Wednesday, 4 October 2017

London Marathon 2018:- Not to be

Normally I would be gutted about not getting a place in the London Marathon. Although this is something I already achieved in 2011, I had to defer my place until 2012 after a rollercoaster ride as to whether I would be able to run in 2011 or not.... Turns out it wasn't supposed to be due to a Grade 4 stress fracture during training... But fear not as this gave me the determination and focus to make sure that I was in the best possible position to complete it in 2012 despite limited running training as there was a risk that I could get a stress fracture up to a year after getting the original one. This is something I did not know about... It's amazing what you learn about your body and the healing process.

Anyway good new is I didn't get into the Marathon so I won't have to have a conversation with my consultant just yet about when I can run!! To be fair I do need to get off the crutches and bend my knee but there is nothing like a bit of forward planning and something to work towards.

Recently I have been watching two great programmes on BBC iPlayer.... How To Stay Young and The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed. You will need to hurry if you want to watch How To Stay Young as the first episode is only available for another 13 days. It's amazing what our bodies can do and how we can slow down the ageing process by simple lifestyle changes. The motivation has to be how much do you want it? How would you feel when you get to your goal? What would it look like? Seeing how people have aged due to either poor diet, lack of sleep or stress has really made me think. Luckily I am in a group that has previously completed Scott Baptie from Food For Fitness 30 Day Challenge and as previously mentioned in another blog.... the group has decided to re-start it as a Christmas Body Challenge. I am currently on Day 3 of this and it has been amazing.... Why I stopped doing it I have no idea.. Well actually I do... It's because it was sold as a 30 Day challenge! Anyway.... I have got rid of the 30 day idea out of my head so that when the 30 days are up, I can move onto the next stage. 

I also reviewed the stresses that I have in my life and how I can prevent them from slowly re-entering my life and if I cannot avoid them I have looked at techniques to how to manage them more appropriately. So I am now equipped with a variety of tools in my took box. Normally I have used sport or running to elevate my stresses but for obvious reasons I have not been able to use my normal methods so I have turned to mindfulness and relaxation. So with a combination of healthy eating and mindfulness I am sleeping so much better and I feel great within myself. In other words, life is amazing! 

I pushed myself a little too far with physio exercises yesterday as I was hoping that I would be able to bend my knee enough today so that I could go to the theatre to see Labour of Love but alas it is not meant to be. So today I am resting up and icing my knee whilst carrying on with the exercises but taking it a bit easier with them. Progress is being made on a regular basis.

It is amazing as to how far research has enable different treatment plans from those 13 years ago. In 2004 I snapped my cartilage and ruptured my ACL in my other leg. At that stage I was only offered to have my cartilage repaired and was advised to build up the muscles in my leg to support the lack of the ACL which I have done and have continued to do so ever since. This time round, I was offered stem cell graft in the hope that this would repair two holes that I have in my bones. I am also part of a research project which I can opt out of at anytime but I have no intention of doing that as if it means that there could be further opportunities to progress with medical advances whether this would help me or not, I am all for it. Hopefully it would mean that someone else in the future will benefit from it. 

I remain ever hopeful that the grafts will work and will be able to fully return to sport when I am allowed to. It's not until something is gone do you realise how much you miss it. I have made some amazing friends over the years via sport whether this was playing squash, rugby, running, cycling, swimming, people at the gym, BootCamp with Kelly or workshops with Stuart Amory and Mark Raynsford. I am determined that I will be back having fun!!

No comments:

Post a Comment