Back on the Wall

Yesterday I went back to the climbing wall after two months of inactivity. That's how long it took me to recover enough from my injury that I felt comfortable moving again, and I spent all this time unable to do anything. I felt pain any time I bent my knee, that is, whenever I sat up or down, walk the stairs, sat for too long, walked too fast. Every time I felt ready to push myself a bit and do some more intense activity I would quickly regret it, and have to spend the next few days being even more careful. All the while I was yearning for the climb, which felt quite novel: I had never found a sport I enjoyed, let alone missed. And so yesterday I felt as I was flying all the way to the gym, and putting the equipment on was like coming back home. I had bought a knee pad, more for psychological safety than anything else, as it turned out to be quite uncomfortable. Obviously, I started with my favourite route. It was rough. I used to be an adventurer, but then I took a mountain to the…