One up, one down

stats of the week: run 17 km, zwift cycled 45 km, gym 3 h

The situation is still marked by ups and downs. The highlight of the week was my participation in a local New Year’s Eve run. As I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to manage the full 5 km, I started cautiously, but soon found my rhythm and finished in 30 min and 16 sec. I was pleased with this result until the next setback, when my L4 nerve once again caused an increased feeling of tension. However, in the meantime I have been able to return to my routine of running 2 km on the treadmill every morning before breakfast.

As a yearly habit, I am once again taking part in the popular Dry January. This time, my target is to remain alcohol-free until my running distance has increased to 10 km.

By the way, this blog celebrated a jubilee last week: it has now been in existence for 20 years. The very first post dates back to 24 December 2005.

Photo: In the past, I enjoyed running in wintry conditions. Nowadays, I prefer the treadmill because of the risk of falling.

Another little setback

stats of the week: zwift run 6 km, walked 26 km, zwift cycled 52 km, gym 1.5 h

Clearly, last week’s mileage was a little too much. I developed some pain in the groin area and was once again forced to cut back on my training just as it was beginning to improve. In the meantime, winter has arrived here, bringing cold fog and freezing temperatures, which have resulted in icy paths. Today we had to abandon our attempt at a jog and resort to the treadmill. C. has now decided not to take part in the New Year’s Eve race, as she is always afraid of falling.

On Boxing Day, our traditional trail run through the local woods took place as usual. We call it the “Christmas Roast Digestion Run”, and it has been held for more than 25 years. I love it because runners from various towns and clubs come together for a sociable, chatty run with no element of competition.

Once again Herman

stats of the week: run 24 km, zwift cycled 46 km, gym 3 h

I am pleasantly surprised by myself for having logged 24 kilometers of slow jogging this week: including 2 kilometres each morning on the treadmill and two 5K runs, which still involved some walking breaks but were at least completed in under 33 minutes. As a result, I signed up for a New Year’s Eve 5K run, where I will be accompanying C. I still sometimes feel unsteady on my right leg and my performance remains limited, but it feels good to be back out on the road.

On Thursday, we attended another concert by the much-admired Dutch artist Herman van Veen. Over the past 50 years, I estimate that I have been to at least 40 of his concerts, some of them in his home country, the Netherlands. He has a rare gift for making people deeply happy; every time I leave one of his concerts, life seems more reasonable and humane.

Herman is 80 now, and this may have been the last time I have seen him perform. He has been one of the greatest inspirations in my life. Thank you, Herman.

Being patient and wise

stats of the week: treadmill jogged 8 km, walked 15 km, gym 3 h

I received the third and final injection at the L3 vertebra, once again without any effect. The neurologist examined my nerves and concluded that only L4 is affected. This means I could have avoided the three L3 injections, which, incidentally, cost €210 each.

The good news is that the doctor’s prognosis is that the nerve will take some time to recover, but it will recover. In the meantime, I have been able to extend my treadmill intervals to a couple of 1 km runs each.

However, it is clear that I am not yet ready to take part in a race. I must admit that I did consider walk-jogging the 5K at the local Christmas run. In the end, I convinced myself that it would be wiser to take photos instead.

Prospects of 6 months and more

stats of the week: walked 22 km, zwift cycled 23 km, gym 3 h

Received injection nr 5, the 2nd at the L3 vertebra, and my first impression was that something positive happened. But the following days stayed without difference, the numb area is still the same. The physiotherapist told me to expect at least 6 months until a significant improvement.

However, I use the treadmill every morning and could extend my slow jog intervals to a distance of 500 meters. At least a bit of progress.

A great experience last Thursday was our visit to nearby Westfalenhalle where the German Handball ladies team played the World Championship and qualified for the Quarter Final. 9,000 spectators were excited and produced a unique atmosphere when the team beat Montenegro clearly.

Photo: The opening scene at Westfalenhalle

More injections, no improvement

stats of the week: walked 19 km, zwift cycled 33 km, gym 4 h

I had my fourth injection, this time at the L3 vertebra, but it had no noticeable effect. Unlike injections one and two, which caused widespread paralysis for several hours, numbers three and four produced no reaction at all. It felt as though I hadn’t been given an injection. I’m not sure whether this indicates that the injection was not administered as precisely as before. In any case, nothing has changed, and I’m due to receive injection number five next Wednesday.

Now that we’re back in Witten and at home, I can use my treadmill and the Zwift bike again, go to the gym and the sauna, and get support from the physio. With a proper daily routine, I’m hopeful the nerve will continue to improve. I’m now able to jog short, slow intervals of about 300 metres.

We’ve successfully sold our much-loved old Toyota Verso after 13 years and 250,000 km. The car had picked up a few bumps over the years, but unfortunately a particularly large one was added by an unknown neighbour in Mollans just last week. Only a handful of locals use the parking area on the central terrace, yet the person responsible never owned up. In the end, we were able to sell the damaged car, though of course for a considerably lower price.

Photo: The Mollans bump

Enjoyable bike rides on a rainy island

stats of the week: walked 14 km, cycled 93 km, gym 1.5 h

It has now been ten weeks since the disc incident, and I’m still a long way from being able to run again. At least today I managed to jog eight very slow sets of 100 metres.

We had to use our ferry tickets from Barcelona to Mallorca, as they couldn’t be cancelled  and only rebooked for another date. So we drove from Mollans to the port of Barcelona and took the ferry, which gave us a rather turbulent crossing, before enjoying three days on the island. It rained the whole of the first day, but on the following two days we were pleased to fit in two short bike rides. It was cold and windy, and we did get wet once, but being able to ride my bike outdoors lifted my spirits, as it feels like progress.

the week's photos:

The ferry crossings back and forth were both turbulent.

Mallorca turned out to be a rainy island.

On the way back we stopped for a coastal walk in South France.