Stiffness and aches in random parts of my legs . . . Tennis elbow . . . Intermittent numbness in a finger.
The stiffness in any part of either leg is something I have been noticing for a few months; particularly when getting up in the morning, but it can occur at any time in the day. It hasn't been having much effect on my running, although there have been a few times when I felt that I had the energy to run faster, but the legs didn't want to move any faster. This was until last Friday's jaunt up Beacon Hill, when the slight stiffness in my right thigh and hip at the start gradually got worse, and I ended up walking much of the way back. I haven't run since then.
Tennis elbow is rather ironic since I am the only member of my family who does not play tennis. I call it Gardener's Elbow, since it makes itself felt mostly when I am wielding gardening tools. I've had it for a few days now.
The numb finger is the fourth on the left hand; I have had this a few times before (and I haven't kept a record of which finger was affected in the past). It starts for no apparent reason, and then disappears after a few days, but not before making the finger appear alarmingly blue on occasions.
Anyway, I don't want to give the impression that I've turned into a grumpy old man. I'm still very thankful that I am actually in pretty good condition for a 62-year-old. And the leg stiffness is probably me reaping the reward of decades of carelessness: starting my training runs at the same foolishly fast speed that I start races, not warming down afterwards (my priorities are always: 1. Get in the shower; 2. Get some food inside me). Possibly another factor is being more sedentary since lockdown (no cycling to work, no moving around campus to lectures and tutorials).