Tuesday, December 11, 2007

On the Road Again

I went for a run this morning. The ground was covered in frost and the trees were encased in ice and shining like glass ornaments in the sunshine. Very wintry-looking. As I jogged along the road at the top of the hill behind my house, the sun started to melt the ice on the trees and shower me with icy shards. Man, it felt good.

It felt good because I've been out of action for about seven weeks now with a couple of minor health problems. No running. And if that weren't bad enough, shock, horror, no sailing. It's been a tough time as I need physical activity to keep up my morale, especially at this time of year as the days become colder, shorter and darker.

I've tried not to whine about it (too much) in this blog. But regular readers will probably have noticed that this sailor's sailing blog hasn't been carrying any news about this sailor's sailing. Because there hasn't been any.

I missed the Fat Boys Regatta in Bristol at the end of October and I've also missed the first six weeks of the Newport frostbiting season. Yikes. Being able to sail in Newport in the winter was one of the reasons we moved to Rhode Island. Thank goodness it wasn't the only reason.

It seems that one of the penalties of aging is that comparatively minor aches and pains and infections just take longer to clear up than they used to when I was in my twenties. And I'm pretty sure that Laser sailing in 20 knots is not the best cure for a bad back. And I have a hunch that immersing myself in near-freezing water every Sunday afternoon is not the best treatment for a severe chest cold.

But today I went for a run in the ice and frost. Man, it felt good and I feel like I'm back to my normal self again.

However, the weeks with no sailing and little exercise have taken their toll. I've put on a few pounds and I'm nowhere near as fit as I was after a summer of active sailing followed by the trip to Spain for the Masters Worlds. I dread to think how clumsy I am going to be next time I try and sail my Laser.

Meanwhile the Australians are in their summer and are sailing all the time in preparation for the next Laser Masters Worlds near Sydney in February. The way things are I'm thinking I'm not going to surpass or even equal my performance in Spain. So I'm approaching the Worlds with a different attitude this time.

I'm going to the Dominican Republic again in January for a clinic and for the Laser Caribbean Midwinters. Then off to Australia in February for the Laser Masters Worlds. My mindset is that both these events are just for fun and to get me in shape for the start of the 2008 summer season in North America.

I went for a run today. Man, it felt good.

1 comment:

Mondale said...

Seven weeks? I've been off the road for almost two and it's just awful. I went a bit too hard and and a little too long about ten days ago, picked up a horrible cold and a sore hip, decided to rest for a week. Then I went out and the hip was quite painful. It feels better now so I'm going to wait for the weekend, that way I'll actually be able to run in daylight!
Good runnings to you.

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