This injury hasn’t been any harder to come back from than all the others, but obviously the clock is ticking now.
I’m battling time – but that’s the only thing. The rehab and recovery were the same as recovering from past injuries.
The Beast from the East didn’t hold up my recovery and it’s all going to be put to the test on Thurles on Thursday aboard Laarena (3.15pm).
The key thing is to give yourself time, not push it and stop yourself from doing too much, too soon.
I’ve still been going to rehab in the Santry clinic three times a week and I ride out at Willie Mullins’ yard the other three mornings.
Despite my injury, my diet hasn’t changed and I haven’t altered it since I went back work-riding either.
I still eat twice a day, in order to maintain my weight. If I can eat twice between 12pm and 6pm, I find that works for me. It’s only a quarter of the day that you are taking in food and I’ve done it for years to keep my weight consistent.
It keeps me at around a solid 10 stone and that’s the way I like it.
Why move away from what’s working for you just because Cheltenham is on the horizon?
I don’t change the way I ride when I go there and I won’t change the way I approach it from any other race meeting.
You can get caught up in the hype of the Festival and get sucked into it all, when actually you should be doing the same things you always do.
That’s my plan anyway. And Thursday is the first step – admittedly a big step – towards that.
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