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2018 Season: An uphill struggle.
So, started 2018 with a race, the first one for more than 6 months. One thing is painfully clear, it ain't getting any easier.
Sure, there are older runners out there. But I'd say that many of them are late starters unaffected by injury issues. Some of the others will be consistent, finely tuned training freaks who manage their time efficiently and sometimes obsessively. And the remainder, well, they're just freaks!
Like an old car there's a limit to the mileage you can get out of an aging chassis without changing all the parts. There are exceptions of course but for most of us it's a struggle.
The pain in my right knee subsided but of course may return. Now my left ankle hurts a bit. Not enough to stop me running but enough to hinder descending and spoil the technical sections that I used to enjoy so much. And as any runner knows running injured can easily lead to other injuries, however careful you may be.
I try to be optimistic in a straw clutching sort of way. The more speed I lose, the more I can concentrate on slow, healthy running. If I can't do the descents any more I'll just have to improve the climbing sections. Slowly, slowly, run, walk, walk, hands on knees and gritted teeth, tortuous agonizing ascents, the last roll of the dice in last chance saloon.
8 runs so far in January including the race. 50k so far or thereabouts, although I only count time spent running. Some of the hill walking is actually faster and certainly more efficient than running but I never include it as kms run. Perhaps I should.
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2018 Season: An uphill struggle.
