Running beer-foot.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I've got to admit that stabbing pains in the knees can be kind of fun. They motivate you in new and different directions (literally) and open doors that otherwise you would have simply run past without ever noticing. It's not that I've suddenly discovered positive thinking! No, far from it...

You know what I really hate in life is those times when the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out, your back's against the wall and some mongrel has a gun against your head; and there's always some cheery bastard who pipes up with a "well it could be worse!" and a cheesy grin that makes me want to vomit. Hate that. Really do. So no, it's not that I have had some God-granted bout of positivism.

It's just that if I hadn't had to stop running due to ongoing knee problems, I would never have started brewing beer at home. I mean, in finding an alternative to running, you might think I'd have tried swimming, or cycling, yeh? But no, I go in for brewing. Something to take my mind off joint pain and simultaneously anaesthetise them, see? Clever eh?

And having made a nice draught beer, then a stunning sparkling ale, and then a bloody excellent pale ale; and now about to bottle the darkest of dark stouts that ever came out of the dark isles; I have to say that it's all working out very nicely indeed thank you. My knees no longer hurt, I'm still fit through all the long walks I undertake in order to avoid drink/driving charges, and I don't have to struggle with motivation anymore.

To be perfectly honest though, I am missing the running, and am now (with the benefit of better knees) contemplating a limited return to some slow, perhaps weekly, trudge around the neighbourhood. The main difficulty is avoiding hard surfaces, but there are some grassy foreshore parks close by, so maybe I can become a kind of "Seafront Trudger". With beer.

I wholeheartedly endorse the beer. Full of vital nutrients too. An excellent training supplement and just the thing for replacing lost yeast cells after a run.

Right. Must dash - I have a specific gravity reading to take.