1. Retirement

Applying for a marathon and training

Deciding to enter a marathon requires a commitment to hours of training. Once the decision is made, you have to do what it takes.

I had decided to retire in April 2022. Thanks again to my friends and customers at ROCC Computers, I had a wonderful send off and the best present ever – my retirement blanket complete with pictures of my colleagues over the years. I didn’t know quite how it would work out but I was ready to try out retirement.

In my new free time I soon got the hang of running club on Tuesday mornings. In the first two months I had a cycling trip to Jersey to see a friend of my parents, then I took part in a local triathlon. I had dusted down my photography gear and the future was looking bright.

A couple of weeks later Sue and I went for a short walk but after half a mile I found I couldn’t walk, she had to fetch the car for me. I could feel that a muscle was tense around my glutes and I tried a bit of massage with my thumb. The next week was busy as I help organise the fun run at the local village fair so I popped some painkillers and limped on both legs, determined to get treatment the following week.

Treatment. Where do you go? Doctors aren’t going to help with a pulled muscle, so I had the choice of physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths. Unsure which to choose, I tried all three over the coming months, along with a programme of stretches and strengthening exercises that I strictly followed.

Gradually I was able to do less and less. I gave up running first followed by cycling and hiking and soon I couldn’t even stretch for Pilates.

I had some respite in September and October but by November and December I was worse than ever. I couldn’t hold my bodyweight on my left leg, I could hardly get out of bed and move around the house and my world shrank.