With only requiring one more good placing at a high quality race - which most likely would have come at Nationals with a podium going on last years form - I could have put in my application for non-automatic qualification for my Olympic distance Pro licence - every school boys dream - which would then have allowed me to race the Continental Cup and World Cup races in Europe, Australia and New Zealand and then I hurt my back and required surgery which has put me out for the full season.
Which brings me back to that question - the hardest thing for me is to take it easy for the first time in 20 years, that's right this coming 2012 season would have been my 21st season straight since my duathlon way back when. The surgeon has said that I can swim (which is good for my back and will help recovery) but I can't ride the bike until now (which is 5 weeks after the surgery) and only on the ergo for another month but the big one is that I can't run until July.
So the dilemma was that I have already paid for some races, do I do them but pull out on the run, do them and walk the run or pull out completely and try to fix it properly and sit out this season completely.
Decision made and then money has been refunded, I pulled out of the races and I'm going to try and not go so hard and fix this the first time round. Hopefully I will come back stronger for the 2013 season and finally get that licence I've been chasing for the past 20years.
