I set this blog up three years ago as somewhere I could publish my more sensible, more rational, less emotional writing. Truthfully, I’ve struggled to find topics to write about, being a not entirely sensible human being. But I think I’ve got something I can get my teeth into on a regular basis now.
I started work at my current place of employment five years ago. Within a week I had managed to ensconce myself in the Tuesday lunchtime 5-a-side game, a fixture that has survived dozens of players leaving over the years, but it’s been touch-and-go at times. It’s also now played on Thursday, but more on that later.
I’ve been playing football since I was nine, the age I discovered the game. I don’t proclaim to be particularly talented, but I have practised and observed and learned enough over the years to hold my own at a reasonable level (one substitute appearance for my school team, a dozen or so over two years for my uni’s 6th XI). Okay, reasonable level might be pushing it, but apart from four years between the ages of 16 and 20, I’ve spent most of my life running and kicking a ball.
So, it was somewhat frustrating when in the summer/winter of 2007 I began to develop severe pains in my shins when playing. A number of departures from the office had led to the suggestion of an evening game on Tuesday in addition to the lunchtime game, which would be shifted to Thursday. After a while of playing twice a week, by the end of the second game, my legs felt heavy, painful and unresponsive.
Five years later, I’m still suffering from the shin pain. The more I run, the more it hurts and so I’m limited to two games of football a week at most. I’ve had x-rays, an MRI scan, I’ve had orthopaedic surgeons and physios look at my legs. No-one seems able to decide if the problem is shin splints, compartment syndrome, or something else entirely. As such, no suggestion of how to make it go away has been forthcoming.
I’m not someone that is overly fond of physical exercise, so not being able to run as much as I could hasn’t hit me very hard. However, I do like eating, and as I reach middle age, I’m beginning to spread. Exercising becomes a necessity because I don’t enjoy being out of condition (it also means I get frustrated on the football pitch when I can’t do the things I want to do).
Two weeks ago, I had a physiotherapy session about a knee complaint I’ve had for the last nine months. It was a fairly successful session, and I was given some stretches to loosen my quadriceps muscles and build my core. I wondered if I followed a sensible ramping-up running regime, could I ease myself back into being able to run regularly?
As an experiment, I downloaded an iPhone app that had been recommended by Charlie Brooker of all people, called ‘Get Running’. Starting off with eight blocks of running for sixty seconds interspersed with 90 seconds of walking, the app aims to assist runners complete a 5k run by the end of 12 weeks. The first time I tried it was fine; the app was easy to use, and I felt excellent by the end of my work out.
However, I played two games of football that week on top of my run, and by Thursday the old familiar pains had returned. This was a disappointing development, and had quickly put my ridiculous notion of competing in a novice triathlon to the sword.
However, as a work colleague is fond of putting it, I shall attempt to improvise, adapt and overcome. I do not appear to be able to run, but I can walk. I have purchased a pedometer, and after seeking counsel from some friends that have taken up step-based exercise regimes, I am working on a programme.
I also have my bike (the seed of the triathlon silliness), and should I manage to get the tires repaired and running without constant punctures I intend to use my forthcoming annual leave to get some miles on the clock. I’ve been doing more planks recently to help my core, and I think they’ve actually helped my lower back pain, and continuing on that theme, I’ve booked a place on a Pilates class on Saturday.
This gym-work, cross-training, walking, swimming and core work may be a fad. It has been in the past, but until that proves to be the case I will update my progress here, if only for my own benefit. I have a physio appointment tomorrow to see how the quadriceps stretches have helped my knee, so I may post tomorrow. Hopefully sometime in the future I’ll be posting my time in my latest 10k, or even a marathon. It’s good to have a goal.
