I have been training quite hard the past few months, on my quest to push myself beyond the limitations I had for myself. Believe me, I don’t set my limits that easily and the past 6 races have pushed them recursively, as I thought would the next two. Unfortunately, my pickup soccer routine has gotten in the way of reaching there.

Last Wednesday, while playing a friendly, I fucked up my knee. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. Unfortunate, true. Inevitable, probably yes. Considering the amount of things I was trying to do simultaneously, I am happy it took this long to bring me down.

Now, my knee is swollen up the size of a football, I cant run my Austin marathon and can’t play soccer for at least 2 more months. Adding this on top of losing all my past data (6 years worth of research), it just makes this new year as one to be remembered. OR one to be despised… Let’s just hope that the rest of the year will make up for all this bad spin on the year…

The photo is from the Premier League web site Ten Seasons Awards section.

It is such a great illustration of the empathy (if not outright identification) of the sports fan with the athlete, all the more evident in English soccer because of the unique proximity of the stands to the fields.

I think I recognize Fowler, Owen and Heskey for Liverpool. After some search, i think the keeper is Massimo Taibi in his brief, who had a troubled cameo as Manchester United goalie.

How ironic would it be if he ended up in the photo of the decade …