Restless ness

It's been weeks since I did a rambling, what was this week post. January was a roller coaster of work and play. A fantastic month. I didn't have the time to sit down and write. I might have been recovering but was too fuzzy to do the things I had completed any justice until much later.

So January slid by in a jumble of sporting events and producing my first clean fuels energy installation at work.

Tomorrow it goes live and when everything is completely finished with papers in place and rubber stamps, I will be immensely proud of it with due credit to those who paved the way before me.

Sportfully, after Tigger Torr, my legs were done for. If I couldn't walk Monday, you should have seen me Tuesday. I was a walking joke. The  ministry of funny walks had nothing on me. With another race this weekend I became genuinely concerned about the state of my muscles and refused to leave the office or use stairs for 3 days.

You might think that this made me stiff but I felt like every time I moved I was doing more damage, so I didn't move except to go to bed, to / from the car and office where I used the lift.

On Tuesday I attended yoga class but made my excuses most of the way through. On Wednesday morning I did at least manage a swim, persuading myself that immersion in cold water and gentle movement were just what my legs needed. In reality, swimming 1km in spite of dragging my useless legs through the water behind me like a  deadweight was exactly the confidence boost i needed. To add to the restorative process, I added 5 minutes in the sauna... why don't I do this more often?

Today I finally walked down the stairs with my feet pointing forward and found a spring in my step. I had a tentative skip through the office to test things out then drove up to Middlesbrough where I have enjoyed another pleasant outing in the hills overlooking the city.

It was mercifully dry because I brought trainers. I  found the footpath behind the hotel and walked for an hour in the simple light of my head torch - sometimes even without that.

I found some great bivi spots but as a raging wind storm arrived I was moderately glad I had a hotel and warm meal to return to.

The exercise forecast for tomorrow doesn’t look good except for a day working outdoors in a howling wind. From there it's home and prep for Sundays race. That's going to be a completely different event. It's 15 miles. I am not ready for 15 miles of racing so I am out to enjoy myself. It will be the hair of the dog to last weekend's binge session. I am looking forward to surviving this one better.