Flyin' and Ridin'

Running = Fun ?

by Francois on Sunday, May 12, 2013 · 0 comments

Let me ask you: IMAG0970

How much fun is it to be passed by a fellow runner who doesn’t only go much faster, but is ALSO pushing a pram with his child along……

How much fun is it to be running with a dry mouth and out of breath in a group of people who are all happily discussing while running…..

How much fun is it to be nearing the finish line of a 2,5 km tour, and being PASSED by the NUMBER 1 runner already….. meaning he goes more than twice as fast…..

How much fun is it to see one of the press photographers jump in your path to take a picture…… of the NUMBER 2 and 3 just behind you……

How much fun is it to be the LAST runner on the track, annoying car drivers that are stopped to let me pass ……..

And finally….. how is one supposed to be RUNNING AND at the same time receive a plastic cup of water and DRINK it while running, and out of breath? I got all wet !

Yes, dear readers…. I participated in my first ever public run, doing only one of 4 tours, being one of the last to past the finish and one of the first to call it a day.
Granted, I’ve had knee and stomach ‘injuries’ for three weeks already and wasn’t properly mentally ready for it, but still…. I am very much wondering if I should go on with this ‘hobby’ or call it a day.
Just when I bought new running shoes after having my walking and ankles analyzed, getting some new clothes to match and being able to run almost 5 km in one go now…… until a few weeks ago when the injuries started. Since my knee is better now, I will probably try and continue….. also because I am a stubborn so-and-so.

Truth be told, I rather like my weekly run with some like-minded – or non-minded – people now that I got to settle my pace with the heartbeat meter. Even though I am not a real fan of any ‘training’ and never will be. And since I could now run 5 km’s – even when going very slow – I felt I had improved a lot since starting this over a year ago and am proud of that.

But the intermittent pains in my knee, toes, back, stomach, neck and head – and I don’t mean just muscle aches – made me hesitant these past few weeks. The public endurance run actually did NOT HELP in getting my drive back. The only thing that may keep me going is said stubbornness and feeling that I am always under-performing and need to prove I am not….

…… if you don’t hear from me again…..

{ 0 comments }

Our little stroll in Annecy

by Francois on Thursday, March 7, 2013 · 0 comments

Here’s part of the stroll in Annecy today.

View 07/03/2013 14:18 in a larger map

{ 0 comments }

I really thought Iwas dying

by Francois on Thursday, January 17, 2013 · 0 comments

barbie-headache Not a very positive title is it? Thing is, it’s true.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 5:30 and started getting a headache fast. By 7 am I couldn’t get out of bed anymore and was just clinching my head. Took some paracetamol, even had a coffee later on and something to eat, but the pain wasn’t receding in the afternoon as it usually does. So I only stumbled down the stairs around 7 pm and had a few sandwiches. Lounged in front of the tv without really seeing or hearing much. Too sick even to start up my PC and read emails….. let alone type on Facebook.

By 10 pm I had a bath and we went to bed….. the pain was more bearable and should slowly die down now. The pain, not me!

Allas, by midnight the pain started flaring up again and becoming even worse than in the morning. If you never have headaches, like REAL headaches, you probably cannot imagine why someone would sit in bed on his knees, pushing his head in the pillow, while clinching it so hard that he’d have bruises on his skull the next day? I thought not.

Ultimately, not being able to lay still, or sit still, I stumbled downstairs again, looking for more painkillers. Then I found two boxes the doc had given me the last time in November. NEW pills, never tried them. So I took one, including the stomach protector that comes with it – can you imagine what shi-ty stuff this is? – and I went back up, hoping to now lay down and fall asleep.

Well, heck NO….. the pain got worse !!! So bad, actually, that I REALLY thought it must be the end. I didn’t know what to do anymore…. and after 50+ years of headaches that means it was REALLY really bad. Nina woke up because of all my rumbling and groaning and said she had some ‘ sleep tea’ somewhere. I went down, looking with one eye, and made me a strong cup of the stuff….. whatever it was.

I dropped down in the – now cold – bed again and grabbed Nina’s hand. It’s the last thing I wanted to feel before dying……

Now, almost 48 hours later, the pain is getting less and I am still typing to you….. hurraayy ! But I am also convinced that I won’t equal my dad and get to live 93 years or more. Not after last night.

The good news is that my ‘gout toe’ seems to be recovering now

Wishing you all a healthy life, stay safe out there, and enjoy life while you still can!

{ 0 comments }

Skiing at Méribel

by Francois on Friday, January 4, 2013 · 0 comments

Today was anoter brilliant day and we stayed in bed late……..*grin*. Hey! This IS our vacation, remember? And I actually find skiing a major uncomfortable happening these days.On the other hand, since we’re still able, we HAVE to go skiing. So we did. Modestly.

Below is (part of) our skitrack (I forgot to turn it back on after our lunch/sandwiches, so we did one extra descent that’s not shown).

View 04/01/2013 12:47 in a larger map

{ 0 comments }

Running and Skiing

by Francois on Friday, December 28, 2012 · 0 comments

Yes, I know this is boring, but I want to put it somewhere. So why not on my blog.

To make it more interesting, maybe the added info that I now use a heartbeat sensor (thanks to daughter Vivian) and it showed that I had an average today of 124…… which I suppose isn’t bad for an old geezer like me !

Next time running will be in 2 weeks……. we’ll go do some snow shoeing and skiing first !

View Running on 28/12/2012 15:35 in a larger map

{ 0 comments }

Working less

November 19, 2012

…… don’t worry, only ever so slightly less. But still enough to do some OTHER things too, like walking along the North Sea shores at Den Helder, Holland’s naval base and ‘top of the province’. It was nice weather, cold, not too windy and mostly sunny. ‘Breughel Weather’. Will post a few pictures later today [...]

Archives

Meta

Lijit Search

Count per Day

My Weather