Fighting fit?

They say it can take 6 months to fully recover from MdS.  Really?  6 weeks later I look physically fine.  I'm now 11 stone 3 pounds, my heaviest ever, so any weight loss has been made back.  My feet are almost completely healed although they are a bit dry and flaky.  I have known for a while that I needed a cyst removed from my chest so I had that done 10 days ago and the stiches came out today but it will be at least 2 weeks before I can put any pressure on my chest so that means no swimming for a couple of weeks and no yoga.
So I've restricted my training to cycling and running.  My first ride was a week ago with 25 miles, Tuesday 40 miles and yesterday 44 miles.  I have felt tired on each ride and my average speed is back to where it was three years ago.  But I survived and each session makes me feel fitter.
My Chi running has been sporadic and while it feels good at the time I hurt in new places afterwards and I'm giving myself time.  This is all part of the change to Chi running.  No big distances, just feeling what's going on with my body.
So 6 weeks ago I was super fit.  Now I'm not but I am taking the an active route to recovery, just not pushing it too hard.
A friend of mine is doing Lands End to John O'Groats in 3 weeks time and I am hoping to join him for one stage i.e. 100 miles.  That's going to take a lot of effort but a goal worth pushing for.  I hope when I report back next week I'm fighting fit!

Starting again

I'm slowly getting back to training and finding that my body is still tired but actually responding well to the exercise.  On Saturday I ran 1 lap of Chatelherault (5 miles) focusing on my new Chi running style.  It's early days but I seem to be running much lighter and hills seemed to vanish.  All the time I was focusing on my style and taking the feedback from my body.  Within 10 minutes of starting I had a couple of niggles with my knee but they disappeared.  I wasn't trying to run fast but ended up with a fast time.  Afterwards I could feel a couple of different muscles letting me know they had worked but when you consider I'm not running with my orthotics or shoes with support it's unbelievable.  I've a lot to learn about Chi running but I'm studying the theory to help with my transition.
This afternoon I went out on the bike for a spin with my mate Jim.  He was suffering from a cold so wasn't wanting a hard session which suited me fine as I hadn't been out on the road on my bike in 8 months.  It felt great but the hills took their toll and my average speed was back to where it was 3 years ago so plenty of work to be done in that department.  30 miles was a reasonable start but as a friend pointed out - I can run further than that! 
I think I'll sleep tonight and take a few days to recover from my reintroduction to training.  But I loved it!

So what's next?

It's now 4 weeks since I returned from having completed the MdS and the most common question is "what's next?"  I've given that a lot of thought as I've enjoyed the rest, no training, plenty of food and a few too many beers!  I deliberately hadn't planned anything in advance as I wanted my total focus to be on MdS.
I've reflected on my journey to date and have decided on a plan for the rest of the year.  But first some background.  Before starting this journey I practised karate for 11 years.  The club was called Shoshin which stands for "beginners mind" and after receiving my black belt my Sensei explained to me to take a Shoshin approach to my learning.  He said "in the mind of the beginner there are many possibilities, in the mind of the expert there are few".  He repeated the process twice more after further gradings and I am going to apply the same process to my journey.
So yesterday I went on a Chi running course so that I can become a more effecient runner.  This means taking a step back and slowing down.  I am organising a swim coach to help me become a better swimmer so I have more energy when I get out the water to complete the triahlon.  Improving my form will give me greater purpose in my training and next year I intend to compete in a series of triathlons.
As for another big adventure, there are so many out there in the world but I'm in now rush.  Right now it's about getting fitter and better with a "beginners mind"!  I'll keep posting my blogs on a weekly rather than daily basis.  Keep in touch and thanks for your continued support.