Sunday 20 October 2019

Double recovery

Recovery is an essential part of any athletes programme.  Whether it be recovering from a race or an injury / illness.  So when two coincide you could call it good timing especially when it's the end of the season when you'd normally be easing back to give your body time to recover.
But as you know, this is a double recovery; the Tahoe 200 will take a couple of months for my feet to repair and the fatigue to disappear; my hernia operation last week. 
My feet are still peeling but they are not sensitive to touch anymore.  I'm certainly sleeping a lot more and this will have been helped as I recover after the surgery which meant I had a general anaesthetic.  I'll have a 4 inch "battle scar" and am glad to say I'm off the pain killers but have to be careful with the smallest of movement - I can't engage my stomach muscles.  I'll see the surgeon on Thursday for his assessment but I am not able to drive for 10 days - 2 weeks which means I'm totally dependent on my family to chauffeur me  around and make and serve my food!  I can't lift anything and my walking is more like a shuffle as the wound is tight.  Add to that I need to wear loose clothes so I'm constantly dressed in a track suit - that will go down well in the office next week!
I'm spending hours sitting watching telly looking out the window at the autumn colours wishing I was at Chatelherault running through the ankle deep golden coloured leaves - but not this year.
I thought my recovery before light training could start was 2 weeks but in fact it's 6 weeks so it will be December before I can start. While it's frustrating it's probably doing me a lot of good and I'll benefit from it next year.
If you are out there enjoying the autumnal weather, enjoy every minute of it, even if it chucking it down with rain.  It's only when you have an enforced rest that you really appreciate what going for a run would be like.  But in the meantime I'll continue my double recovery and consider it part of my preparation for 2020 which is going to be an amazing year.  Can't wait.