Running Blog - 6th August 2022

It’s one year and eleven months before the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics in July 2024.

Big questions persist over my participation.

Strangely though, despite, or maybe because of my latest setback, I am fortified and have that steely look sometimes – well, expressionless anyway – when I stumble to the bathroom and make the mistake of looking at myself in the mirror prior to shaving.

I’ve not only been feasting on the athletic prowess on show in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games but enjoying feeling I have, at last, joined the athletic ‘community’ who prevail despite multiple injuries, Covid, and other pitfalls in life. It seems to be an athlete these days one must have a good ‘back-story’.

Mine continues; I suspect to be Anno-Domini’ related. I barely recover from one injury and then incur another. This week is a case in point.

Bad back followed by Covid out paid to any running until two weeks ago. My first recovery run was on July 23rd but ended up in A&E as reported in the previous post. Once the bruises subsided, I repeated the same course 6 days later July 29th…this time without falling over.

But I did feel a slight twinge in my left Achilles.

Four runs later and the ankle is in ice. It’s not good. Maybe I shouldn’t have even attempted to run yesterday but it felt better. Upon return though, clearly not.

So it’s ice and Ibuprofen. Am I frustrated? There are no words.

My back story may be enhanced but my running pace remains slightly below the required standard.

There’s still time, isn’t there?