Oh no you're not going to tell us all about your knee again are you?
Well no, not really. In order to save a lot of chat I have prepared a graphic for you. My year in sport.
I think getting out on my bike was the best thing about this year, sporty-wise, and I'm hoping to do it again and do it more when the weather gets better.
Meantime, we're recently back from Tenerife. I'm still carrying extra beef from the chips'n'beer, but it was lovely to be away in the warm sun.
We spent a bit of time with Colin and Joan Wilson, while we were out there. I knew who Joan was back in the day because we were hill racing at the same time but I don't think I'd ever had a conversation with her. Colin is also a keen runner but is big into butterflies too, so he and Peter had been trading butterfly chat on t'internet and we realised we were going to be in Puerto de la Cruz at the same time.
It was really nice to have company on holiday - usually we just go ourselves. We all ran on the dirt running track at the side of town and Colin and Joan got us to come and swim in the harbour.
Joan and I swapped stories about how we were trying to adapt to aging and what races we had done and might do and what we were thinking about training.
Here's a bunch of photos in no particular order.
At the harbour
At the track
At the track
Colin and Joan arriving for a track session
The water was a little bumpy in the harbour!
Colin and Joan again
But meantime, since we've been back we've squeezed in 3 parkruns, and at every one my knee has been feeling better.
We were out there this morning at Holyrood Park. A lot of the local parkruns were cancelled because of flooding and ice, but Holyrood went ahead. I felt the best I've felt post this last injury and the first 2 miles were the quickest - but I eased back on the downhill because I just couldn't face slipping and getting another injury - so I was 5 seconds slower than last parkrun - but I felt better. My weekly mileage has just gone over 20 miles - and I'm not really trying to push it up, but I do feel stronger.
So present at Holyrood this morning were some more Porties who I have not seen in a while. Shelagh was telling me she has osteoporosis so has to have some horrible infusion in a couple of months time - she was keen not to fall on the ice! Janis was telling me she's had a cardioversion for her atrial fibrillation and is feeling much better. I'm thinking that we have reached a certain age! I half-heard Shelagh saying that someone had compared the years of aging between something like 53 and 63 for women as running through an alley with a sniper shooting at you. I wish I'd got the detail. She said she thought it was just luck what happens to you. I find myself having this conversation with people more and more as we all devise our survival plans. I have no doubt there's an element of luck, but firmly believe you can stack the odds in your favour.
So this year wasn't as bad in reality as it was on paper. I wouldn't have been happy last January if you'd told me I'd be injured for much of the year and not run for at least 7 months. I didn't love it but I am stronger and I really enjoyed getting out on my bike. I'm really enjoying getting running again now.
According to Strava I swam 62 miles in the pool, which I find quite amazing. I'd like it if I could get back running a lot stronger. Already I find myself thinking I'd like to do a marathon - but I'm not going to push any mileage at the cost of being able to run at all. We shall see. I'd like to do a lot more on the bike this coming year too. But Jim doesn't always fix it for you the way you want him to, so we'll just have to see. :-)
Happy New year.
