Eight weeks to go. The training is progressing though sometimes it feels like really hard work. I've been going through these gates a lot recently. But are they the gates of heaven or hell? Going one way leads through into the deer park. Past the church and the obelisk. It can lead to a wonderful world of antlered deer stags, ice houses, world heritage, buzzards, the foothills of the dales, and a cafe with scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Heaven on earth. But it also leads to a very long mile uphill - the 'Studley Mile', up to it's very own Barkley gate at the top which I have to touch to complete a strength sapping speed interval. Eight minutes of hell doing each hill effort. Only to have to turn around and repeat, again and again. Or onwards through those gates at the top to do another 23 miles to complete a back-to-back-marathon-long-slow-trails-weekend. The thought of doing it is daunting. Going the other way through the gate is usually good. It'...
Waiting, then testing my knee out after a further two weeks off running felt like the right thing to do. But the half mile jog from the car park down to parkrun start told me otherwise and more time was needed.
That's OK. Frustrating as it is, one thing I have learnt about running (and I need to keep telling myself) is to be patient. Listen to your body and come back slowly from injury.
Fast forward another 10 days and I'm doing a GP surgery. I'm always conscious when I'm running late that patients are waiting. But sometimes, some patients need more time, and thankfully most who are waiting are understanding. Again, one thing I've learnt doing medicine is being patient - never let haste get the better of good clinical decision making.
So, I'm running late but I can't find the next patient who my computer is telling me has been here for some time. I'm in my clinic room downstairs. They must be in the other waiting area upstairs. I forget about my knee, bound up the staircase and turn abrubtly to welcome the waiting patient. I feel something go. I have intense pain. I can hardly walk - but I do. Swelling and pain on the inside bit of my knee. Pop. I can't straighten it fully.
And now 10 days later, I sit and wait in the knee clinic at the hospital having to be (a) patient. Time will tell what impact this has - this is NOT what I had planned for my preperations for my little LEJOG jaunt - but I force myself to re-read the first few paragraphs above. All good things come to those that wait. Take it slowly.
I'm even more determined to suceed now.
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