Forwards and occasionally sidewards – everyday musings of life

I thought a workout in the gym before coaching my junior table tennis camp would serve as a pleasant warm-up and tick off my first exercise session of the week. My body, however, had entirely different ideas.

Barely 30 minutes into the session, I ran completely out of steam. I started feeling dizzy and realised this had been a spectacular error of judgement. Much like the sick Cayenne sitting back on the driveway, my system went straight into low-power ‘limp mode’. I slipped—or rather, wobbled—out of the gym hoping nobody would notice, and headed straight for the cafeteria to grab an energy bar and take a seat.

“Are you feeling okay now?” asked a complete stranger from the adjacent table. Damn, someone had noticed my hasty retreat. “You looked awfully pale when you left the gym.” I’d been rumbled.

I really should have remembered by now that Pewsey locals are exceptionally friendly, observant, and always ready to strike up a conversation. Though I felt thoroughly embarrassed by my dramatic retirement from the weight room, this kind stranger was simply checking in on me to make sure I was still standing.

Shortly afterwards, one of my junior table tennis students joined me at the table. We sat chatting and comparing our new bats while my heart rate gradually returned to normal and the blood re-entered my face. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice my ghostly complexion.

My exercise routine has been severely disrupted over the past three months, and I clearly need to ease myself back into sensible habits. Unfortunately, I don’t really do ‘ease’. I went in full throttle, and my body pushed back hard. Later in the day, a gentle walk with the dogs flushed the lactic acid out of my legs, raised my blood sugar levels, and restored order. My internal system was officially reset.

The Cayenne’s system received a similar intervention thanks to my friend Graham, who turned up with his son Neil and their high-tech mechanic’s toolkit: a diagnostic tablet. It was yet another example of helpful local rescue operations.

In less than five minutes, they cleared the avalanche of fault codes and got the car sorted. Well, not entirely fixed, but at least restored to a driveable state so it can limp under its own power to the garage for a proper remedy.