duration. My best ride to date was over the Cup weekend where usual training pals Gary, Rob and Phelpsy came out to play on a beautiful mild, calm Saturday morning ride to Mordialloc and back. Average speed was 33.2km/h with the HR at a very pleasing 142 bpm average. I'm happy with that HR as running is still STRICTLY off the cards and relative fitness is hard to come by. Again my Dr's seem to be giving me mixed messages with my running, but as guru Quinny keeps telling me, it's just around the corner.
As for the guru - John Quinn, the man is a marvel. Everything he does and lays out in front of me is 100% measured, and as happened at last Friday's session when I was a bit sore in the groin, his contingency plans are also meticulously planned. The ongoing strengthening and core work he has me doing is not only getting me back to where I was, but I believe it will make me a stronger athlete once I have fully recovered.



This is pretty much the condition I was in when I started with Quinny, and now I believe I have the strongest core I've ever had. When my Femur has fully recovered I will be able to train and race a lot harder, there's a few races in a couple of years time that I have set aside as 'A' races where I seriously want to challenge my Ironman PB. Watch this space.

Until that time I will stick with my measured return but with a few extras thrown in. One extra is I'll be racing (swim leg only for me!)at the Shepparton 1/2 Ironman in the teams event with a few of my neighbours and top mates, Anthony Grech and his young fella Patrick. We're called the 'Rough Diamonds' due the fact that I'm coming back off a big crash, and just after I asked Anthony to 'do Shep' he crashed his brand new (yes, only done a few laps) carbon fibre track bike and broke his collarbone, this happened 6 weeks out from Shep. He's back on the bike now and riding well so he'll get through the 90km's no doubt. His young fella Patrick will do the run for us and he'll anchor us really well. He's run the City to Surf in well under an hour so that should translate into a good 1/2 marathon time for him.
I'm also going to head up to the Canberra 1/2 IM for another teams event. I'll keep you all posted on that, I'm hoping Canberra turns the weather on for that one as the last 2 I've done there has been shocking.

I'll leave it there, it's getting late and I'll be up early to take on the Rapido boys so I have to be pretty sharp.

Until then Train hard, train smart.
Matty

It's a long way too the top............

When you've got some broken bones........... My favourite song, not quite those lyrics but you know what I mean, the retro afficionado's will no doubt remember that this great song (A long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n roll - AC/DC)also has one of the simplest and greatest film clips ever - jammin' on a flat top truck croozin' down Swanston St. Melbourne, Bon Scott growling his lungs out, the Young brothers ripping fingernails off on their guitars and the Rats of Tobruk pipeband duelling the guitars with their bagpipes - it all made for an absolute classic.

My journey back to the top starts. It sounds a bit of a toss - 'back to the top', truely I never got there (top) in terms of results, but to me 'back to the top' is simply about me being in good enough physical shape to take on whatever task I want to apply myself too. I've stated in a previous post what my goals are and nothing has changed. What has changed a lot, though, is my body shape, it has reverted back to my pre triathlon shape (read: footballer or even better - attacking half back flanker!!), being very top heavy or thick chested and skinny legged. This is no doubt due to doing a stack of upper body weights and not much in the way of leg weights. This will hopefully turn around soon as I start putting more power through my legs. I've increased my riding up to 30 minutes a session which is once a day with spinning currently done in a 39/17 gear for a 'power set'. The gearing and time will no doubt increase until I'm back on the roads in early September.

Getting me ready of course is being left to the expert. John Quinn has been putting me through the wringer with some pretty tough and thorough workouts in the pool. It's amazing what a difference a true professional makes. His exercises are all very structured, with one drill complimenting the next drill until every part of my body aches and I can't take much more, then he pushes me a little further. A great part of my rehab is being able to do it with an elite AFL footballer who is also going through some trials of his own. Matty Egan plays for Geelong and has several honours next to his name such as being a member of the '07 AFL team of the year (All Australian team). He's a great bloke who has been struggling with a navicular (bone in the middle of the foot) problem and has turned to Quinny to try to get him ironed out for another tilt at playing footy. We're working together using a medicine ball in the water and various other exercises, some of which are semi competitive. It's hard work being put up against someone who has played at the highest level whose competitive nature really shines in the one on one stuff, but it does, and will, get me to the next level even quicker.
Before you start questioning my sanity with a medicine ball in the pool, the answer is yes! We are doing it. It really and I mean really puts a tremendous load on your core muscles when you have someone throwing a heavy ball at your scone, catching it, then throwing it back quickly before moving to the next post ready for the cycle to begin again. A full lap of the 25m VUT pool doing that and it is nearly time to bring the breakfast up ! I'll add some photo's in soon of rehab and me doing some drills with Quinny and that will hopefully better explain what I'm doing.

As for me, things are going great. Work is getting busier and I'm really enjoying working on a few personal goals I've set myself. Walking is easier although I'm still limited with distances ie: if I have to walk over 50 metres, use the crutches! All walking around home, the pool, gym etc. is done 'freestyle'. I'm enjoying weight lifting and have gone from struggling to bench press 15 kg's 2 months ago to benching 3 x 8 reps @ 60kg's just a few weeks back. I've done a few 1MaxRep tests where I was benching my body weight (80kg's), but as mentioned this will really taper off now as cycling places more emphasis on my legs.
I feel great, hugely positive and really can't wait to get back on the road and start working at getting closer to the goals I set myself.

Until next time, train hard, smart and safely,
Matty

Goals, Goals, Goals !!

There's light at the end of the tunnel :-)
It's all good news. Since my last blog where I received the dim news on not being able to run for 18 months, it's just been a matter of wrapping my mind around it, finding alternatives and getting on with healing. My rehab is coming along really well. Although I'm still on crutches, I'm gradually putting a little more weight on my right leg getting it ready for walking which will hopefully happen within the next 2 weeks. My rehab is consisting of hydrotherapy x 3 mornings a week, swimming 3 times and weights/gym/stretching 3 times a week. This is all about to change as I've just hooked up with a new physio - more about that later.
Currently my Hydrotherapy is being done as an outpatient at Royal Melbourne, Parkville. The facilities there are pretty good but the program that has been done for myself has not been altered since I started Hydro 7 weeks ago. So what I have done to combat this is start doing the exercises on my program as interval training ! I do lengthy periods of 'cycling motion' in the water which started off as light at the program's beginning, but have now turned into solid 5 minute efforts with recovery time before another effort. I usually pyramid this and lift the intensity as the time decreases. The Physio's, let alone the patients were a little bemused by all this but most are tolerant and undestand what/why I'm doing it. Swimming has been going OK, but not great. Despite doing a combination of freestyle & backstroke for up to 1600m (gotta break the mile now!) and kickboarding as well for increased leg strength, my body still doesn't feel right. My reach in the water is not where it used to be as my back and shoulders have lost a great deal of flexibility. Weight training is going well, I'm using the St. Bernards gym and have devised a high rep/low weight program to get the upper body back to its usual shape. I can't do any weight bearing exercise on my right leg, so I stay away from any leg work as there is a massive amount of imbalance happening down there at the moment - this is an area best left to the experts.
Speaking of experts, I mentioned I have a new physio. John Quinn will be taking on the challenge to get me back and raring to go. Check him here: http://www.johnquinn.net.au/blog/
John is an amazing fella, having spoken to him a few times he has really got me looking a lot more positively at my sporting future. He has worked with a lot of Australia's elite - Cathy Freeman, Daniel Kowalski, Team coach for the Australian Sydney 2000 Olympic Track & Field squad, head conditioning coach for the Socceroo's, strength & conditioning coach with an ICL (Indian Cricket League) team and Essendon Footy club, where he was High Performance & Training services manager. He will devise a program that will include physio, massage, stretching, strengthening and even dabbling into pilates/yoga as well. His approach is very thorough as I've already had to record my long & short term goals and send off some training info (Polar HRM graphs) of where I was at the start of a training block (IMOz '09), progressing all the way through to taper and race day of that training block. He works on existing benchmarks so actual progress made is 100% relevant to me and my ability. My short & long term goals are listed below -

DATE/TIME FRAME
GOALS
13/07/2009
Appointment with Dr. Love at RMH. XRay of R. Hip to be taken on Friday 10/07.
Mid June - Mid August
Exercise & build up legs so that walking is effortless. Ride on stationary bike at low wattage, slowly increasing mileage over time.
Sep-09
Build up to 2 hr's road riding
Late Oct - early Nov
Bunch ride - 3hrs at back of pack (lower HR)
Late December
3 hrs. Solid paced ride - >32km/h in good conditions (nil wind etc)
January 24th 2010
Alpine Classic 140km ride - Bright/Tawonga Gap/Mt Beauty/Tawonga Gap/ Bright/Mt. Buffalo/Bright. Social pace.
Feb 2010
Build up 5-6 hrs riding
7/03/2010
Alpine Attack 230 kms. Competitive pace dependant on how body is.
June 2010
Northern Combine 3 day tour - hopefully racing A or B grade.
Oct 2010
Melbourne to Warrnambool.
Dec 2010
IronMan Western Australia - Busselton.

I'll keep you all posted as to how I'm progressing over time, hopefully all going well I'll be riding with you all out on the road soon !!

Until then, Train hard, Train safe!
Matty

Some good, some bad

The title best describes my visit to my Orthopaedic surgeon today. I had an AM appointment with Dr. Love and all is going well, but he muttered a few words that drove a knife into my heart - no running for 18 months, shit :-( I don't know how best to take this, I am gutted. It's a sport that I love and have excelled in since primary school. It has also been part of my de-frag time, I love going out and churning out a 1 to 1.5 hour run when things aren't going right, quite often I'll come back and things are so much clearer. The thing I really hate and I'm getting sick of is "It's only a short part of your life, stuff it up now (next 18 mths) and you'll stuff up the rest of your life". I just wish I never crashed, it wasn't even a fair dinkum training ride for fucks sake. But I have to look at the positives. I'll hopefully be able to walk unaided in 6 weeks. I'm no longer in the wheelchair, but will be on crutches until that time. I will hopefully be able to ride my bike on the windtrainer at the end of that period as well - fingers crossed.
Other positives to come out of the appointment were that my hip joint looks good. Everything is alive and well. I'm still not out of the danger period though. There is still a slight chance that my hip may, for no known reason, just reject what work has been done on it and die. There is a 10% chance of this happening, it was 20% 6 weeks ago. A total hip replacement is the last thing on this earth that I want.
All my other injuries are going great, my clavicle is painless although I have some tricep and deltoid damage which is a bit painful. My skull is still numb all over but the 'sore bone' feeling has gone but chewing is still a slight drama, my rib has healed and I could easily have forgotten about my blood clots if it weren't for my daily dose of Warfarin.

I'm not enjoying typing this much, I was going to put up a few of my sporting goals for the next 2 years but I'll hold off for a few days. Until then -

Train safe, train hard
Matty

Photo Time - post crash hospital

I'm not too sure about putting these photo's up as it sits a little bit uneasily with me. I don't want to become a freak show or for people who didn't see me in hospital to have a fit after seeing them as I was pretty crook when a lot of them were taken. The worst photo's will never see the light of day so what you are seeing here is the M rated version or the before 8:30pm time slot images.


This was taken 9 days after the crash. There's some pretty series heavy metal happening, that coupled with the dark rings under my eyes had Tilly & Tom calling me 'The Goth'........................

This one was taken 14 days after. I had the full lower half compression gear on as a blood clot had moved from my hip area into my lungs and these were put on as a bit of preventative maintenance. I only just realised looking at it that the right hand side of my head is still quite swollen.

Sporting one of the greatest comb-over hair styles in triathlon, my winter weight loss regime got off to a solid start. Meggie was suitably impressed about my dedication to the cause !!

Unfortunately the rest of the family thought the comb-over was a joke and I was ordered to get a buzz cut. And as for the weight loss regime, that has been scrapped in favour of an off season high fat full taste diet !!

Finally, here I am enjoying myself in the water for once ! It's a great feeling actually getting in the water and having a splash around (physio). Being confined to a wheelchair is not a lot of fun. Even worse than the normal disabled obstacles that are thrown at you in your normal daily tasks is the feeling of sitting around when I know I can physically move about without much pain. But, I know these 2 months are absolutely critical in that any weight bearing on my leg can have huge ramifications down the track and will increase my chances of a hip replacement. Having done a bit of my physio with a fella in his late 40's who has had a hip replacement, this is definitely not an option that I want to explore. So as much as I hate it, the wheelchair is my friend.

Stay fit & well,

Matty

The (s)low down on my condition

G'day !!

Nothing much happening at the moment so this is an obvious time to give you all an update of where I'm at. I'm unsure of the best way to do this so I suppose I'll start from the top.
The Head - All is good, well I shouldn't really say that as the massive scar I have on the bonce has all but ruined my yet to be announced modelling career! Seriously, I have a scar the size of my fist on the right hand side of my head. 64 staples were holding it all together and the scar runs down the outside of my face right near the cheekbone. I still have a pretty sore head as it is quite a major fracture that is healing and chewing is still hard as the break went to the top of the jawbone area. I'm still having Psych assesments and damage to my brain still hasn't been ruled out but psychologically I feel as 'normal' as I've ever been !
The Clavicle - The poor old shoulder got a bit neglected in the first 2 weeks & I'm paying the price now..... I didn't sling it & even though I was in bed the whole time I tended to use it a bit, subsequently my healing time has blown out a few weeks and it's the major cause of any discomfort I have. My range of movement is quite low, possibly due to muscular damage but she won't be helping me punch out some ok lap times in the pool for a little while yet.
Femur - All is good here! My range of movement has the physio's scratching their heads and things are progressing well. Hydrotherapy is the only work I'm allowed to do and that is going well, although it is amazing how quick my core muscles have turned to stretchy rubber bands! The only issue with my hip is that I'm not allowed to weight bare on it for another 4 weeks. Yep - ZERO weight, what that means is I'm wheel chair bound until my next hip scan at the end of May. If I bare weight on it there is a 20% chance that the 'ball' of the femur where the break occurred may not rejoin to my Femur and become 'necrotic', which is basically a slow dieing process which will necessitate a hip replacement possibly 6 months down the track. The likelihood of this still remains for 5 years but the percentage lessens as time goes on.
The Rib - Hahahahaha, don't make me laugh, no pepper please as well coz sneezing hurts like hell ! Other than that all is good here.
Blood Clots - Bloody hell these were painful. I remember GSP saying they hurt a lot but i really didn't understand how a few 'small chunks of blood on your lungs' can be so debilitating. These were by far the most painful thing I experienced whilst in hospital. Talking was reduce to 1 word before taking a painful, stabbing knife like gasp of air to build up enough pressure for your next single word. You literally and quite painfully ran out of breath telling a story. The pain was confined to about 2 days then gradually to nothing after about 31/2 days. A few dramas unfolded during my initial dosing of Heparin (blood thinning agent delivered intravenously) where my Liver was metabolising the drug quicker then it had time to do its work. My dosage started off at 30ml's/hour but by the end was at what the doctor called 'an all time high' of 60ml's/hr. This way my Liver didn't have time to metabolise all the drug and some of it got through and did its job. I'm now on a drug called Warfarin which I'm taking 10mg dose. Since the origin of the clot was in my hip and post operative, it looks as though my stay on Warfarin could only be as little as 3 months, this as like the rest of my injuries are all subject to scans/xrays/mri's/tests etc. before being cleared.

So the rest ? Well I've lost 7 kg's. Weighing a stealthy 78kg on the day of the crash(IM race weight 10 days previously = 76.5kg) I now weigh a paltry 71kg. My legs look to be where I've lost the majority of my muscle mass. Jeez they look shockingly thin, just like match sticks. I have no fat around my waist and the smallest 6 pack ever on display. I think it looks like a 6 pack of those small Yakult fermented milk bottles.
The hair, well a buzz cut was the only option here. I'm now sporting a #2 all round but still have the beard fully intact. All my other road rash wounds that literally covered my whole right hand side from my upper back/shoulder to half way between my knee and ankle have all but gone and although there are a total of 5 deep gouges on the elbow, shoulder & hip area, all the rest has flaked off with what appears to be minimal scarring.
That's the latest on my injuries, and as always, my family, friends, WSTC, and the Tri world in general have been absolutely huge in their support for me. It has been an amazing experience and some of the efforts people have gone to have been inspiring and I am guilty of tearing up after some of them.

Thanks all, I'll see you soon.

Matty