Street-O No No

I've just cancelled my date for tomorrow's 3-hour Maxi orienteering event. Sorry Peter - you're on your own.

FRIDAY: swim! First time in over a year - simply concentrating on stroke and technique. I managed 800m before the chlorine got to me. Ankle was okay for most of it, although I did a mid-session "recovery lap" in breaststroke, and the water turbulence generated by my kick knocked against the anklebone and hurt! Freestyle was okay as long as I kept my form good. Whenever my legs got lazy and bent from the knee, the ankle would remind me to kick from the hip instead. Good coach. :-)

SATURDAY: decided to do an A course at Street-O and go out for an hour (running/walking) to see how good the ankle was. Well, not good enough to do 3 hours in the bush tomorrow. I wore the ankle brace in case the ankle decided to roll again, and tried to run "lightly" to keep the weight consistent. Moderately sore, although manageable. What wasn't manageable was the small amount of running on grass (to see if I could), and the tiny amount of wobble in the uneven ground. Or running around corners. So I decided to be sensible (hah! imagine that) and opt out of tomorrow. :-(

7.0 kms

Whippet's Magic Crystals

I got an email yesterday from Whippet Man describing what he likes to do with Lectric Soda Crystals and his wife's pantyhose (well, I'm assuming they're his wife's... perhaps he buys them for himself. :-p ). Anyway, it sounded like it might be fun, so I tried it last night, and whaddayaknow, (*laughs*) it appears to have worked!

I can now see my ankle bone, and the swelling around the ankle has gone down considerably. Hard to know, of course, whether it would have gone down without the crystals, but the top of the foot down by the toes is still as swollen as ever - and that wasn't covered last night.

The idea is to hold the Lectric Soda Crystals (sodium carbonate) against the swollen area (wrapped in a pantyhose "sock" and held loosely in place with a crepe bandage - I also wore a large woollen sock to keep everything intact) and this draws the fluid out of the ankle and into the crystals... and the bandage, and the sock, and onto the sheet(!). Be warned. :-)

A quick Google finds lots of hits on this phenomenon, including this thread from CR.

Street-O tonight. No, I'm not going. But I am going a bit stir-crazy with not being able to do anything. And it's only been 3 days! Even on days when I don't do any official (bloggable) "exercise", I still go for a 2-3km walk at lunchtime - and I haven't even been able to do that much. Might go for a swim tonight.

Thortful

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. You guys rock!

After doing the ICE thing last night, and wearing a compression bandage overnight, I woke this morning to find the ankle was a lovely deep reddish purple colour. I have this MASSIVE bruise all over the outside of the ankle which is swollen and tender to touch.

While I initially wasn't able to put much weight on it, or walk without sticking my foot out to the side, I can now move around fairly comfortably. I managed a ~1km walk to the shops without problems, but spent most of the day lazing around.

Stupid Stupid Stupid

Well, the hernia and I went for a run in DRNP again. The plan was to do the same loop as last week, but in reverse. My ab strain was a bit tender this morning, after the physio had poked and prodded at it yesterday, so Hernia came along for the ride. Had the Garmin riding shotgun, occasionally complaining about not being able to get a GPS signal; and a new pair of Linebreak running tights.

Headed off down the trail, and Bang! tripped on a twig (I think, although it might as well have been a puff of air). Rolled over the right ankle, and came down hard on my left knee and both hands. Sat on the ground for probably 5 minutes waiting for the pain in my ankle to go away. Both palms were grazed, and I have two tiny holes in the left knee of my new tights. *sob*

Now the sensible thing to do, of course, would be to turn around and go home. But oh, noooo, I wasn't going to finish my run after only 1.3kms, so I got up and kept going - being mindful to keep my weight even over both feet.

I made a slightly longer loop over the west half of the park (Sherbrooke Forest) and around the 8km mark was trotting slowly down a rough narrow windy track when I slipped on something and tweaked the ankle. PAIN! I'd also knocked the outside of the ankle bone slightly, and was a bit surprised that it felt so bruised. Well, d'oh. Peering down at it, I could see it under my sock swelling over the top of the shoe. Oh bugger, I shouldn't have done that.

Walked/limped/hobbled back to the car in constant pain over a pretty horrible track for having a dodgy ankle on. Thankfully my car is light to drive, but still a very achy drive home for the right ankle.

As I type, I have an ice pack wrapped around it, and it's very sore. I can't put ANY weight on it (and hopping around the house is going to wear thin very soon), and I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself.

9.8 kms.

Physio visit

Well, she has no idea either. We eliminated lots of possibilities (always good), and narrowed it down to two culprits: either a small inguinal hernia :-| or a deep abdominal strain that needs a month lazing around on a sunny beach to clear up. :-)

Not sure that the boss would buy my request for 4 weeks sick leave, so I'm booked in for an ultrasound next week to check out the hernia theory.

I thought only old people got hernias? Urgh.

Here's what Google had to say:

A hernia is a condition in which part of the intestine bulges through a weak area in muscles in the abdomen. An inguinal hernia occurs in the groin (the area between the abdomen and thigh). It is called "inguinal" because the intestines push through a weak spot in the inguinal canal, which is a triangle-shaped opening between layers of abdominal muscle near the groin. Obesity, pregnancy, heavy lifting, and straining to pass stool can cause the intestine to push against the inguinal canal.(link)

Well, I'm not obese, I'm not pregnant, my stools are fine thankyouverymuch, but... uh... maybe the lifting thing? I first noticed it during a particularly intense Pump class. Oh joy.

Street-O @ Camberwell Central

Nice enough sort of a run - 7.5 kms. Except for the uphill run to the finish. Nearly finished a few of us off! Back 1 minute late.

Quads are fine, although hams are a bit tight behind the knees. And I'm off to the physio tomorrow to check out my glute/ab/groin pain that won't go away.

Yoga, finally!

MONDAY: back to the chiropractor to finish off the neck job. Neck at 99%.

And finally got to a yoga class. And I enjoyed it! Anyone who knows the Bikram series will also know that an enjoyable Bikram's class is something of an oxymoron, but I guess the 2-week break renewed my enthusiam. My quads are pretty sore though - a bit of DOMS from Sunday's run, and then the workout last night... owowooow.

Tossing up between a swim tonight (it's been a while); or a blob night in front of the telly; or going to a movie.

GPS Images

For those of you who are interested in these things, here is a comparison of GPS Visualizer versus Keyhole (now Google Earth). Keyhole wins hands down where it has a good satellite image, but Melbourne has a LOT of gaps. GPS Visualiser has a more consistent image, but the clarity is missing.

Keyhole:


GPS Visualizer:

Quite Dandy

2 hr "run" through Dandenong Ranges National Park (from Grants Picnic Ground, Kallista). 14.2 kms. Very enjoyable. It rained, HAILED, and shone. Lots of ups, lots of downs, and lots of walking. Lots of mud.

The multi-function printer that I bought myself recently is earning its keep: open Melways, throw a dart at somewhere green, then simply copy the relevant pages (in colour, no less), paste together and stuff into a map bag.

During the run, the GPS was having trouble keeping in contact with its satellites. Not sure how accurate the distance is: the Garmin recorded 13.1 kms; MotionBased thinks it's 14.2 kms, and my string measurement from the Melways gets 14.4.

I thought that I'd get more mileage out of the Park. When I printed off the map, it looked huge. I figured I could do one side today, and save the other side for next time. But the whole eastern loop was only 7 kms, so I did the western loop as well. Guess I can do it in reverse next time - perhaps the hills will be less steep.

Purple paella

Well, I didn't get to yoga last night either. Just as well my new 10-class pass doesn't have an expiry date. And my excuse last night? You're gunna love this one... I had the battery replaced in my car yesterday, and they hadn't used a backup, so I lost my radio. And the security code was in the filing cabinet at home. And I couldn't face the thought of a 2-hour round trip, in the rain, in the dark, without music.

So I went straight home, and played domestic goddess in the kitchen instead. And my paella went purple! I've no idea why, unless it was the handful of wild rice that I threw into the mix. Purple rice... hmmmm.

Street-O @ Croydon

Chilly, drizzly night, but dressed appropriately and had a good (albeit slow) run. 6.9 kms. Hilly! Thankfully a downhill run to the finish.

Elevation profile, from MotionBased.


And I like the way that MotionBased shows your 'Total Time' and 'Moving Time'. Makes my average pace look marginally better. :-)

Sudoku

Well, I didn't make it to yoga last night either. I was "helping the QA guys sort out a coding problem." In reality, we were working through a sudoku puzzle on the whiteboard, and we all lost track of time.

Yes, I have discovered Sudoku (or Soduku, depending on which website you read). Truely excellent!!!

Got home in time for CSI, except that CSI wasn't on (bloody Channel 9) so I started reading Dean Karnazes. Laughed out loud at the part about snorting sour cream out his nose (I had a flatmate who could do raisins as a party trick). Enjoyable read.

Street-O tonight.

Tuesday

Neck at 90%. Oh, the relief!

Didn't go to yoga last night - driving was still too painful, so picked up Chinese Takeaways and spend the night in front of the heater. Bought a couple of (gasp!) running books in the weekend: I Run, Therefore I Am - Nuts! (Bob Schwartz) which is a light hearted look at all the things we know and love (and hate), but wasn't really worth the $29.95. The second book is Dean Karnazes - UltraMarathon Man, which looks like a more enduring read.

Pain in the neck

FRIDAY: sore neck, no exercise;

SATURDAY: sore neck, painting walls, run around Seville 7.1 kms; attempted to relieve neck pain by numbing it with alcohol;

SUNDAY: headache, sore neck, painting walls, walk around shopping centre;

MONDAY: sore neck, chiropractor. It's the "worst he's ever seen it" and I probably did it ("it" being a skewed disc at bra level) about a month ago. It's my "usual." So he "popped" the disc, attempted to correct my neck (but it locked up in a spasm when he tried), and told me to come back next week. And... thank god... a few hours later, I'm feeling human again. Probably about 75%. It still twinges painfully, but I should be able to sleep comfortably and should probably drive in to a yoga class tonight.

TGIF

I'm always amused at Mister G's blog where he records his hours of sleep as religously as other people record their weight or mileage. And I'm starting to see why - I've been sleeping badly for a while now. I'll go to sleep easily enough, but then wake up at 4am and stay awake for the next 3 hours until the alarm goes off. It doesn't seem to matter whether I go to bed at 10pm or after midnight. 4am it is. And I don't think it's a neighbour waking me up, because it's not a sudden wakeup, it's more of a slow realisation that I'm awake, not asleep, dammit.

And this morning I woke up with my head on backwards, and it hurts like hell to turn it the right away around.

There is a mouse in my bedroom somewhere... I could hear him noisily chewing something nearby. It sounds like he's inside the wardrobe, but I couldn't find any evidence of wood chewings or mouse droppings anywhere. Will have to venture under the house this weekend and look for mouse trails.

No orienteering this weekend: maybe a run tomorrow, and lots of painting in the reno room (yes, still...)

Street-O @ Gardiners Bend

Very ordinary run - 6.7 kms. Came in way too early. Lovely clear cool night though - great running weather, and a record turnout of 118 people. Not bad for a Wednesday night!

Trying something new here: the red circle is the start/finish, the blue buttons are the controls, and the black arrow is my unofficial comfort stop (ha ha). Check the elevation - moderately hilly.

Bikram bloodbath

Very hot humid sweaty class tonight. Must have dripped a gallon or two of sweat during the 90-minute class. Felt a bit "peculiar" before and afterwards, and halfway through the class I had a sudden craving for a Big Mac (arrrgh!). Got what I refer to as the "sugar shakes" on the way out. On reflection, I may not have had enough calories during the day - breakfast as normal, but vege soup for lunch (homemade, contains only veges), and a banana and 2 biscuits during the afternoon.

Stopped off at Maccas on the way home (that's twice in as many months - shocking!) and devoured a Big Mac meal with very little effort.

Shit happens

No, not to me this time. I was just up at the homemaker centre ordering curtains (Dollar Curtains) and cancelling my gym membership at Fernwood. Both masseuses were at the gym chatting away - Collingwood Carolyne is quite happy to work on me even if I'm not a member. The original one, Sandra, who cut her hand open while chopping chicken is still off work. She basically said "it's all over" for her. She held her hand out to show us the wound (still bandaged), and her hand couldn't stop shaking. Life really sucks sometimes. It makes you realise how important every bit of your body is, and how fragile job security is for the self-employed. I have 35 days sick leave, and a job I can do sitting down, with minimal physical effort. She has nothing. No job, no business, nada.

Domestics

Well, I didn't go orienteering. Shortly after I posted last night, I started making a list of all the things I could get done today if I stayed at home and did them. (Yes, I'm a list person :-) ) It got up to 10 items by the time I went to bed on Saturday, and as of now (4:30pm Sunday), I've done all but 3. Very productive day. I even did things that weren't on the list.

Item #7 (yoga) won't get done. I was out doing #6 (food shopping) with my yoga gear in the car, when I decided that I'd do it tomorrow instead. I love tomorrow - it's a wonderful concept! The last 2 items will get done before I go to bed. 9/10 is pretty good.

Street-O @ Newport Lakes

Very blah sort of a run. No energy, too many walking breaks.
8.2 kms.




This map is going to fall into the "too far" category next time an event is held here. Too much traffic, too far (70 kms), and too long (1hr 20) to get there. My back was aching by the time I arrived, after spending the morning sanding and painting.

Crap.

I'd taken my yoga gear with me, with the plan of doing a 4pm class in Richmond. But after my attack of the blahs, I couldn't be bothered queueing up in traffic any longer than I had to. Maybe tomorrow. Except there's a State Series orienteering event tomorrow, which - in my current state of mind - is also in the "too far" category. Perhaps I'll stay home and paint instead.

Run for your Life

I won a massage! :-)

It's in Geelong. :-(

Not wishing to throw punches at gifthorses or anything, but that's a long way to go for a rub.