Street-O @ Wellington Village

To celebrate the start of summer, I wore open-toed sandals to work. Flat heels, and crossover straps. These shoes give my foot no support at all, and it was also the first time that I hadn't worn the compression stocking. And by 6pm, when I changed into my Street-O gear, my foot had swollen up around the leather straps. Not pretty.

The half-hour drive to Street-O was a bit achy, and by 7pm when the event started, it was decidedly sore. And it didn't get any better. I limped in 10 minutes early, for 4.5 kms. And the last km or so was done very slowly.

I felt like chopping it off on the drive home, and was so exhausted by the time I got there, it was all I could do to have a drink and duck under the shower.

Slack Arse

I realised last night that I've done no bloggable exercise since Wednesday night.

A few walks to the local shops over the weekend, and maybe 4 hours gardening (digging over weeds and levelling ground).

Had an aborted visit to the Physio on Saturday - after sitting in the waiting room for half an hour, I walked out. Andrew phoned about half an hour after that to apologise, and gave me a 5-minute phone consultation. Handed over some dive gear to a mate in Ringwood (which is really why I had to leave), and wandered through a few gardening shops on the way home. Then a reasonably lazy weekend.

Street-O tonight. With the start of daylight savings, I'll do Street-O on Mondays and Wednesdays, and maybe Thursdays if I'm feeling enthusiastic. Which is going to make it hard to also run (walk!) in the mornings if you're meant to let your body rest. So *lightbulb on* I do renovating/gardening stuff in the mornings. Best time of the day really, before the heat kicks in. So I said to myself last night, "get out of bed at 6am". Ha ha... well, I was awake at 6, but didn't emerge until well after 7. So groggy... with no real excuse as to why.

confessional:

Weight	74.3 kgs ▲
Walking	12.6 kms

Bird tails

1. Got back from a walk to the shops to hear a very angry squawking coming from the clothesline. Two galahs with their crests erect, sitting up tall at the feeder, not feeding. And my neighbour's white cat sitting on a pile of bricks about 5m away.

2. The cat wears a collar with a bell attached, so you can hear her coming. Three pigeons pecking at leftover seed on the ground, and I hear the bell of the cat. The pigeons didn't, and got a hell of a fright when the cat comes screaming around the corner and launches itself into the air after them. Heh heh.

3. Pecking order. The species don't mix - one species will either drive another away, or wait until they've finished.
* one galah beats two crimson rosellas
* male rosella beats female rosella
* two lorikeets beat two galahs
* two lorikeets beat one king parrot
* any parrot beats any number of pigeons
The rosellas are funny - there's one pair that visits every evening. They'll sit together at the feeder for about 5 minutes, then the male will walk across the table and chase the female off. I guess she told him to wipe his beak, or something...

Gone to the Birds

One galah, sitting on the summit of the clothesline; two rainbow lorikeets at the feeder. I didn't go for a walk this morning - I had some urgent stuff to do before work, but there I was, sitting on the deck minding my own business when a king parrot lands on the railing and starts talking to me. Man, these birds are big! (especially when they're only 2m away from you). Anyway, it hangs around waiting for the lorikeets to finish, and then flies to the feeder. In the meantime, I'm wandering around the garden watering seedlings and pulling the odd weed, and this parrot is happily muching away on sunflower seeds. So I go inside to get my camera, and sit about 3m away from it taking photos. Bird is completely unafraid of me, and only flies off when the lorikeets come back. Also had a wattlebird land on a grevillea which nearly collapsed under its weight, but it saw me with the camera and took off again.

Thursday thoreness

Ankle is sore. I think I Overdid It last night.

am: christened the hand mower. Upper body workout. It doesn't like clover, or weeds, or that long stalky stuff, or wet stuff. Did about 1/3 of the back lawn, will do the rest tonight once it's dried out a bit more.

Street-O @ Kerrimuir

am: 0510 a huge thunderclap rolled on (didn't see lightning, although I was awake at 0500); 0600 the wind started howling through the valley; 0700 still in bed. :-) Read the paper, watered the wheatgrass, and cleaned the birdfeeder. Had breakfast on the deck in the sun. My lovely neighbour had finished mowing the front lawn yesterday, so only what's left of the back lawn to do, maybe tomorrow.

pm: Street-O. In the interests of Not Overdoing It, I decided to aim for around 4kms, and set off fairly quietly. Ha ha... the gizmo thought otherwise. At the halfway point, I'd done 2.5kms. Time flies when you're having fun. Much easier course than last week though - less hilly, although far from flat. We'll see how I pull up tomorrow. 5.4 kms.

Tuesday trundle

Short loop down to the Warby Trail, and back up along an unsealed road I haven't been on before. As it wound around in the wrong direction, I began to wish I'd brought the map, and hoping the road led out to the Hwy sometime soon. It did, although not where I was expecting it to! 3.6 kms.

Monday Power Stroll

No, not a power walk, just a purposeful stroll down the road. I headed down a narrow track I'd seen on the opposite side of the creek, and followed it until it got too muddy to risk my ankle. The track appears to run along the back of some dead-end streets, and I came out at the end of one of these when I called it quits. Looped back around the shops, past the horses, and back through the sports ground. 3.6 kms.

pm: knocked off work early and got home to find that half my front lawn had been mowed! One neighbour also had freshly mown lawn so I went over to see who my good fairy was. Simon confessed, and offered to finish the job! He'd only stopped mowing because he thought my usual lawnmower man might be coming around - I'd actually planned to phone him tonight.

I then headed down to the bottom of the garden to finish off mattocking the ground. The neighbour over the back (the Sullen Bastard, because he won't acknowledge any of the neighbours) is building an extension to the house (as you can see from the birdfeeder photos), and the builder stuck his head over the fence to say hello. Turns out he's the Sullen Bastard's father, and a lot friendlier than the neighbour and his wife.

As light stopped play, I'd finished the bottom section - just as well, as my legs were starting to shake. They'd had a good workout over the last few days, as well as my shoulders.

And after some food, I did a light weights workout. My halo is glowing.

Sunday 5k Wobble

CoolRunning thread

Met lots and lots of Melbourne CoolRunners at the Brighton Baths for a 5km time trial. I'd offered to do timekeeping, but Wobbly Man had that all under control, so I just took lots of photos.

I've uploaded them here
If anyone wants a fullsize image (~1.5mb) please leave a comment or email me though CR, and I'm happy to email it to you. Please note the filename, as I won't remember all your names.



Ankle was a bit achy on the long drive home, after doing so much standing around, but eased off after a lunch break at McDonalds(!).

Spend a productive afternoon in the dirt mattocking the lower garden. The backbreaking stuff is mostly done - just another small section to go, then I can fork over the weeds, and lay mulch.

Oh, and either McDs or sweating in the garden has driven away the headache. For now. Touch wood. Go figure?

weekly wrapup:

Weight	73.9 kgs
Walking	23.0 kms

Headache

Yes, another one. Left temple, and not responding to paracetamol, sudafed, sports drinks, or salty chips. I'm not dehydrated or constipated, and the only thing left that I can think of is a trip to the chiropractor.

Short walk to the shops (1.7 kms), and some quiet pottering in the garden in between the raindrops.

Casual stroll

Casual stroll down to the sports grounds and back. 3.0 kms.

I wish I could remember what my ankle looked like before Wednesday's Street-O so I could tell whether it's more swollen today, or just the same. But it's a bit puffy and slightly discoloured just behind the anklebone. It's not sore, but I'll be nice to it for a few more days.

Street-O @ Maroondah Triangle

My old stomping ground. Light rain. Set off at a fairly brisk pace, and with about 15 minutes to go, decided to make a dash for #20, picking up #1 on the way. Got to the top of the hill between the two, and was puffing and exhausted. And only walking! Great view over Croydon though. Debbie steamed past me, and I slowed down a bit before making it back with a few minutes to spare. My ankle definitely had a good workout, and was uncomfortable standing around afterwards. 5.0 kms in 57 minutes.

Decided against going out again this morning, as the ankle was definitely sore once I got home. I'd left the alarm off again last night, woke up early, checked on the birds (2 galahs, and the seed cone is worn down to a stump already), and went back to bed. :-)

from this

to this

pm: walk to Bunnings at lunchtime (always so much more cost-effective than driving, bcause then I can't buy anything too heavy or bulky). Foot is a bit swollen behind the anklebone, and a bit tender to walk on. Not sore, exactly... just a bit overcooked.

Box of Birds

Despite all the happy things that happened to me yesterday, I still felt like crap for most of it. My head hurt, my eyes felt puffy, and my brain never cleared from the fog that descended on Melbourne overnight. As I crawled into bed last night, I turned the alarm off, deciding that I would get up when my body was ready.

Six o'clock and I'm wide awake. Typical.

Four galahs and a lorikeet at the bird feeder. The lorikeets are such trapeze artists. This one was hanging upside down and keeping the 4 larger birds at bay. One of the galahs tried his luck on the clothesline wire, promptly tipped over, and looked so undignified as he struggled to get upright again. So funny.

Walked one of my old running routes. Took nearly 9 minutes to get to my "5-minute hill", for a total of 59 minutes, including camera stops. 4.4 kms. More photos in the Seville album...

Shocker

I just bought a little black dress.

** shakes head in disbelief **

I guess that means I'm going to the work Christmas Cocktail party next month. I don't go to little-black-dress outings very often - and certainly not wearing a little black dress.

Had an interesting chat with the boss's boss yesterday and today, about where I fit in the lab and what I want to do. Today he offered me a project that sounds like a good fit - needing someone capable of big-picture stuff with enough perseverence to pay attention to detail. Sounds interesting, and I can make it mine. Big Fish stuff, even though it's a little pond. Suits me.

Still can't get over the little black dress purchase though...

Tuesdayitis

Feeling very out-of-sorts this morning. I went to bed with a headache last night, and it was still there this morning - it's not responding to drugs, and it's not a sinus headache (yet? it's behind my right temple).

Cheered up considerably when I saw the feeding frenzy at my bird feeder: 2 crimson rosellas, 1 galah, and 3 rainbow lorikeets - one of whom was doing some impressive high-wire acrobatics on the clothesline.

Funny thing, this bird feeder. I'd originally hung it on the outside of the deck, slightly under cover (out of the rain), but in clear view of the gum trees. No takers. So I moved it to the clothesline (which I don't use anyway, but my grandmother won't let me rip it out), and still nothing but pigeons and blackbirds. Then a solitary rosella on Saturday. Then a couple of galahs. And finally the crowd this morning. Way cool. Only I really want it back on the deck so I can see it from my kitchen window (and take decent photos of it).

Went for a short walk - 2.8 kms - because I think I overdid it yesterday, and because I'd spent so much time watching the birds.

Another long trundle

I'm back on my hour-long walks before breakfast. This morning I headed out to the Chandler Road loop, with my camera. Hills, no problem. Rough roads, no problem; but I was tiring a bit on the last km to home, and my pace slowed considerably. Including camera stops, I took 70 minutes to do the 5.9 kms.

Have set up a Yahoo Album [here] with photos from this morning's jaunt.

Week 3

Week 3, only 5 more to go...

MON	7am walk - the plan was to stick to the sealed roads and stay on the flat. *laughs* Maybe tomorrow.	1.6 kms
TUE	am: walk - stayed on the flat by following the roads that follow the creek. Down to the sports ground, a lap of the playing fields, and back. Raining. Also did a short weights workout when I got back. pm: sinus headache. :-(	2.6 kms
WED	am: walk - same route as yesterday, in reverse. Momma Duck, Papa Duck, and 7 ducklets crossed my path and waddled into the long wet grass. Very cute.	2.7 kms
	pm: Street-O @ Belmore Parklands Slow walk, and came in after 42 minutes. The controls are so far apart when you're slow walking! I only got 5 - about half what a runner (ie, paulc) would get in the same time.	3.0 kms
THU	am: short walk around the block, then a weights workout. No complaints from the ankle about last night.	1.0 kms
FRI	am: TUE loop + MON loop + sun = very pleasant "long" walk. Ankle is so unbelievably better than it was a week ago.	3.1 kms
SAT	Street-O @ Croydon Hills nothing structured, and I wasn't wearing the gizmo, but plenty of walking bits during the afternoon.	~ 2 kms
SUN	am: "long" walk, along a pre-injury route, stopping at the shops for juicables and the Sunday paper. My pace was almost back to normal, and the casual observer would not have noticed anything amiss. Gosh, it feels good to stride out again.	5.3 kms

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Weekly stats

Weight	73.9 kgs ▼
Walking	18.3 kms

late afternoon visitor to my garden

Physio Visit #3

My injury is progressing ahead of schedule. Yipee! I'm still not allowed to run - but I kinda figured that anyway. :-) At this stage though, it looks like it'll be closer to 8 weeks than 12, which is all good.

Andrew had a young med student observing his consultations which was fun because as he explained things to her, he was also explaining them to me. And I got some inside knowledge which customers wouldn't normally get to hear - like what happens when you don't move the ultrasound around (it gives a bone burn, which you can smell).

Spent the afternoon at Street-O: setting out controls (with the assistance of some able-bodied helpers), manning the finish chute, and "supervising" the collection of controls afterwards. Lovely fine day spent outside - what more could you ask for.

Sunday update

SAT	walk to shops.	1.7 kms
SUN	walk to shops. Swelling has come down a LOT since yesterday's physio. It actually looks like a foot again. pm: weights workout	1.7 kms

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Weekly stats

Weight	75.1 kgs ▲
Walking	3.4 kms

Physio Visit #2

Much happier outcome this time. The swelling has gone down enough for him to have a decent poke around, which included some tentative heavy-duty manipulation of the joint. Good news and bad news. The good news is that there's nothing wrong that time won't heal. The bad news is that one of the three outside ankle ligaments (the downwards one) is a grade 3 tear - ie, the ligament has come away from the bone. And that means it'll be 8-12 weeks before I'm allowed to run again. Christmas. If I don't misbehave and damage anything further.

I'm allowed to walk for short distances to keep the joint mobile and stretch out the archilles and PF. But not for too long or too far because ANY weight-bearing exercise will cause further swelling of the joint. Apparently this is "not good", and we had an entertaining discussion as to why this is so.

I like this Physio (Andrew) - he's either very good at the personality-reflecting thing, or he really is a bit like me. :-) He's of slavic origin (with an unpronouncable surname to match) but obviously Aussie-raised, about 30, and with a keen sense of humour. Apparently my ankle is the best (as in worst) he's ever seen, and he reckons he should start photographing the best injuries to start a wall of fame. My ankle can be Miss October!

He's given me some exercises to do, including striding out in the pool. I also have to eat celery - which I don't like much - for its diuretic effect which will help reduce the swelling. I've become a raw juice convert in the last few years, so I dug out the books and put together a diuretic, anti-inflammatory blend. So we'll see how that goes.

Walkies...

Went for another walk around the business park at lunchtime. With my (new, tiny) camera.

Picture time

Foot a bit achy after today's lunchtime walk. Was good to get out though.

Actually quite useful having the photos from a week ago - I can see there's less swelling. Just.


This doesn't really show the extent of the bruising - right up the outside of the leg to just below the calf.


I still have a fairly solid band of swelling where it first blew up - between to top of my shoe and the bottom of my running tights. When I squeeze it, there is no give at all.


detail of my black toes

I Walked!

Not hobbled, or limped, or hopped. Real walking: heel-toe weightbearing stuff. And it's all good.

Probably less than a kilometre in total, around the sealed areas at work (a huge business park). Sat down on a drainpipe at one stage and gently stretched out my archilles (which is getting worryingly tight). Oh, it's so good to be out there again. All the grevilleas are coming into flower and the place is humming with life.

Life sucks

I'm injured. I can't walk, run, hop or skip. Actually, I can hop... especially first thing in the morning before the blood has settled in the foot and it's still throbbing from having been horizontal for the last 8 hours. I'm sick of hurting, and I'm sick of NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING. :-(

I had a meeting with my boss the other day and told him I wanted to do something different. He was okay about that. Then yesterday I had a talk with my boss's boss who basically told me that the only place for me in this lab is where I am now. Which SUCKS, because I've been doing this sort of work (consulting, getting people out of the brown stuff when it hits the fan) for 5 years, and I really want to get back into what I enjoy and am good at (application design and development). :-(

They also want us to be on 24-hour call, which also sucks big time. All because the bunnies in the US can't do their job. :-((

And my boss is also pissed at my boss's boss, and my teammate is pissed at my boss, so all-in-all we're set for some fireworks around here.

Weight 73.9kgs

Now is that going down because I'm actually losing FAT, or is it going down because I haven't moved much further than an inch for the last week and I'm losing MUSCLE. I'm going to have to be extra careful until I can get out on my feet again that I don't pile on the kilos.

I did the Bodydoctor routine again this morning - out on the deck in the sunshine. Very nice. :-)

I did it on Saturday afternoon as well, listening to TripleJ which had some clap-clap(?) theme thing going on - no ads, no drivel, and nothing but really cool 70's and 80's tracks for an hour.

Joined the NSAIDs Club

After finally admitting to myself that the ankle wasn't getting better, I went to see the physio this morning. Poke... ow!... poke... ow!... poke... ow! And the verdict: I have a level 2 ligament tear - 50%-80% of the ligament is torn, and I'm not allowed to do any weight-bearing exercise for 6-8 weeks.

6-8 WEEKS?!!!!

He asked if I was a "sporty type", and I mumbled yeah (thinking that if it wasn't obvious, then perhaps I wasn't!). So then he said that this must be killing me, right? Oh, yeah, too right! I can feel my fitness slipping by the minute. I'm not even allowed to walk any more than necessary for another 2 weeks.

At one point he said "tough lady". Nah, not tough... feeling a bit fragile right now.

He wrote a note to my GP recommending a prescription for some potent anti-inflamatories (and we both wished that physios can prescribe) which I took up the road to my medical centre. The receptionist wasn't exactly rude... more just very blunt and uncaring. It was going to cost me $50 to see a GP and get a piece of paper. So I went next door to the pharmacist and asked what I could get without a scrip. During our conversation, I started to cry. I guess all the stress and emotion of the last week, plus the attitude of the receptionist, all became too much. I managed to stumble away with some Voltaren Rapid-25, and drove to a local park where I bawled my eyes out for the next half an hour.