w/e 7/3/10 and beyond....There But For The Grace of God.....

Last week , I read Nick Ham's blog and really felt the pain (both mental and physical) and frustration he was experiencing.

Let's face it, we've all been there. And there's nowt you can do but be sensible and work your way back bit by bit.

And I thought "there but for the grace of God go I".

One week on...................

Last Friday, I bent down to put a DVD in, felt a bit of pain in my knee, thought no more about it until it bothered me after 21 miles of last Saturday's run...but still presumed it would be ok.

It isn't. It's continued to bother me and, although I've tried to ignore it, I know the pain is coming from deep inside my knee, around the lateral meniscus area.

But, being a fellrunner, I decided to test it out today. I headed along the cycle path to Mytholmroyd, and it felt ok. In fact, it only hurts when load-bearing and at one particular angle.

So I went up the path to Erringden Moor. On the way up, I slipped and a shot of pain went straight up my leg and left my head spinning. Ok then, sensible thing is to head down and get it looked at.

Which I did, but finding it no problem on the downhill, I got a bit of pace up....but didn't reckon with the fact that my running gait had changed to accommodate the knee.....and next moment, I was heading for the floor and hearing the popping of ankle ligaments as my foot gave way.

I lay on the ground in pain for about a minute, wondering if I could get up....but of course I could. I limped down, got a lift home, and started RICE immediately.

But it was a bad one. As bad as time I did that ankle in the OCT, and that kept me out for 2 months. Realistically, it may be the same....and that's a lot of training to miss in advance of the BG.

But, worse than that, this knee pain isn't going away. This will test my resolve. I swore, after having surgery on that knee previously, I wouldn't rush to do it again. What now? Can I/do I stick to that? A trip to the osteo first to see what he thinks, and I'll take it from there.

But I'm already facing up to the fact that all the March and April plans are probably out of the window. The BG is certainly delayed, if not postponed until next year. The plans are in tatters.

I've faced quite a few mental battles these last couple of years, in one way or another. This might be the most trying and challenging. But I'll stick with it, I'll be back. I'm a fighter when my back's against the wall. I will respond in the only way I know.

So folks, no updates for some time unless something miraculous happens....but just remember, there but for the grace of God........