Is this the end game?

Cycling used to be the simple matter of taking your bike out from the shed, hopping on and going.

Now it's a matter of putting the bike rack onto the car, filling it up, getting helmets, baby seat, lunch, kids change of clothes, hopping into the car, driving to a nice flat quiet area, unloading the car, waiting for the youngest to wake up, and then doing some cycling. See how things have changed? Still though, I wouldn't change it for the world!

Running has yet to begin but I got some good news earlier today ... the physio says that I can start with some very very light short runs later the week. YIPPEE

Since my last post I've been limited to stretching, some dynamic work and some cycling. Not enough to halt the (significant) weight gain from 5 months of being a couch potato. But all that may change over the coming months!

The emphasis of the weekly physio sessions has also changed. I think I'll have to live with a much restricted rotation on the ankle joint (may be a problem on hilly runs) and now it's all about compensation i.e. the new orthotics I received last week. The joint is still swollen on occasion, mostly at the end of the day, but ice and elevation seems to keep that largely under control. My achilles is also bothering me but hopefully the orthotics will help with that issue.

On the 7th January 2010 I really didn't realise that it would take this long. I've really missed my 'irregular' runs. Amazingly, I don't recall missing running this much when I 'retired' back in 1994.

All in all though an end 'seems' to be in sight and hopefully my next post will include some running!

Exercising again....

Mostly more of the same this week..... physio x 2, walking, exercises, stretching, ice, etc, etc... No running except on the trampette at the physio clinic.

However, this weekend I did managed to fit in a couple of nice cycles of 9 and 13 miles. Today, I even dusted off Mr Garmin, who last saw daylight on the 6th January, so long ago! Today's effort looked something like this...

Based on the above, as you can see, I don't think I'll be entering the Tour de France any time soon. In my defence, the second half was into a headwind! Neither my sore legs nor the saddle sores played 'any' part in the gradual creep in the pace! :) I was surprised that I could only cycle 13.18miles in 1:09. add 15 to 20 minutes and I could run the same distance!!

I also spent the morning in the pool with the kids. A good excuse to do some non-weight bearing exercise; although having to carry Joe (now 15kg in weight) significantly negated any buoyancy non-weight bearing benefits!!

While I hopped along in the pool, my girls made a new friend who turned out to be the daughter of none other than Robert Heffernan (Ireland's top international 20k walker - 6th 2007 Worlds, 8th 2008 Olympics). As our children became more and more 'competitive' (i.e. adventurous) in the water, we compared ankle injuries and concluded that there is no quick cure. He's still suffering 18months on from an ankle injury. :(

We chatted for a while, then he slipped in that he raced a 50k in Slovakia last week. "How did you do?", I asked kicking myself for not checking the Athletics Ireland website lately! "3rd but I broke the Irish record", he replied. "Congratulations", I said. "Yeah, I went through the Marathon mark in 3:05 but the last 10k was a killer!" ..... yikes !!! .... and he was walking!! The official report is here. His wife Marian Andrews, also a handy athlete, is the current Irish 400m champion - so London 2012 may just be a family holiday!!

I'm off work next week but as I'm childminding I'm not sure how much cycling I'll be able to fit it... but I'll try I need to do something!!!