Luke Goodman writes:
So it’s time for another instalment of what will Luke ramble on about… To be honest, as I sit here typing this, I still have no idea what will come out. For me, writing and sharing my thoughts and what I am doing is not something that comes naturally. It is foreign to me to share what is going on in my life to so many people, especially when I haven’t even met many of them. I am generally quiet a quiet person so having to share what is going on fills me with anxiety every time I write one of these.
So here goes… I’m sure like many Eagles who knew Rob, the last few weeks have been bit of a blur. I have found it hard to be motivated to do anything, instead just wanting to sit quietly and ponder life and the choices I have made and those that I may make going forward. I have struggled with work, exercise and life in general. But luckily I have a good support network around me who helped get me out and about and start to get back to my positive self.
A few weeks ago I started seeing a physio for my knee. Not that my knee was giving me issues, I just wanted to make sure I was doing all I could to try and avoid repeat injuries. The first thing my physio discovered was that I had a lost a lot of muscle in my leg since my knee operation last year. My physio Greg (recommended by Melissah) set me up with a host of exercises that I had to do twice a day plus other more intense ones to do twice a week. Despite lacking motivation generally, I am still a very determined person (or as Caz calls it stubborn) so I have been doing all my exercises without fail. I last saw Greg on Friday and he was amazed at the progress I had made. We have now ramped up the program which is exciting with additional strength exercises added. I am also doing my cardio work which again is slowly increasing. All in all, I am feeling cautiously optimistic for London.
When speaking with Greg, I asked him about core exercises and if I could also work some of them into my workouts. He very enthusiastically said yes with a sly grin. I now know why. Upon doing my first 10-minute abs workout on YouTube, it then took me 3 days until I was able to laugh again without wanting to cry! I have persevered though, and the recovery time is now starting to get a bit shorter thankfully.
On the cardio front, I have been cycling, swimming and using the cross-trainer among other things. I’ve also been running a couple of times a week which has included doing parkrun most weeks Last weekend I ran Gunnersbury with Harry as his normal running mate was away on holidays, so Harry let me run with him. We had good chat on our run which also included a few little walk breaks as Harry wasn’t feeling the best On the home straight though Harry wanted to run. The race then was on! It must have been quite the site, a middle aged overweight man racing against a slim 12 year old, but race we did! Every time Harry sped up a bit I would try and keep up, to the point where crossing the finish line we were both pretty much flat out. It was nice to actually run quickly again, even if it was only for a short burst. Looking on Garmin Connect afterwards I could see that we dipped under the 6 minute mile bracket. It has been a long time since I ran at that speed, so it was a nice feeling to know that it was in there. It’s amazing what racing a 12 year old will do for you 😊
The next couple of weeks I am hoping to continue on with what I have been doing. I am getting stronger each week, fitter as well. The journey to London is a different one to normal but it is one I am enjoying and can see the long term benefits of.