Since being hit by a car on a pedestrian crossing in January, there have been a number of important milestones that have been passed on the road to recovery – getting the cracked vertebra in my neck fixed was the first, followed rapidly by going home from hospital, then getting out of home and walking, getting off pain killers, going on a bus, seeing my football (soccer for you North Americans) team play, going back to work was psychologically really important and very emotional, and the most recent was driving again a couple of weeks ago.
Today saw another one, perhaps the last significant one – running. So it seemed appropriate that the run should include a physical as well as a psychological milestone – on Blackheath marking the distances on the pre-motorway A2. 
It will be a while before I will be ready for either of those distances, although I was utterly delighted with a fraction over 5k this morning – the first mile or so went by in a blur, mainly caused by tears causing my sunglasses to steam up. But once I got over the emotions, I just concentrated on gait and stride length – it felt wonderful. The time was slow but that didn’t matter, the important thing was that my neck felt fine and I was running again. There are a few aches and pains elsewhere in bits of my body that haven’t seen much stretching or exercise in my focus to get my neck working again – but those will will heal quickly and I will be back out again in a few days.
Running Past 
Hi! Wow, I feel bad that I just realized that you had gone through a major ordeal these few months! Congratulations on your milestone. There are those moments when I’m at the intersection during a run, that even with all the caution that I take, there can be one crazy driver and one unlucky moment. It give me the chills to know that that actually had happened to you. Hope you recover completely very, very soon. Sending all the best.
Thanks for your kind thoughts and words, although there is no need to feel bad about it! It was quite an ordeal, but I have managed to stay positive all the time since – possible because the injuries were nowhere near as serious as they could have been.
The road back to full fitness will be quite a long one – I woke up on Sunday with the area at the bottom of my back/ top of my glutes very stiff. I hadn’t realised how much weakness the lay off had done to that area. I have got to rest again for a few days and when I start running again, I will need to shorter distances to start with. In the scheme of things though, that’s no big deal though.
Thanks for your concern.
Great news to hear of your continued recovery.
Milestones, motivational or actual, are important markers to help us navigate through life.
Are you aware of the “Ypres” milestone by the hedge at the front of Christ Church, Shooters Hill?
The Ypres milestone is great isn’t it? Oddly, I keep forgetting to have a look at it when I am up in that part of Shooters Hill and have only seen it as a photo. Thanks for the reminder! Thanks for visiting too.
Pingback: Statues, Skeletons, Salters and an Empty Seat | Running Past