You've got to be fit, to be in it!

There is no doubt in my mind when King Gustav V from Sweden told Jim Thorpe: "You sir, are the World's Greatest Athlete" after he won the 1912 Stockholm Olympics Decathlon, that Jim Thorpe had started out his Decathlon journey (plus all the other individual track & field events he took part in those Olympics) in one of the healthiest and fittest forms of his life.

It's with great sadness then that I have decided not to take part in the Decathlon event this weekend, due to an ankle injury I picked up earlier the week.

The injury happened while performing a routine parkour performance in London, and although the ankle was not severely damaged or very serious, thanks to a number of factors including a very good warm-up beforehand, it was enough to cause swelling and light bruising. With these sorts of injuries I've learned that the infamous R.I.C.E. (Rest Ice Compression Elevation) plays an important role in recovery, and I managed to get all this started within minutes of the injury thanks to a handy wine cooler and a bucket of ice nearby.

The on-site nurse completed a quick check up, and I was able to get home to relax without the need for Zimmer frames, wheelchairs or the use of the local paramedic helicopter. :-)

Even though it's been 5 days since the injury and the original swelling has gone down a lot with only a small patch of bruising visible, I still do not feel I should be battering my body through the hard knocks of a 2 day decathlon course. It's very sad, but I'll be sure to reap the long-term benefits from this decision instead.

I have a number of other very interesting events coming up at the end of this month and next, such as running parkour workshops at the White Air Extreme Sports Festival on the Isle of Wight and taking contestants through the official parkour checkpoint for The London Rat Race. From the way the recovery is going so far I should be fighting fit and ready to go by then.

The Decathlon, I'm sad to say, will have to wait......... for now. ;-)