If he's going to leave, him leaving

a) outside the prem, and
b) to a genuinely elite team
c) for a decent wedge

Well, that's kind of fine with me.

I know it won't happen, but I'd like to see us line up like this tonight.

Have Elanga and Gordon be aggressive and high as much as possible, with at least one staying last man at all times.

It'll be 4-3-3 with Gordon central and Barnes left though.

#nufc

Not a good performance for our first time out of the hall.

Futsal doesn't translate to real football quite so directly. Much harder with more space and a different pace.

And all I got from it is a really, really sore foot. 😔

Reminder: football = terrible cross training

Preseason friendly time!

a man in a suit and tie sitting in a chair ALT: a man in a suit and tie sitting in a chair

Current feelings...

So soft. So very, very predictably soft.

On the plus side, we get to be torn to pieces by Barcelona next, so that's nice.

Eugh, city are just so ridiculous. How on earth are they so far behind arsenal in the league when they're this good?

(appreciate that aside from the last match we've been god awful all season so maybe not the best comparison)

#nufc

Note, we did not play a variant of the formation that worked, we're back in the 433 that leads us to having striker Nick chuffing Woltemade playing as a holding midfielder.

absolutely, and playing central striker in our team is a rough gig.

Even worse when we're playing like we are after the start. It's just chasing shadows and not touching the ball unless it's hoofed over your head.

Interesting lineup.

Really hope Osula can kick on, though 'getting his chance', after a great cameo against City, is all kinds of harsh.

I wonder if we're going to play a 442 variant (similar to the 432 we played with 10 men so effectively against Manchester Reds), just with an extra midfielder.

Now's the season to start building back those running legs! Get ready for fun challenge season later in the year!

Have you got your eyes on any races?

Good stuff Tom! It's nice feeling warm, isn't it?

The warmth even made it out here. The big coat has been put away. I've gambled on it staying warm now.

Good running too 🤙

I did the thing I've been telling myself not to do 111km. One push. Most probably a terrible idea.

Link:

open.substack.com/pub/krokpokr...

I spent two months trying to write a post justifying a decision I knew didn't fit my own philosophy.

Eventually I scrapped the justification and just wrote the post.

A little tester for the night walk setup too. Think the headtorches we have will definitely need to be relegated to 'backup' status as opposed to primary!

Back to back outdoor walks.

I can only begin to tell you how good it feels after two months of either being unable to walk or staring at the wall on the treadmill.

It feels like this is the season to put those steps in and maybe challenge things a little… more on that tomorrow

Well, that's not been a bad opening 35! 🤣

#nufc

LET’S GO!

Another week of formalised work. I’m planning on just adding some extra time, nothing more, weight can come back later:

Mon - 60m Walk
Tues - 60m walk + 60m bike
Wed - 60m walk + 60m bike
Thurs - 60m walk
Fri - 60m walk + Football
Sat - 60m walk
Sun - 2h walk

+mobility/strength

You Don't Win By Waiting To Be Ready On trust, baby monitors, and the engine that was never actually gone

Last week, I wrote about not waiting to be ready, on how it’s just time to put the work in and start to rebuild trust in my body.

krokpokroku.substack.com/p/you-dont-w...

Continuity Is the Hardest Discipline “Commitment begins when escape is still possible” - Tomás Di Pietro

I also really enjoyed the Iñaki / Tomás Di Pietro read on Substack, a quote that stood out:

"Stability is not conquered once. It is practiced daily. There is no final breakthrough, only structure, repetition and alignment."

substack.com/home/post/p-...

I can still post via buffer, if a thought or image arrives, otherwise, only intentional access is allowed. The results, almost immediate.

The desire to automatically grab my phone and scroll is reducing.

Creativity is slowly coming back. I picked the camera up again.

How I trained my mind to create instead of consume YouTube video by josh czuba

The other by Josh Czuba on ‘de-stimulating’ to recover curiosity. Whilst on the treadmill right then, I installed AppBlocker on my phone, blocked access to all social sites.

youtu.be/7HBhL7lltpU?...

You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why. YouTube video by Harvard Business Review

One a video with Arthur Brooks on the power of boredom

youtu.be/orQKfIXMiA8?...

The other was a mix of things, really heavily related to having gotten sucked into the doomscroll / algorithm on various social media sites. The final straw was another couple of videos that got, ironically, algorithm’d to me.

What Elite Coach really mean by 'Just Keep Going' | Gordo Byrn x Bek Olimjon YouTube video by The Long Game

The things I watched/read last week were a real mix.

I really enjoyed the Bek Olimjon / Gordo Byrn coaching call videos, super insightful and a lovely peek behind the curtain of elite level coach (one day!).

youtu.be/1NMIfjitqEs

Zero ill effects of 7 days of consistency. I think it’s time to repeat that week and make sure.

The recovery continues onwards, but now I’m no longer looking down, I’m looking forward and there are some exciting plans to come, alongside a longer dose of consistency!

Yes, I’m still being conservative.

I’m still sticking to the treadmill for the moment (bar a little walk outside in the snow). I want to push as much as I can, but without running the risk of having another flair up.

It's Monday morning, so here's a look back at week 30 of the Iñaki de la Parra Walk-Hike-Ruck plan and I know it’s early, I’m going to say: WE ARE BACK:

7/7 walks (+1 extra)

0 Bike (I broke the cable)

4 Mobility/Strength

0 Football (cancelled)

KCal: 1422 (=)

7h44m of total

Glorious.

Despite the horrific referee, what a win.

#nufc