Injured for a day

Managed a two hour session on Sunday afternoon. It's not fast but it is further than I have walked since the Parish and it's great not to have any niggles. Another fifteen or so hours on to that and I'll be just about there!

On Monday morning, I was jogging across a garden in Jurby, when I felt a twinge behind my knee. Aggh... disaster! "That's it - I'll be out for months". It was really sore when I pinched the tendon. "I can forget the Parish." Everytime I pinched it got worse. "I'd may as well write off the rest of the year!"

Athletes are hypocohondriacs. No doubt about it. The more effort and time we put into our preparation and fitness, the more we have to lose. Old hand or beginner, we're all the same - realism always plays second fiddle to pessimism. The slightest niggle becomes career-threatening and a sniff is undeniably the onset of flu.

The knee's fine next day - miraculously cured by a day's rest and plenty of ice. To an athlete the most important item in the freezer is ice. Ours is a white, mis-shapen bag of vintage Birds Eye peas. It's so old that the printing has worn off the bag and has been defrosted so many times that to eat the contents would be very dangerous.