Aches and pains. I've got 'em.

Things are pretty relaxed here at my sister's house--we're mostly just sitting around enjoying some time off.  But I'm sticking with my little strength routine: today I did ten sets of 25 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.

I don't talk much about injuries here, mostly because I really haven't had anything major in a long time.  It's been very uncommon for me to experience any pain that I consider bad enough to keep me out of the boat.  What's more, I don't think I've been sick with anything worse than a common cold in some ten years.  For that I am most grateful.  There probably aren't too many 46-year-old men doing much better than I am.

On the other hand, it seems like I've always got some sort of little discomfort going on.  For several years I had a lot of soreness and stiffness in my lower back.  It's been less of a problem in the last year or two, partly because I've learned some strategies to deal with it and partly because... I don't know why.  But I can't complain.

My worst ailment these days is a bout of "tennis elbow" in my left arm that's been going on for about a year now.  I've been grinning and bearing it, hoping it will eventually go away, but it hasn't yet.  Over Thanksgiving I talked to a cousin's husband, who is an orthopedist in middle Tennessee, and he recommended I get a cortisone shot.  He gave me the names of a couple of doctors he knows in Memphis, and I guess after New Year's I'll give one of them a call even though I hate going to the doctor for any reason.

The most recent thing is some tightness in my right hamstring.  I really started noticing it while driving in the car during my recent trip down to Florida.  Even when I used the cruise control, my leg sort of ached and throbbed.  It bothered me again yesterday as I drove over here to North Carolina with my mother, and I'm feeling it today.  I stretched it gingerly this morning, and I guess I'll just see how it goes these next few days.

It's hard to know what's caused any of my injuries, but I think very few of them are the result of paddling my boat.  I think the weight room is where injuries happen for many athletes.  For me, heavy lifting and other chores around my woodworking shop are likely to blame.