Melanie in the running to carry Olympic torch

A county teacher and triathlete has been nominated to carry the Olympic Torch.

Published in the Northants ET, 
30 June 2011



Members of the public are being encouraged to nominate the person they believe most deserves to carry the Olympic Flame as it tours the UK and Melanie Ryding, of Wellingborough, has been one of the first to be picked out.

ETU European Triathlon Championships, Pontevedra, Spain.

Mel and clubmate paul Jennings, who went on to win a silver medal

Where do I start? It was a whirlwind journey to the start line of this race. For the two weeks leading up to it, I was nursing a medial ligament strain in my knee, so had not really been focussing on the race as such, and more on getting it as recovered as possible.

My original target was top ten, but with two weeks laid off the running leading up to the race, I realised this target maybe too much of a challenge. I decided to not worry about anything, and simply do the race to the best of my ability. I didn’t even look at the start list, and only looked at the course maps on Thursday. I think I got the NLP balance wrong in the opposite direction this time, but more of that later.

MCL Rehab

Its been a roller coaster couple of weeks to say the least. It took a turn on saturday 11th when an examination from my sports masseuse determined that I had to pull out of the race that I was due to compete in the very next day. This was the first time I have been told to pull out of a race, and the first time I have sustained an injury that has halted training.

I cried. Then I pulled myself back together and went to find one of my coaches and formulate a plan.

Strength rehab

David Sutton, my strength coach and I, met on the sunday. He said that although the ligament strain was relatively superficial, it was clearly still enough to cause a lot of pain and discomfort, the area was warm, therefore swollen, and a HUGE pack of ice was attached for the duration of the session. We worked on lower body strength, mainly working the other leg. By the end of the session i felt like I had been through a single leg marathon!

I visited the gym to see him again a few days later. The sessions were returned right back to basic plyometrics. I was told that unless I could hop and hold, single legged, there was no way I could run. Red rag=bull... I worked my butt off. By the second visit to the gym, I was asking him to make the sessions harder, and by the end, was able to step up onto a gym weights bench / seat, single legged, with a 20kg bag slung over my shoulder.

Cycle rehab

Cycling was restricted to the turbo trainer, so that if I had any trouble, I did not have to cycle back home from wherever I had got to on the road. After a days rest, I was told to try it out, very easy, and stop if I felt any pain. I built the cycling up over the next few days, from easy 20 minutes to a full Sufferfest training session, all be it still on medium effort and load. The main trouble was twisting my foot out of the cleat, but otherwise it seemed to be not too bad. Because the main pain was at full extension, it seemed to be ok with cycling, as the leg never fully extends when peddling. Ice was applied or a cyro wrap applied as much as I possibly could in between training and every day life and most of my spare time was spent on ice!

Swimming - business as usual.

Running

Running was of the cards completely, and I spent the allotted time on the cross trainer in the gym. Very boring, but necessary, and wise I would say. still ice every time i trained and every time i had some time spare. I iced the knee regularly for about a week. 8 days after the original injury I tried a very easy run and it seemed to be ok. on day 9 I tried a brick session, fullly expecting to have to bail after the bike. Not only was it ok, but the pace was much better than I thought, nothing lost at all, in fact, I may be as bold as to say I am running quite well! My first full tilt training session (brick, with pace intervals) was this morning. day 11 after the injury was sustained. The session went very well, almost as if I have never even had any time off.

And now?

I am looking forwards, not back. Who knows what the difference is, who knows if i am slower, or in fact faster, for having altered the training. I did not stop, i merely adapted training to my circumstances. It was only 10 days, I will not have lost much, and maybe the difference did me good?

Europeans this weekend, and now I can turn my attention back to that confident that I will be ok, the knee will be ok, and I will be able to do my best. As always.

European Preparations

I started this year’s race season with trepidation. I had four races in four weeks, with only a one week gap before competing in the European championships in Spain. Not ideal, to say the least!

So, when I qualified for this year’s Worlds in Beijing and next year’s Europeans in Israel in the first qualifiers respectively, I was pretty pleased to say the least. This meant that I did not have to race all races and could, instead prepare properly for my A race. A week’s recovery paced training followed by a week of training including short race paced intervals in all three disciplines will take me into the European Sprint Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, next weekend.

Usually, I use the GB team travel company, and stay in the team hotel. What this usually means for me is I get the atmosphere of being with all the team members, right in the thick of it. I love that, but what it also means, however, is that I am immersed in amongst hundreds of people all preparing for a very important race, and being one that prefers to train solo, it can also cause me stress. 

Travelling and accommodation

This year I have chosen to stay in a different hotel, still nearby, and get a hire car. I will never be far away from the action, but with the ability to separate myself. I found when I raced the Beaver and my husband was away for the weekend, that if I am alone before a race, I stay much calmer, chilled and more focussed.

Pre race expectations for a GB athlete

PARADE OF NATIONS, Euro champs, Athlone, 2010

The race is on Saturday, and I travel on Thursday. People often ask me why so early before a race? Well, as a GB triathlete, there are certain expectations of you. The opening ceremony is on Thursday evening. You are also given a couple of specific time slots (assigned for each country’s athletes specifically) in which you MUST register and collect your race pack. My race is on Saturday, so on Friday afternoon I will have to go and rack my bike at a certain time, no negotiation. Then there are also the team meetings with the team manager, so the days running up to a race can be pretty busy. I usually take myself off in between and do a bit of sight seeing. It’s a shame to get to all these lovely parts of the world without actually seeing them other than during a swim/bike/run!

Home comforts

My pre race breakfast, religiously, is Oats so simple porridge. I usually take that with me so I can be sure I will get some wherever I go. As well as that, I will take all my race drinks, gels and nutrition with me in single pouch format (the airlines get a bit twitchy about large quantities of powder!) I like to be self sustained, and not have to rely on finding things at my destination. Due to airline restrictions I am not allowed to carry gas (for quick tyre inflation) so I usually take a mini pump and get gas when I arrive, if I feel the need. Too often I have bought it then not used it and had to leave it there, which is a waste! I will probably take some green tea bags too, my new favourite drink!

Racing Abroad

Triathlon is triathlon. It’s much the same wherever you go. At ETU and ITU level the preparations, facilities and courses are all of a very consistently high standard. The changing factor is the crowd and the weather. That said, there is an immense sense of pride every time I pull that GB suit on. It is a feeling I really can’t describe, and you need to have done it to fully appreciate what I mean. The first GB representation for me was at the World championships in Australia in 2009. I was terrified, excited, elated all at once. I was in pieces at the start line, so nervous of racing at that level for the first time I was almost in tears. I am able to control that better now, but each time I stand at a start line with the GB trisuit on, I think of all the people that I had to beat to be standing there, how I am part of a team representing my country. I feel very proudly patriotic each time I am able to say that. I could, if I wanted to, wear that suit at every race I do. It’s special though. I choose to only wear it at European and World championships. That means that the twice a year that I pull it or the GB tracksuit on makes it all the more special for me.

I will never get bored of the incredible feeling I get racing abroad, representing my country. The result almost doesn’t matter, because for me it was all about the journey to earn the spot and get to the start line. Everything else is a bonus.

I race for Great Britain, I am incredibly proud to be able to say that, and even more proud to say that I have met people that are now also on the team because they read my story and I helped them to believe that they too could do it if they tried.

I will go to Spain next week and do my country proud. Wish me luck J

Melanie Ryding

Rother Valley: The race that wasn't

It’s been a tough weekend, and not in the traditional sense. My season started fantastically well, with two races and two qualifications. Having pre-entered all four qualifiers, I then had to decide whether to race the other two.

I decided not to race QE2, the race that would have occurred on a third consecutive weekend, but kept Rother Valley in mind, simply as a good quality training session.

The events that happened at the lake on Thursday were to change the complexion of my weekend completely.

Swim disaster
I went for a swim at the local lake, easy recovery swim, nothing too strenuous, having had a sports massage that afternoon and a race coming up at the weekend. I was on the first of 3 800m laps round the lake. This lake is navigated by means of a series of buoys which you swim through, roughly following the cable pulley that is use by the water skiers. At the top of the lake, I was heading for the buoys to navigate the turn. I could only see one. I soon found out why. I crashed head first into the other one, which was fully submerged under water. Normally this would not be too much of a disaster, but these buoys are fixed onto wooden posts, not chains, like you would normally expect. It took me by surprise, to say the least, and I felt my right knee jarring as I was knocked sideways unexpectedly. I completed the swim, (all three laps) and thought nothing more of it.

When I got up the following day for my taper brick session, the knee felt a little sore. Hmm, I have pulled a muscle, I thought. I carried on. As Friday progressed, it got worse. It became sore to fully extend that knee, and it was at this point that I began to grow concerned.

On Saturday afternoon I called my sports masseuse and asked could he have a look at it. I am not usually one to panic over a bit of pain; however I am also very rarely injured, so I do take pain rather seriously.

Verdict

Phil Croney my masseuse, was kind enough to squeeze me in for a quick once over at his home on Saturday afternoon, which I very much appreciate. To be honest, I feared the worst. I knew, deep down, that this was not just a little pull. He told me that I had strained the medial colateral ligament, and that racing on Sunday would be foolish. A tear rolled down my cheek. Although expected, I was still devastated.

I sat in the car and cried. I had to try really hard to get my thoughts back under control. All I could see was injury, you can’t run, you can’t race. With the European championships in two weeks, I struggled hard not to go into blind panic.

Context

I have never until this weekend, had to pull out of a race through injury. I guess you would call me lucky. All it means is I am finding this a real struggle to deal with, and right now am not feeling terribly lucky at all. This knee is also what I call my ‘wibbly wobbly knee’, by which I mean it is the knee that has had an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction operation almost 15 years ago, and therefore less stable at the best of times. For those who do not know, a ligament reconstruction operation involves replacing the torn ligament with a tendon graft. That means the joint will never perform 100% as it used to, and I have to work hard on muscle strength to keep that knee working at its best. It is also an operation that I was told had a 10 year shelf life, after which it will begin to loosen again. I know, therefore, that I must now be very careful with it indeed, in order to get the best possible recovery.

What now?

I sat with frozen peas on it all evening, 15 on, 15 off. By 10pm the ice was beginning to feel quite normal and not at all cold! I have been advised that I should not run on it for a few days, so I called my strength coach David Sutton and made an appointment to see him for some strength coaching on Sunday morning. He reassured me that he is experienced with MCL rehab, so I look forward to further instructions and advice.

I am trying my best to stay positive. I could have ignored Phil and gone to that race anyway. He said he apologised that I had gone to him on a wasted trip. Not at all. I went for advice, and the crucial question, will racing make it worse? The answer was yes, so there really is only one option from there. That doesn’t mean that I can’t also get upset. I am, I am devastated.

I have always been the one to read, research, and seek/follow good advice. I believe that is what has kept me relatively injury free all this time. I don’t intend to change that now.

I will do as I am told, recover well, and I WILL BE BACK!

Top-10 target for Melanie in Beijing

Published Friday 3 June 2011

Wellingborough athlete Melanie Ryding has qualified for the World Triathlon Championships in Beijing.

She finished fourth in her qualifying group at the Eton Sprint event where she managed to hit one of her best results.

Despite the weather causing havoc, she finished fourth and beat two others also trying to qualify – rounding off a result which means she should make the age group squad for the third year in a row.

Ryding said: “The conditions were really challenging, the weather was absolutely horrendous, the crosswinds made life very difficult.”

With the European Championships taking precedence for her before Beijing, Ryding is targeting a strong finish to proceedings.

She added: “I turned 40 early this year which means I’m in a new age category so hopefully I can break into the top 10.

“I’m hoping to finish where my nearest competitior finished in last year’s event, so around eighth.”

After losing four-and-a-half stones in just four months Ryding began triathlon training in 2007 – making the World Championships team for Great Britain two years later where she has been a permanent fixture ever since.

Regularly posting on her website and blog as well as holding down a full-time job, Ryding admits that the routine she keeps is intensive.

She said: “I get up at half past five every morning and train before going to work.
“After that I come home and do some more before sitting down in the evening.
“It’s much easier to do in the summer when there’s a lot of light and it’s a bit warmer.”
Belvoir Castle was the venue for the National Sprint Championships last weekend where Ryding claimed a place in the top 10 in her age group.

She admitted: “I expected not to do so well after last weekend’s success.

“I was more than impressed with an eighth place overall and for the first time I managed to hold my position throughout the run.”

The European Championships take place in Spain later this month with the World Championships in the autumn.

For sponsorship you can get in touch with her on her website http://www.melanieryding.co.uk/ where she regularly blogs and keeps people updated about her regime and competitions.