Restoration - Building a stronger back in Tashkent

"Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich starker."

Friedrich Nietzsche

My rtw cycle, copious planning spreadsheets, route and schedules were out the window, all because of 3 fairly small collagen discs in my back not working quite like they should. I'm very good (as I'm sure many other people are these days) at diagnosing, curing and sometimes even convincing myself I'm going to die from any and every condition that assails me, via a little bit of dubious internet research.

The last few months have been spent fighting my way back to fitness from barely being able to walk because of 3 herniated discs - mostly through physiotherapy exercises and stretches (from my Physiotherapist at the Tashkent International Clinic), some "neuro-flossing" exercises (suggested by Dr Stefan from the Nuffield Hospital, Oxford who has very kindly given me some long distance advice via Whatsapp - if you're reading this - a big thank you!), and gradually increasing time on my feet (once the initial inflammation subsides, walking is supposed to be a great way to build up the supporting back and core muscles that surround the discs, and bring relief and healing to the discs).

Last year I raced my way over mountains and through jungles to win the Thailand Trail Race Series outright - ie the overall senior series title, not just the veteran title. As Thai Series Champion, I have won a place at the World Championships in Hawaii in December this year - something that, at the age of 44, I've left very very late, and an achievement I'm highly unlikely to ever repeat in any sport at senior level - it's fun to have shown the younger lads how it's done though! At the age I'm now at it's essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity - to be at a World Champs as a winner of a national series.

Before damaging my back I had already booked flights to Hawaii (and by getting in on this very special deal, I managed to book business class transatlantic for about the same cost as economy!). I am therefore one way or another almost certainly going to go to Hawaii - even if it's just for a holiday, but hopefully I will make the start line and you know what - if all I can do is just walk, I'll be content with that (or I'll work hard to persuade myself that I'm content with that!).

After much thought and online discussion with Dr Stefan, I came up with the plan of postponing the cycling, and concentrating on generally improving my spine, and getting fit enough to make it to the start line in Hawaii. Post-Hawaii, it will be very cold here in Central Asia. It will also be the main recruitment window for International Teaching jobs for August 2019, so I have decided to use December to March to do some more hard work on physio/back strengthening, whilst trying to find a job for next academic year, and making a gradual return to cycling.

The nature of pain is something I've had to learn more about over the past couple of months. As a runner and cyclist I've learned to have a strange relationship with it. We are a funny breed of people, endurance athletes - "no pain, no gain" definitely holds some truth, and in a strange kind of masochistic way, we appreciate the dull ache towards the end of a long run; the burning in our muscles when we knock out some hard intervals or lift some heavy weights; or the intense struggle riding up a massive hill-climb. But this is different. When you know that the pain you are experiencing is not leading to strength, speed and endurance gains, but are red-lights warning you that your body is breaking down, and you don't know if some of that is possibly in ways that might not ever fully repair again, there is no pleasure in that pain.

Sciatic pain in particular is a very bewildering kind of pain. It is caused not by an injury at the site of the pain (ie down the leg all the way to the foot), but comes from far away, in the lower back. It is a pain unlike any other, not just because of the dislocate between injury site and pain sensation, but also the intensity and uncontrollable nature of it. If you hit your finger with a hammer, there is intense pain for a moment, generally the moment of impact is worst, and things progress from there with time, the most intense moment of initial pain often becoming just a memory in a matter of days. Sciatic pain is almost like a burning electrical shock that just doesn't appear to subside in a linear fashion, and can take months or even years to get under control.

I read the stories and posts of countless other people who suffer - from the pro cyclist who managed to get back on his bike a couple of weeks later and ride the Tour de France; to young healthy people who are stuck flat on their backs for quite literally years. All I can do to help myself is focus on my exercises and stretches and try to avoid causing further damage.

I stayed at Topchan Hostel, one of a growing number of decent options in Tashkent, that recent progress in making the country more open has led to, and with a clean kitchen and a couple of shops very nearby, it made it an easy option for me to indulge my passion for cooking - through most of China and Central Asia on the bike I've been enjoying eating out, but now I was enjoying cooking again - at least it was something to take the mind off the pain.

Many tourists came and went at Topchan, and as Tashkent is the main tourist hub, most came back again on their way out. I met many nice friendly Afghani guys (my first), several of whom have promised to host me if I'm ever in their country, and many other people from Central Asia! To namecheck a few others - Matt, a cyclist from England and Marie from Belgium, in the first week or 2 of my stay; Majid - a long term visitor from Pakistan, and Helen a long term visitor from Russia, who also worked at the hostel; Alisher - the friendliest staff member; and Alex, Heather and Dan, who arrived just as I was starting to get more mobile.

During the first few weeks of my injury I could move only a little, but thankfully I eventually started to make progress. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless, and as this happened, I got to spend some time getting to know the city of Tashkent. Many rush by or miss it out completely, in favour of the more historic cities in Uzbekistan, and I understand why, but Tashkent definitely has a charm of it's own. There is a nice Opera House, built by Japanese prisoners of war, the oldest Quran in the world, the cavernous Chorsu Bazaar, and some of the most aesthetically pleasing metro stations in the world.

The Metro Stations were built after a huge earthquake that demolished much of the city, and doubles as the cities emergency war bunker. For this reason photography was banned until this year, so I took advantage of the new rules allowing me to snap away:

One day, I noticed a Facebook post with photos that looked just like some of the sights around Tashkent. It was not from one of the people I had got to know whilst in Central Asia, but Paul, a former running clubmate from EAC - Edinburgh Athletics Club. I messaged him, and sure enough he was in town on an impromptu holiday. We met for dinner - one of the more unusual coincidences of the last few years!

Eventually my physio gave me a green card (well more a kind of amber card), to go and be a "normal" tourist in Uzbekistan. Ahead of me lay some of the most iconic historic cities along the Silk Road - Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. Kyrgyzstan may be the mountain playground of Central Asia, but Uzbekistan is the historical heart. Finally I was beginning to taste some level of freedom again!