Daydreams

I have spent a lot of time in the pool lately, not being able to run and cycling needing a bit more planning and time swimming is the easier option. Staring at the black line as you do lap after lap gives you time to think and the mind wanders...

Song lyrics are a favourite keep me going, often random and with no real clue as to where it has come from they just get in my head and loop. At the Windsor triathlon last year i remember on the bike course singing in my head (thankfully not out loud) the chorus to "it's not fair" by Lilly Allen. Good song sure but not that good!! 

Other daydreams are around conversations that i have had and what i could or should have said had i been a bit sharper or more interested. Then there are answers to solutions at work and home that come with the clarity you acheive when the mind is empty. In that way swimming and running are, for me, very meditational. Repetitive actions with little thought really required, unlike cycling where you need to stay mentally focussed and sharp, and i just zone out.

The daydream that has been recurring most of late is the ambition to be a writer. The thought of writing a novel is just amazing. I find myself playing with plot lines and searching for the story that i could write that has enough substance to be a novel rather than just a short story. I have written short stories before and even went to the step of sending them to a publisher for review and consideration. I had a really good critique letter back suggesting that if i had 40-50 such peices of work they could be considered. That was about 10 years ago and in the intervening period i have started maybe 50 but only completed to my satisfaction maybe 2 further short stories. I also started a novel (ha!) a few years back, i have around 29,000 words written, and i guess that to complete that should be a first target. 

Now that i am injured maybe it's time to remind myself of where it was heading and perhaps look to work on it some more.

The funny thing is i have never daydreamed about winning races or anything like that. I have daydreamed about being a pro-athlete but that is such pie-in-the-sky that it is ridiculous and more a case of not wanting to get old than anything in reality. I still have sporting targets i want to hit e.g. sub 3hr marathon and and ultramarathon but they are targets to be trained for.

Writing a book is a very different target, now i have time maybe it's time to do something about it....

Not again....

Another day, another injury...

Friday evening i was over in the field across the road from us playing football with Luca. Nothing heavy or demanding just some long passing to each other. Next thing there are about 10kids around us with average age of about 8... An impromptu match kicked off with me as the only adult hanging back and letting the kids do the work and play the game. 

The opposition came forward and the ball broke. As i ran out to collect it i stopped, planted my left foot and went to bring it under with my right foot. Next thing a pop in the knee and i am on the ground in agony. At this point it was unfortunate that some expletives escaped my mouth....the initial pain eased and i got to my feet and hobbled home.

This was a carbon copy of an injury i did about 4years ago where playing 5-a-side, unmarked i went for the exact same manouvre and the same thing happened. That ended up with me in casualty and cost me a year while i waited for a meniscus operation. 

This injury feels very similar but not as bad. I am in more pain around the back of the knee from the Baker Cyst that has emerged. That woke me up this morning and has been very uncomfortable today. I'm struggling to straighten my leg and have not been able to walk flat footed as yet today.

Tomorrow i'll get an appointment with the GP and hopefully get this looked at and sorted quickly. The thought of losing a year again is just too depressing for words. That's the worse case scenario but also very real given queue's etc...

This is all the more frustrating as since January i have hardly done anything because of injury to my left ankle and now this.... 

1 MUG BRAN LOAF (low fat!!)

This months UK adventure Sports magazine arrived on Friday, on page 37 there's a recipe even I could follow!

This morning I started it then baked it when we got back from being out for the day.

The ingredients are simple!

• 1 mug of mixed fruit
• 1 mug of semi-skimmed milk
• 1 mug of sugar
• 1 mug all-bran (the sticks)
• 1 mug self raising flour

1. Place all ingredients except the flour into a mixing bowl, mix then leave to stand for at least 4hrs. This allows the bran and fruit to soak up all the milk.
2. When ready to cook preheat the oven to 140/gas mark 5
3. Mix in the self raising flour.
4. Place in a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin
5. bake in the oven for approx 1hr or when a knife comes out clean from the middle.

It looks like this and the verdict from this household was delicious!