Failing and finding new challenges

Well, it has been a roller coaster month and things are not quite heading in the direction that I had hoped they would. But, hey, I am alive, above the ground and breathing, so I have to remain grateful.

My foot issue has escalated following the inability to finish the Oxman in December. So much so I have not been able to ride my bike at all since.

I finally got the nerve test that ended up being cancelled when we were detained on the Gold Coast. Here is how it went.

So, this means no cycling for the foreseeable future, doubling – tripling the pain meds and of course, no alcohol for me, therefore. So I had to break my I WILL NEVER DRIVE HIS CAR pledge the other day and became the sober driver!

This also means I have a rather more regular appointment with the swimming pool instead. I am seriously running out of fitness options, I hope nothing else happens to me that requires medical intervention! I have no idea how long it will take to get a specialist referral: once again we have opted to go private (for the consultation at least) in the hope that will speed the process up a little.

So, now I need a new goal because Challenge Wanaka is very unlikely to happen. I have considered just doing the swim, I just don’t know if I can ethically start a race deliberately not intending to finish it: my morals are not letting me!

I have offered myself as a swimmer if anyone needs one last minute but the race is in a few weeks so the only reason I would be needed would be due to someone else’s medical emergency. πŸ™

So this is my new goal. A virtual swimming challenge. I am not sure why it is called ‘virtual’ because the challenge is very real: you choose the distance you pledge to swim over the course of the month. For January I chose 20,000 metres.

I like goals, So this was perfect for me. So this is now where you will find me for the foreseeable future!

I’m going well with my January challenge, I am on 18,450 metres, so I will probably hit the target with one more visit to the pool πŸ˜€ It really has helped me to keep focussed!!

The weather really has been spectacularly crappy here this summer. This is what I looked like a week or two ago. At the moment it is the equivalent of July for the Northern hemisphere (weather wise), but we have had snow, rain and unprecedented winds!

It finally did come good (briefly at least, who knows how long it will last!) so we went to the Winton A&P show. we have been before, it is a cool day out, if not slightly unusual and so typically Kiwi!

In other news, I am on a mini mission to find some other humans on this planet who have a TKR and have managed to return to their sport. Follow this series on my knee replacement rehab blog, or my knee replacement Youtube channel. It is proving quite interesting, if not a small headache trying to work out all the different time zones so we can arrange the video calls!

I’ll try and not leave it so long before my next Blog. πŸ˜‰

Author: Melanie

I am a massage therapist and part time athlete, blogging life thru a disability lens. On wheels, with flipper and occasionally on feet.

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