ONWARDS!

So my last post (and the first post in ages) was pretty dark. I don't apologise for that. Waking up to a sunny day and feeling pretty low about a life's ambition culminating in sweet bugger-all will lead to the kind of blogging usually done whilst listening to Mogwai and smoking endless cigarettes in a dingy basement.

However, I am never one to let the moodiness of one day affect another. Monday the 29th dawned with sunshine, work and the realisation that whilst I might not have run the Auckland marathon last weekend, neither did a lot of people and they managed this news just fine.

Not being able to run far and getting a diagnosis of Munted Kneecap (not a medical term) has given me a chance to do a bit of a damage inventory, and figure out where I'm going from here. The inventory is pretty long, and rather painful.

• Right knee. Munted.
• Left shoulder. Munted (have spent my entire adult life sleeping on my left side with my shoulder thrown forward. Apparently it's not built to withstand that)
• Lower back. Slightly munted (prolapsed disc from poor form doing a deadlift in 2009)
• Left ankle. Still not full range of motion, and are scars still supposed to hurt after this long?

So, where to start? What's the next goal? After years of signing up to races, events, sports etc. I decided to change gear slightly. I want to Not Hurt. I want the injuries to heal, to build up the muscle and tendon that will help hold everything in place and let me do what I want without worrying about this giving way or that stopping me from sleeping at night.

Toy store/bedroom

It's a different way of looking at my body. One where I'm working with it, not in spite of it. Getting back to the body as an ergonomic tool, rather than something to be tortured and pushed.

So with that in mind, I joined a new gym in town. One where rugby players train and there's loads of classes on all the time (it even has a pool!). I'm going to yoga 2-3 times a week, spin classes, pilates and weights classes. I've signed up with a PT to put together a recovery program. My new (to me) road bike is making me happy, as is my very old mountain bike.  I've thrown my scales away. I go out with friends instead of a run and don't feel guilty. It's all a bit new and weird and really quite good.

Onwards.