Thoughts and happenings from a life on Malta

Last week I announced to the world (meaning those of you who visit this site) my intention to race the Super Maratona dell’Etna in June next year. What I didn’t mention then was that I am still recovering from a partial tear of the left calf tendon, an injury suffered a month back. This means that my preparation has not started with a bang but with a whimper, not with impressive hill sessions but with a gentle jog every other day. The situation takes me back to March 2008 when I attended the launch of Lifecycle on crutches because I was suffering from a slightly more serious version of my present injury. I remember exchanging a few words with Alan Curry about whether I could recover in time and well enough to undergo the intense preparation that the event entailed (cycling 2000km from Lourdes, France to Casablanca, Morocco in 10 days). Five months later I had the quiet satisfaction of stepping off the bike in the shadow of the tallest minaret in the world at Hassan II Mosque. I hope I can experience the same sensations once again but this time in the shadow of Mount Etna’s summit, Europe’s highest active volcano.

Kettler Coach rowing machine

This first week has been a mix of sports at mild intensities: jogs of no more than 30 minutes on alternate days, indoor rowing, indoor cycling, elliptical trainer, swimming, push-ups, sit-ups and stretching. In spite of all these activities, fitness is at a very low level and the heavy breathing when I walk up the hill to my home proves it. This is not the best way to begin preparing for the challenge but I’m in it for the long haul – 33 weeks to go.

Here are some relevant statistics relating to the past 7 days. I’ll be including the updated stats in weekly write-up:

Training hours: 5 / Weight: 70.2kgs / Body fat: 11.8% / Muscle mass: 69.8% / Water: 58.1% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 49

Quotes from the Latvia – Malta match commentary on Eurosport.com

Pre-match comment:

• Latvia and Malta are the bottom two sides in Group E so as with the Austria game, this match – kicking off at 6pm – means very little indeed.

Match comments:

• KICK OFF! We have started in Riga. Remember, this game is meaningless in Group F as neither side can qualify.
• Aleksejs Visnakovs lashes a firm effort wide of the far post for Latvia. Remember, this game has nothing riding on it as neither team can qualify.
• GOAL! 1-0 Latvia! He had a decent chance earlier and now Visnakovs opens the scoring in Riga. However, this game is largely inconsequential.
• GOAL! Latvia 2-0 Malta! Artjoms Rudnevs gets on the scoresheet in this pointless game.
• FULL TIME. Latvia win 2-0. This game doesn’t matter one bit though.

This island is small but these comments, factual as they may be, make me feel even smaller.