Reconditioning

I've been going through Andy's fitness for fishing pages again as it's something that I really need to get sorted out. I've not been up a mountain for years and because of various injuries-including one to the spine- over the past few years else had started to slip. You just don't bounce back the same as when you're 20. I do think fishing has helped me from being much worse though, tramping miles on the flats or walking and wading miles of river, if not the same as a work out, certainly isn't nothing. For example the Dr. I saw about my back couldn't believe that I could walk for more than about 10 minutes pain free and was stunned when I told him about hiking miles of river without much problem. In the end he decided it must be the constant unevenness and balancing needed, especially when wading that meant I could compensate for the strain of the injury. Oddly it was a mix of pain and balance probelems that drove me to him in the first place, it would just have been much worse without fishing!

That said I'm pretty I've turned the corner on that front, being able to exercise properly again I've dropped 6 kilos and several inches on the waist, and am probably ready to start running again, I considered cycling at Paul's suggestion, but that's not a good idea with the back issues.  I've also decided to start going up mountains again, even if it means I fish a bit less. It'll certainly require some training and a few easier hikes to start but all that will only make it easier to do and recover from the physical aspects of fishing. And I think there is something similar in the reward you get from being at the top of even just a big hill to catching a fish. Ultimately it's about being outside and away from the trappings of life.

POD is a much younger me clearly having the time of my life at the top of one of Japan's many mountains.