It's ages away yet (262 days to be exact), but I knew I definitely wanted to do it and being the bargain hunter/tightwad I am I've got my name down early to take advantage of the early bird rate. And, as with one of my intentions when I signed up to my first ever race, it will be a good target for keeping my motivation solid.
As you may have guessed from the title, my entry into the half marathon isn't the sole reason for this blog post. Nope. The second reason is to talk about injury.
Way back when I started my blog, I mentioned being more than a little bit clumsy. I even fell over a few weeks in and had to have a week out of training. Well, in true Kay Knowles fashion I've done myself a mischief (don't let your weight lifter brother put someone down onto your foot. No, I'm not going mad, that's how my injury happened!)
The incident itself is a bit hazy, but it was all quite dramatic and involved me crying into a chicken leg for a bit. My toe and foot hurt a bit but the concoctions of alcohol I'd been drinking masked the pain a bit.
Then I got out of bed the next morning. Now, I'm not one for writing down swear words in a public domain, but insert whatever words you can think of, and that's what I said when I tried to put my foot on the floor on January 1st.
Skip forwards one week, one GP visit, one hospital visit, two x rays, several failed attempts and driving and a couple of uncomfortable painful short car journeys, throw in five days off work for good measure and that's where I am today.
It's a lot less painful now and I'm managing to hobble around pretty well. But the heart breaking thing is my GP has advised 6-8 weeks before I start running again. It really does make me realise how much I've changed in the last year, there would have been one time where and excuse to stay away from exercise guilt-free for nearly two months would have been my idea of perfection!
But not now! No way. I'm frustrated, grouchy, bored and nervous. Frustrated because I run to let off steam after a rubbish day, grouchy for mainly the same reason, bored because I've been pretty much confined to the house for a week (which doesn't help the frustration and grouchiness). The nerves are because by the time I'm allowed to put my trainers on again I'm worried I won't remember how to tie my laces and work my Tomtom, let alone put one foot in front of the other!
As soon as the pain's gone properly I'm going to get myself back to the gym for a bit of swimming and other gentle stuff so I don't lose the fitness levels I've spent the last 12 months building up. I realise, however, that I am going to have to be quite patient with myself once I'm ready to pound the pavements again!
Watch this space, I'll be sure to fill everyone in on how it goes!
