The Optimise Health Blog

Copyright Castle Howard I went to see my friends complete the Castle Howard Triathlon on Sunday morning. When I got the all clear I vowed to myself to complete this challenge to give myself a goal to work towards and prove to myself that I was better. So after 4 months of recuperation after surgery and complications of scar burst, infection and then a lumbar disc prolapse I am starting to plan my year of training to complete the Triathlon. As a sprint distance it involves a 400m swim then a 23km cycle followed by a 5km run.  I have been able to achieve each of these individually in the past, but to achieve a reasonable time and the fitness level to do all three at full pace will require a gradual build up in endurance, a change in my usual diet, fitness activity and a focus on endurance training which may (hopefully) change my body shape and composition in the process! After 4 months of relative inactivity my weight and fat levels are not good so this is the ideal time ...

I had surgery for malignant melanoma on April 18th 2012. I don't normally remember dates but as this was the first general anaesthetic and the first time I had ever had significant surgery I remember the day and the events leading up to it very clearly. I spent the next 8 weeks off work willing my leg wound to close up and heal which it has now done and all the bizzare nerve jolts and tingling sensations have ended. This is a relief as a jolting leg can be quite embarrassing and disruptive when you're trying to work or talking to a client! My leg finally healed leaving an impressive war wound for which I have invented many stories in case I don't want to go into the "you survived cancer, i'm so proud of you have a medal" conversation. After the op everyone kept telling me how well I looked, to which I replied that I had only had a lump of dodgy flesh removed from my leg and groin, it was not an illness but disease prevention for the future and that I w...