Back On The Pitch

It took me a while to get to sleep last night. I was getting a bit excited about being allowed to warm up with the team playing Canada today!

Now for those of you who know me you'll know my feelings on warm ups! I really believe that what you do in your mind to be ready is the most important before a game, physiologically there is clearly a need but it doesn't mean I enjoy it. I often wonder how many warm ups I've done in my lifetime: in the last week I've done 12, which is quite typical, so that multiplied by the number of training weeks and years I’ve been playing it must be getting close to tens of thousands. This surely makes my feelings on warm ups more understandable, today’s warm up though was a special one.

One thing I’ve not mentioned up until now is the role of nutrition on my recovery. This is something I’m extremely conscious of anyway as over the years I’ve learnt to appreciate the impact it can have on performance. The last two weeks have been particularly crucial; due to the increase in training my susceptibility to illness has also increased, and getting ill was something I couldn’t afford to happen. Supplements have played their part: fish oils, vitamin C, creatine, beetroot juice, cherry active are all things I wouldn’t normally take but my nutritionist wanted to not leave any stone unturned.

Daily supplements which have massively helped my recovery

I know I won’t get any sympathy for this comment but one of the hardest challenges for me has been to get enough calories in! I’ve been getting up early to make smoothies, and eating snacks left, right and centre to get the right amount of carbohydrates and protein. I’m a really slow eater though and sometimes there just isn’t enough time for me to eat enough food. It did at one point take me back to my U21 England days, when the coach would force me to stay at breakfast and eat toast against my will. I’d sit there for ages, chewing away, trying to get it down me and I hated it.

I definitely feel better and very strong for all the calories. A few test results have shown that my legs have grown in size by two to three centimetres in diameter and I’m more powerful because I can jump higher. Even though I know it will be tough, this is really encouraging for when I return to hockey this week.

I’m obviously looking forward to returning to the group and joining in training for the first time since February. It will be weird to be back as my identity for the last eight weeks has been as a rehab athlete, where I’ve been in control of my own training, working with a small group of professionals who have all done all they can to help me and I’ve become comfortable within that environment. Now I need to change to being a hockey player again, getting my astro shoes on, checking I’ve got my stick, shin pads and gum shield. I’ve worked incredibly hard to be here at this point in time and this is the time to not let up and keep pushing on.

Back In Business

Now the hard work begins.

 

The Rehab Room at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre

I will be spending many an hour in the rehab room at Bisham Abbey over the coming weeks. The last two weeks I’ve been pretty cautious with my movements, the idea was to keep a straight back mostly but doing some really gentle mobility exercises. From time to time I experienced a few twinges, which in all honesty petrified me. Even if it only lasted a couple of seconds until I realised everything was ok, it’s still so unsettling; the thing is, I know I’ll have those feelings for, well forever I guess.

The rest of my exercises at the moment revolve around core stability and activating the muscles I’ve not used for a couple of weeks whilst keeping a flat back. In a word, they’re BORING! Some of them don’t look like much, and mostly require concentration to keep my core engaged, whilst moving the appropriate limb. Some of them don’t look like much, but after a few repetitions you really start to feel the burn. I have to do some of them three times a day and I have to do them. There are no short cuts when it comes to rehab, if I miss things out, I don’t progress or run the risk of not recovering properly, that’s the bottom line.

I tell you what though, it feels great to be able to do something, and on a positive note, the nerve pain I’m experiencing down my leg seems to be responding confidently.

The person in charge of everything I do is our squad physio, Emma Batchelor. The working relationship I have with Emma is critical. I simply can’t do this by myself and I’m very much reliant on her. In all honesty it’s not something I relish, I like to be in control of what I do day to day (Emma will tell you that!) and I want to know the reason for everything we’re doing; if I had a pound for the number of times I’ve said “so, why are we doing this”.

With Emma I’m extremely lucky. Not only does she know her stuff and is very experienced, she is also completely dedicated and works every hour God sends. I often have to call her in the evening and at weekends and I know she doesn’t mind and I’m so thankful for everything she does. The other day though Emma said that she also saw getting me back fit as a challenge. I can’t tell you how much that means to me, I don’t think Emma does either, well she didn’t! To hear that just gave me so much confidence, knowing she will do everything she can is all I can ask for, and it doesn’t half make me feel a hell of a lot better.