Stayin' alive

I have received a few very much appreciated off-line queries as to my well-being. I'm sorry it has been so long between posts, but with no training to write about, it is hard to find the motivation to write anything at all.

I guess April hasn't been a good month because not only have I maintained very low running frequency and mileage, I haven't made it to the gym much either. I had a mini-resurgence mid month and ran around 15 km one Sunday, but the Achilles was really no better so there was still no chance of a return to more regular running. Then last week I went for an hour run with Gareth & Colin on the Tuesday public holiday, then another easy hour+ the next night. I was subsequently stiff and sore and completely not in the mood for running for the next three days. That's kind of knocked my motivation even further and I'm getting into that well, I just couldn't be bothered state.

The Achilles itself at times feels marginally less painful, but it is still quite sore and still has a pronounced lump in the middle. UK-based Nambanner Alberto reported a satisfying sub-3 hr run in the London Marathon last month and mentioned this was after an Achilles operation in January last year and a long and frustrating rehabilitation. So I wrote to him for advice about the Achilles (and congratulate him for his great race of course). He put me on to this web page about Achilles tendinosis. I am doing the heel drop exercises. Three sets of 15 reps of two different exercises twice a day. As I said, I think there has been some slight improvement, but the physical condition of the Achilles remains the same. I have decided though that I am going to give these exercises a chance to work before going to a doctor. So ask me again in 22 weeks.

I'm starting to feel some expansion of the girth, facilitated by a bit of renewed activity in the beer and brewing scene (an IPA is conditioning and an extra special bitter in the primary fermenter). Apart from interesting developments with our home brewing group, including a couple of kick-ass parties, I co-organized a seminar by Chris White, the president of White Labs liquid yeast company, here for the Japan Craft Beer Festival. If you have consumed any craft beer in the USA, Australia or Japan (amongst others), the chances are pretty high that you have drunk beer with yeast produced by his company. I was also lucky enough to spend a couple of sessions with Chris and his marketing manager, JoAnne, over the last couple of days. It has definitely helped deepen my knowledge of brewing yeast, which is a topic close to everybody's heart, I am sure.

My job is going alright, but despite their being numerous little things I could say, to be honest I think it is just too boring a topic to write about. One day I might be able to give a brief, not too coma-inducing overview. One thing is that, unlike my previous situation, I definitely can't blog on the job, which also partly accounts for the drop off in blog posts. It is a four-day weekend here this weekend, and that has afforded me the time to write this.

So that's about it. The different kind of reality continues. Maybe I will get back to some serious running again one day, but it doesn't look like it will be any time soon. In the meantime I have to try to find the time and motivation stem my outward expansion.