My preparation over the last 6 weeks have been challenging due to the minor surgery to my right shoulder. I first noticed some pain in my shoulder during stretching and swam with this for a couple of days before I had a scan which revealed a small tear in the tendon. I opted to have the surgery as it would reveal the extent of the damage and hopefully give me a better result than a slow non-surgical rehabilitation. Thankfully the tear was minor and the surgeon reassured me that my shoulder is in great shape. It has been frustrating to have my Olympic preparation disrupted but I have been doing everything I possibly can to make sure I am ready to race at the trials which are held at the Australian Open Swimming championships which commence the 15th March.
My training post surgery was modified to all land work for the first week as I was not able to swim until the sutures were removed. I couldn’t wait to get back into the water and I managed to pick up the tempo and get back into a full workload within 4 weeks. This rehabilitation was much easier and quicker than the 2010 surgery as it involved a 12 week program before I could train properly.
The racing I was planning to do in the lead up to the trials has been modified as I had to pull out of the Queensland State championships which were in December but I will be attending the NSW State championships the weekend 11th February and I am looking forward to seeing how I will go.
My preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was uncomplicated by physical restraints but the last 15 months have been very different. I can have a great stretch of solid swimming training and then may experience shoulder pain but I have learnt to deal with this by listening to my body and backing off on the intensity in the water and applying more intensity to other areas of my training which are out of the water.
