Let's twist again

Parkrun last weekend was a little disappointing. My general aim is to try and get a new PB, even if it's just a few seconds off, each time but it was very slippery on the tow path and I felt heavy with tiredness and didn't push as hard as I should have done so just missed out. Ho hum.

Sunday was my introduction to Mountain Boarding which was immense amounts of fun. I fully expected to be the eldest there by a long shot but on my 11am session the only other participant was Mark who was a wonderful 32 years old. God bless you dude. He had snowboarding skills on his side so wiped out far less than I did but both of us sort of gave up after 2.5 hours of hurtling downhills, tramping up them and colliding with them. I got pretty freaked out by the perceived speed at which I was travelling which lead to quite a few aborted runs as I slid my way, on my backside, into the nearest overgrown patch of ground. I probably achieved as many injuries on the lift as I did on the hills, it being so uneven that my board would get caught and I'd end up in a sprawling heap wondering which way was up (a common theme of the day).

By the end of it I was having a blast, ok at turning and stopping, even tried an up-and-down run. But I was also covered in sweat, dust, grazes and bruises (including one on my backside!). I was also the proud possessor of a twisted ankle, the severity of which only became apparent later that day as I'd clearly done it early on but kept using it. The verdict: I'd go again, but with more padding and once the memory of the pain has subsided.

So running's probably off the menu this week. I shall volunteer at Parkrun instead if I can make it at all.

Not one to be sat still (actually I was surviving on caffeine and sugar for a large part of the week), I tested out the ankle last night by way of a brief cycle around my immediate neighbourhood... in my PJs and flipflops (it was late, and I couldn't be bothered to put on sensible clothes). All seemed well so I threw myself into Spin class this morning. Dominic had very kindly put my name down... yeah, thanks. I was determined to do better than before and I think I did. I didn't swear so much but that was possibly because I was out of breath and exhausted. Legs felt less jelly-like and I seem to have a remarkable ability to recover quickly even when I feel like throwing up during the exercise. I definitely made more effort to use harder resistance but I noticed that I really struggle with peddling quickly, as I do with running fast. This leads me to believe that I am made for endurance, not speed but have arranged to have a chat with Dom about how I might improve.

Abs class tomorrow followed by a leisurely bike ride in the evening with the lovely Jo to try out my route to work in the hope of starting to cycle in at least one day a week from next week. Here's hoping for a speedy ankle recovery to allow for running next weekend.