Seven days like Christmas#

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:00:00 +0000

The day-by-day reports from Sardinia are now all up. The picture of the flaming torches was taken from the DVD given out at the end: all the other photos were by Ray Descombes: thanks!

• Pear tree. Contents: 1 (one) partridge
• Turtle doves
• French hens
• Calling birds.
• Gold rings
• The best-laid eggs of geese and men
• Swansong

Since then, what? No skating Friday or Saturday. Sunday, when my mood had improved slightly, I decided to give the powerslide boots their first real outing marshalling the Stroll, and I have to say I am so glad I didn't need to use them in Sardinia. It may be the wheels (which are 80s and feel quite soft) or the extra weight (they're noticeably heavier than my Simmons) or something else (they rub on my ankle) but after the first 8 miles or so I really really dislike them.

Last night I went to the dentist, who replaced the missing part of my tooth using composite - it looks pretty much like the one next to it.

My lip is healing nicely - by yesterday morning it was already back to the point where my colleagues didn't notice anything was wrong with it

My right hip and upper thigh is a mass of yellow bruising. Which, I guess, means it's well on the way to fading altogether, and not a moment too soon.

Nutshell summary of what I'm carrying forward from the week

• Warm up!
• I actually do seem to be getting quite good at going forwards quickly in a straight line
• I should spend more time on skills other than going forward in a straight line
• Use the hips more for balance
• Tuck earlier on downhills. I tend to skate all the way down, which is a hangover from FSKs which basically don't roll unless pushed.
• I've also been told I should relax more. But have you ever known someone who could relax more when told to do something they weren't doing?