Do not wait until it is too late!

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Since my last post, I have not been competing, just training. It has been going well, I think I have improved my swimming a little bit by doing several sessions almost purely focused on speed. It has been intervals of 25, 50, 100, 150 and nothing longer than 200 yards, with the bulk in the shortest range. 

But the last few days, I have hit a snag, a new pain in my left hip. At first, I ignored it, I always have pain somewhere, but it nearly always goes away after warmup. Last Saturday, I was going to run 10k in 4 parts of 2.5k, with two minutes rest in between. I warmed up on the treadmill, but the pain just got worse. Then at 9 min mile speed on the treadmill, my left leg gave in, and I almost fell over. 

Ok, I thought, best not to push it on the treadmill where I can hurt myself, I will just run my 10k on the road and take it slightly slower than normal. But it was impossible, I was limping, and I had to stop after a few minutes. Ok, calm down, I told myself, no catastrophe if I miss one day of training, just stretch and rest today. I also took an anti-inflammatory medication and did 60 minutes of upper body strength training, as my arms are too weak. 

Next day, I took my dog to a dog agility competition. During my second run with the dog, the leg gave away again, this time with considerable pain. I was limping during my third and last run, could not keep up with the dog and it was painful.

Now I am worried. What is this? Is this going to be a repeat of 10 years ago when I was hospitalized? Or is it just a pinched nerve and it will soon go away? I don't know if this is temporary or the beginning of the end. 

The reality is that I am 65 and I may have many years of sport in front of me, and that is what I am planning for, but I am not counting on it. I am looking back at what I have done the last few years, and I am so glad I have participated in all sorts of crazy races. Because if my injury escalates, I will not have the option to do them in the future. If you have reach retirement, go for your races now, it's unlikely to be a better opportunity in the future. 

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