'Tis the season to be jolly - which can make finding time for swimming, cycling and running a little tricky.
It's a bit of a no-brainer really when you're faced with a choice of a weights session at Marston Ferry gym or a swanky Christmas bash at the Royal Albert Hall watching John McEnroe play an exhibition match.
Naturally I opted for the gym. Well, that's what I told my coach. And then figured it's more than six months until my first race. And it's Christmas. And I love McEnroe. Excuses, excuses...
Apart from skiving off weights sessions, winter training is proving difficult. I need one of those North London tornados to sweep through my bedroom at 6am to get my butt to the pool on time. Staying under the cosy warm duvet seems so appealing when the alternative is going out into the cold and dark with mole eyes and bed hair to dive into a pool and swim 3km. Somehow I always seem to make it there, though.
Returned to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre's sports injury clinic this morning for a follow-up appointment after the MRI scan on my injured foot. The scan shows I ruptured my plantar fascia (the tough fibrous band of tissue which runs along the base of your foot and connects your heel bone to the base of your toes) and the scar tissue is big, bad and ugly. There were no signs of any bone-related problems, though, which was good to see.
The consultant is happy with the progress I'm making and has said I can now start running for longer durations, although it'll still be a few weeks before I can go out running with the speedy boys at lunchtime. But at least now I can justify adding running shoes to my Christmas list...