For various reasons I've kept putting off adding a post, none of which make any real sense in hindsight. So what's been going on? Well my appointment with the specialist down in Sheffield got put back by a month for some reason and along with that my official physio sessions have come to an end; my climbing has come to the fore once again while running seems to have taken a back seat due to other injuries.
My, hopefully, last visit to see the specialist in Sheffield was as short as ever. His prognosis was that the elbow is unlikely to improve much but that given I can work around the issues caused and that I'm back essentially doing what I want there is little need to operate as the benefits would be balanced by the risks of any surgery. Next appointment in a year if I feel I need it.
The groin strain that I sustained on the Wadsworth Trog at the start of February has proven hard to shake off. Perhaps more worrying is that my body's attempts to deal with it have lead to tendon strains in both my knee and the back of my leg which in turn have lead to an altering of gait which has meant that more strain has gone on to my knees exacerbating the arthritis in those joints.
Despite this, I have been getting out, though not racing, I've committed to support a couple of Bob Graham attempts and potentially an attempt on the Ramsay Round Round in Scotland. Two weeks ago I went for a run round Langdale and died on my feet after a couple of hours. Short runs on the moors in Yorkshire are no substitute for big days out! Last weekend I was out on the Grassmoor fells and felt much better. Another long day and I should be OK for the first support stint in a couple of weeks time. One problem is that it takes several days for my knee to recover from each run. Will just have to take it steady.
On to more positive things ...
Slowly I've been building my climbing stamina, not been doing much trad but that is as much to do with weather and not being in the right place etc. as anything else. Normally we have been going to Spain in April for a long weekend bolt clipping to get ourselves set up with some fitness. This year we decided that we'd go to Portland instead. It worked out well in that the flight disruption from the ash fallout from the Icelandic volcano was the week before we were heading away. Fortuitous or what! We had three good days on Portland plus a not so good day at Swanage - at least for me. The day was misty with little sunshine to dry the rock. Now I really dislike damp, greasy rock and this combined with some dodgy rock and gear meant that I got a bit spooked.
Back in Yorkshire, I've been getting quite a bit done and starting to go for it again. Overall I'm about a grade down on last year, so not too bad given the total lack of training over winter. I did have an offer of going climbing to the Lofoten Islands in June but after initially being keen on the idea I've now settled on a week in Scotland getting some classics done.
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