Doing the Via Ferrata(VF) on Sunday, and then hiking down was physical. For a start, I was doing a Via Ferrata, something that I have done once, before, within the last six or seven years. The hike down was also quite physical. Combined the VF and the hike tired me.
## 62 Hours of Rest
According to Sportstracker I needed to give myself 62 hours to recover from the huge effort. It’s over 400 minutes of exercise, of which some of it was walking at up to 1900m for the first time in years. I could feel that I was out of breath where I usually did not struggle.
The walk down from the top is also physical. It’s two hours of walking on a rough surface, with the knees taking a lot of abuse. For the first time in years I could feel that my left knee had enough, and wanted a rest.
That’s what yesterday was about. Yesterday my walk lasted just half an hour. Normally I would walk for an hour or two but I could feel that my left foot, and the mobile part around the toes needed a rest. It’s good to rest, especially after a physical day.
## Setting Limits
I skipped the VF two or three weeks ago because I was worried about my left foot. It was fine during this VF so I think it’s healed. Yesterday morning, however, I could feel that it needed a rest, so I considered not going for a walk at all. I went shopping, but I wasn’t going to have an afternoon walk. In the end I did and the foot felt okay. I don’t want to push too far, and to be stuck having another socially isolated summer, due to an injury.
## And Finally
Some people would have gone to the hospital, to get an x-ray and make sure that everything was fine. I didn’t. That’s why I need to keep an eye on the injury, to make sure that it is getting better, and to set more conservative recovery regimes, until it feels normal again.
I will go for an easy hike this weekend.
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