So ... What Now?

[Sweder]

I bit more running, a smidgeon less lard. 
This week I've extended my circuit to take in my old chalk pit/ woodland trail, around 4.6 kms of fairly hilly terrain.
This morning I ran it in reverse. I can say 'ran' because as recent outings this was pretty much 95:5 run:walk. A triumph.

The errant knee is not right. There's no point pretending, this has not gone the same way as the right did some five years ago.
I've had the op, done the rehab and this one is still swelling up like Nigel Farage in front of a TV camera. I'm using ice and elevation, taking rest days, doing HIIT sessions 4/5 times a week. It feels like this knee will be troublesome from here on in and I'm OK with that. I'm no spring chicken and my gait was never a thing of beauty, as Moyleman would often attest. I still have the Quasimodo statuette, awarded by Tina and the Moyles after the Paris Marathon.  

On the running front I've noticed some positive signs. The other day I was rumbling home across the top of Landport Bottom, puffing like a traction engine dragging a house. As I approached the gate at the end of the field I sort of 'came to'. I'd been daydreaming, letting my mind wander as my body got on with the forward motion stuff. This is a good sign. I'm still wary of missing a footing and rupturing something irreparably, but I feel that 'sixth sense' hill runners develop will come back in time. 

Physically my lungs are struggling on the climbs. This also will pass as I extend the distances and relax into the sessions. Legs, knee aside, are OK. The belly is a burden but whilst it hasn't receded completely it has firmed up a bit. I'd like to get out to Blackcap next week, a five mile round trip door-to-door. 

Lockdown has given me an odd sense of calm. Whilst there's plenty of angst about business matters, getting things done in a hurry no longer seems important. Getting things done well, all in good time, makes more sense. So whilst Blackcap is a target, I won't throw my toys out of I don't get there. I've set myself a modest target of running the Almeria 9K with Antonio in February 2021. This assumes we can afford the expected hike in air fares, and indeed that we'll be allowed to travel this far for leisure by then. 

One thing I've learned these past 7 weeks or so is that people are important to me. I've missed my running companions, be they based in Lewes, Seaford, Brighton or farther afield. I'm a hugger. You can all expect of lot of hugs when all this is over. Hopefully by then there will be a little less of me to hug. 

On, on.