McIlroy wakes up to pain free tendons

The long road to recovery from surgery on both Achilles tendons continues on Saturday when Kate McIlroy lines up in Wellington at the Contact National Triathlon Champs, an event that also doubles as the ITU Oceania Championships (standard distance).

The Wellingtonian has for years battled with her Achilles tendons, with the pain eventually forcing her out of athletics and into triathlon where she found the training load was spread a little more evenly across the three disciplines, giving her long suffering heels a much needed break.

But as the workload increased along with her impressive string of results – including an ITU World Cup win and being our best placed Kiwi (12th) at the final round of the ITU World Champs Series in Budapest last year, McIlroy realised the pain hadn’t gone away and something needed to be done.

“I made a decision after World Champs in Budapest to sort out my Achilles. Every run was painful, every race was a battle to get through - so it was time to fix them! It had been talked about on and off over the last eight years to have them operated on but they always seem to come right when it came to the crunch. This time though, even when I had time off at the end of last year, they were not showing any signs of improvement with terrible morning stiffness leaving me hobbling around like a 90 year old!”

Surgery was a tricky prospect though, with the rehab made doubly difficult by having the procedure carried out on both tendons at the same time.

“After seeing surgeon Matt Brick in Auckland at the end of October I was convinced that surgery was definitely the way to go. I had my paratenons removed from each tendon (like the white plastic coating for electrical wiring), and both tendons slit to make them bleed to help the healing process.

“I spent the first three weeks lying on the couch with my feet in the air to minimise any form of swelling. Once stitches were out I was able to get back into the pool, no kicking, no wall push off's - just pull. It was good work out for my shoulders and lats if nothing else!

Five weeks on the wind trainer (bike) and six weeks of walking sees the world number 22 ranked triathlete now up to one hour of straight running as she slowly but surely ‘reloads’ the tendons in readiness for a big season of racing. While McIlroy admits she is not quite ready to run in race conditions, she is looking forward to mixing it on Saturday in the swim and the bike.

“Oceania's was always a distant goal but the time has rolled around very fast. I have decided that I will only swim/bike as it is too early to be testing my legs on the run. It is a great opportunity for me to have a hit-out with such a competitive field in my back yard. It will also be a good gauge as to where my form is and give me an idea on how to shape my training over the next few months.”

That next few months are crucial for McIlroy as she, like others in the Tri NZ High Performance Squad, has her sights on London 2012.

“I am really pleased with my progress, but have to remember that the big goal for me this year is the Olympic selection race in London in August. This weekend is a small stepping stone to reaching that goal. It is bit of a novelty to finally be able to walk normally in the mornings and most of all run pain free.”

McIlroy will line up alongside a host of other leading triathletes from a number of nations, including New Zealand number one Andrea Hewitt, two time winner on the Contact Tri Series this summer Nicky Samuels, winner in Takapuna Vicky Holland (GBR), Vendula Frintova (Czech Republic) and Elizabeth May (Luxembourg).

The elite women’s Contact Cup and Oceania Championship race is set to start in front of Waitangi Park at 10.30am on Saturday, with the bike and run leg taking the athletes along Oriental Parade before finishing back at Waitangi Park. The elite men’s Contact Cup and Oceania Championship race begins at 11.45am.

Prior to that the venue will play host to triathletes of all backgrounds, ages and abilities with races for beginners, children and age group competitors looking to qualify for the World Championships in London later in the year.

Contact Tri Series
Wellington
Saturday 12th March
Incorporating ITU Oceania Championship for Elite and U23 competitors and Sprint Oceania Champs for U19

Registration (Trophy and 3:9:3 participants)
Friday 11th March 4pm to 7pm Freyberg Pool
Saturday 12th March 6am to 6.45am Waitangi Park

Contact Trophy
Age group men 7.15am
Age group women 7.20am
Teams 7.22am

Contact 1:2:1
Children – Boys 8.00am
Children – Girls 8.10am

Contact 3:9:3
Beginner – Men 9.20am
Beginner – Women 9.23am
Beginner – Teams 9.24am

Contact U19 Sprint Distance Nationals and Oceania Championship
Men 10.00am
Women 10.05am

Contact Cup Standard Distance Nationals and Oceania Championship
Elite/U23 Women 10.30am
Elite/U23 Men 11.45am