Training

I have been training for our (still theoretical) trip to Argentina next summer.

Unfortunately, it has not been going well.

I am not athletic. To be athletic implies that a person has adequate amounts of grace and co-ordination needed to run and kick, dribble, throw or hit a ball. Since I can do none of the above and can break bones by standing on a low bench, my options for exercise are limited to walking and swimming.

In addition to my lack of co-ordination I have one bad knee, and chronic inflammation of the sciatic nerve on my right side.

Sciatica is one of those weird ailments that you think strike only the elderly until you wake up one day with pain so bad that it takes 15 minutes to get out of bed. One night, I went to bed feeling fine and woke up unable to walk. I did not have insurance, so the best I could hope for was that the pain went away. Eventually it did.

Once I had insurance, I saw a physician. X-rays were taken and discussions were held. In the end I was handed a diagnosis (Sciatica) and told to keep doing what I was already doing - swimming, free weights, yoga and walking. Apparently, while the condition is recurring, the best therapy is regular exercise and two ibuprofen.

So training moves slowly.