Well hello there...
Thanks for coming! I'm Marc and I am Getting My Stride Back.
I am engaged to the beautiful April. We are getting married in 2012 and it's been a long time coming! We also have a little boy called Finn, who is the most gorgeous thing ever (and looks just like me, so I'm told!) I'm a Fulham, Northampton Saints and cycling nutjob.
I've always been a sport lover, and that passion has increased over recent years. I played football as a youngster, and then as I got older (I say older, I'm only 25 now...) I developed more of an interest in running. April's parents are endurance Triathletes, they have competed in several Ironman distance events and because of them I caught the bug of Triathlon. Swimming and cycling were something I had never really been exposed to before and I felt obliged to get involved - I don't like being bettered and especially by the in laws! I've entered a few 10k running races, and one sprint Triathlon. Hopefully I can get some more events under my belt.
Now why am I Getting My Stride Back? In June 2011 I seriously injured my ankle. It was a nightmare. April had been telling me for ages that I was going to injure myself playing football (6 a side with the boys), and boy was she right. I went over on my ankle in a challenge, cue the most agonising pain I have ever experienced (worse than stubbing your toe, probably worse than childbirth). Somehow I managed to drive home on it, after detouring to my work where I needed to drop something off after footie, hobbling up the stairs and thorugh the office. I got home, April took one look at me and just said "what have you done?" I wasn't sure really, took off my shoe and sock and was faced with an ankle in a funny position and about the size of two tennis balls. It suddenly became more painful.
April needed to stay and look after Finn, so my old man took me to A&E. A few hours later I arrived home with a cast, crutches, a 'broken' ankle and a very tired Dad. Cue abuse on Facebook and some short lived sympathy from my beloved. After a week or so, the pain was still unbearable, so I went back to the hospital only to be told by a different consultant that it was not broken and he couldn't see a fracture. The cast came off, and my ankle was a lovely rainbow of colours. Beautiful. I was given a pathetic crepe bandage, and booked in for an MRI scan. The scan was a week later, the results a week after that. I had ruptured my ankle ligaments, damaged ankle tendons and had sever bone bruising. I was off work for a while. The only positive was that the Tour de France was on.
6 months on, I have been through 4 months of Physio, Podiatry appointments, Consultant Surgeon appointments and I am still not yet running. April's Mum was good enough to help me see a private Podiatrist and I am closer to being mended. Still get pain, but getting there.
So it's about time I stopped moping around, realise there are people worse off than me and just get back to being the fitness nut I was 6 months ago.
