Sue's Sports Starter by Sue_Thearle

Okay so picture the scene, if you will. Yours truly in the gym, something I like to think is a fairly regular occurrence. Suddenly from nowhere, the treadmill is calling me. “What?” I hear you cry. “But you have a poorly achilles, a knackered back and haven’t run a step in almost a year. Are you insane?” Well, err yes, apparently. Because for some reason best known to my more sensible self, I jogged half a mile this week. Yes my friends half a mile. For no good reason at all. I’d just done a sweaty half hour on the cross trainer and suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to have a little gallop. Notwithstanding the fact that my lovely physio would have had kittens if she’d seen me, I was rather pleased with myself. Happily the old achilles and calf, which is also poorly apparently, actually stood up to the test.

I am though back on the treatment table tomorrow, so chickens may yet come home to roost. But despite it all I actually had fun. No really I almost enjoyed it…..but don’t worry. I promise you it won’t happen again. I think if I’m honest it was a kneejerk reaction to my birthday last weekend. I had a lovely weekend, I really did, topped off by a mad Sunday afternoon on Brighton Pier with the children. But not even the joy of a ride around the Haunted House with its faint smell of candy floss and vomit, could dispel that nagging feeling of getting older and frankly less graceful. I shared my misery with my husband. “Don’t be silly, you old fool,” he replied. Ahh yes, there you see, that's my point....

My fragile, crisis of the mid-life state of mind was definitely not helped by the sight of the ever youthful Roger Black this week. He was a guest at an Olympic seminar I was hosting and I am not joking when I say that I think that man has discovered the secret of eternal youth. He does not look a day older than when he won Olympic silver in Atlanta in 1996 behind the incomparable Michael Johnson. The event was staged at Altitude 360 in Westminster, which is a venue that affords the most spectacular views over London. What with that and a discussion about the games with an esteemed sports and business panel, it was hard not to get over-excited about London 2012. Mind you in our house we have more than enough sporting hysteria already, as we celebrate my daughter’s burgeoning hockey career. She is now the proud owner of her own stick after starting hockey club after school and asking if she could practice with me in the garden. Wisely I have also invested in shin pads and a gum shield for her, as I fear the worst.

In my current frame of ageing mind, I am bound to think I can play like I did at school 25 years ago, when I took no prisoners. But I can’t. In fact the last time I played a competitive hockey match was over 10 years ago and I fell over in the toilets beforehand. That was a fitting end to that part of my sporting odyssey methinks. Right I am off to mull over all the other things I am now also rubbish at. Happy days my friends, happy days…..