I am still alive

Sorry for the lack of contact.

Am working on my Achilles recovery and have not had a huge amount to report. It is going really really well and I am hoping to be able to start introducing exercise next week. I need to get my Rehab plan checked off by my Physio then I can get into it.

I will report in when that is happening.

My living situation is also about to change and I will no longer have to share a kitchen. Cooking will begin again in earnest and I will share lots of yummy recipes.

Things are on the improve and I am excited.

The Boot Is Gone!!!!!

At least for a few days!

I am so excited. :)

My Physio has given me a 3 day trial out of the boot. If I go okay then I can stay out of it. If it gets worse he wants me to get anti-infammatory injections into the Achilles area (which I do not want).

So I am being super careful, taking my Voltaren, using my stick, and being as positive as possible that this is the final stage of the treatment!

Send me any healing vibes you have spare. :)

Just had the ultrasound...

The good news is there are no significant tears that would require surgery – YAY!

The bad news is the Radiographer said it looks like it has been smashed repeatedly with a hammer. He showed me the good one and the bad one and they seriously look like different body parts.

I am back to the Physio tonight. It looks like a long drawn out recovery.

I wonder if I should try and get the money back from the other Physio that I spent going there, since he was so useless…

Went to a new Physio

About my Achilles.

And now I have these....

For 2 weeks. :(

Weird being back

It is taking me some time to settle back in to be home. I was only gone for 4 days but it was so relaxing and I was so cut off that it feels like a lot longer.

I struggled last week with my healthy food habit challenge. Mainly because we could not get fresh fruit (or veg) where we went away. And we tried... It was really bizarre. So I am doing week 1 again.

In other news I am off to a new Physio tonight. My old one seemed to be pretty pathetic so I am getting a second opinion. I can feel a lump growing on the back of the Achilles and that is not good.... That added to the fact that it is constantly swollen leads me to believe he is not doing all he could be.

Weigh in this morning was slightly down. I have not been monitoring my food intake at all. Time to refocus.

The Black Dog is still hovering around the fringes as well. I am trying to do what I can to keep him at bay but it is hard...

htfu boot camp

Last night was our first Home Made Boot Camp session. I was half looking forward to it, half dreading it.

On the weekend when I was out shopping for a Valentines Day pressie for SVP I found these very cool caps for M & I to wear. They say “htfu”. I got them to remind us that when we really don’t want to do this - we need to shut up and harden the fuck up. :)

We went to a massive area of parklands and set ourselves up near an oval with benches that we could use for the session.

So we started with a Fitness Test. The idea was to get as many of the following done in the time frame to give us a starting point.

ROUND 1: FITNESS TEST

Squats                                                           2 minutes

Push ups                                                       2 minutes

Sit ups                                                            2 minutes

Shuttle run/walk                                        5 minutes

My results were:

Squats                                                           79

Push ups                                                       23

Sit ups                                                            17 

(and apparently the noises I make while trying to do these are wildly amusing…)

Shuttle run/walk                                        475 metres

Not a great result but it definitely gives me something to improve on.

By the time we did this the oval we were using was filling up with rugby players, so we decided to move ourselves one oval over (there are about 5 or 6 ovals). Then we got stuck into session 2

ROUND 2: COMBO CIRCUIT

60 second intervals

15 seconds rest

Repeat circuit TWO TIMES

1.                Alternating lunges

2.                Push ups

3.                Squats

4.                Tricep dips

5.                Step ups

6.                Mountain climbers

7.                Hover/plank

8.                Burpees

This was HARD… I had to modify a few of them so they didn’t put extra pressure on my Achilles, but I did something for every section.

By the time we got through the first circuit, ALL the ovals were filled with Rugby players and we were boxed in. It was time to find another location.  We found a patch of grass away from all the ovals. By then we decided to skip the 2^nd circuit and move on to round 3.

Round 3 was upper body work only.

ROUND 3: UPPER BODY BLITZ

Continuous circuit – no rest periods

12 repetitions of each exercise

1 minute rest then repeat circuit

1.                           Bicep curls

2.                           Lateral raises

3.                           Tricep kick backs

4.                           Overhead press

5.                           Hammer curls

6.                           Front raises

7.                           Dead lifts

8.                           Chest press

9.                           Dumbbell row

10.                     Tricep extensions

Now this hurt. I was only using 1.5 kg weights, but by the end they felt like 10kg. :)

We ended up doing a 50 minute session. I was knackered by the end of it. Of course, I was on my bike and still had a 10km ride to get home… It wasn’t too bad until km 4, when I encountered a head wind from the rain front moving in. By km 8 I was ready to spew. But I didn’t… :)

This morning I am in a world of pain… My Butt and Hamstrings are especially pissed at me. But honestly, I hurt all over. I skipped the bike ride in and got on public transport. Although even walking to the stop was slow and painful…

In saying that I really enjoyed it. M is great to work out with. She is so much fitter than me that it gives me something to strive for. Also she doesn't whinge and complain like I do. LOL I can't guarantee I am as much fun to work out with.

Next week it is my turn to come up with the plan. What I have in mind is quite different to M's session which is good. It will give us some variety. I am getting all my ideas from the Commando and Tiff from TBL. 

I am looking forward to it (assuming I am able to move again my then...) :)

Achilles

Went to the gym this morning. Wasn't planning on it. Just felt the urge after breakfast so off I went.

Got on the Dreadmill. Boring as, but necessary. Did my 2 minute power walking intervals. 

By the 5th interval I was up to 6.5kmph.

May sound slow to many, but that is actually about the speed I used to run at when I was running (actually I was more of a shuffler than a runner). I was pretty impressed. My Achilles held up well.

From there I moved to my Nemesis. Spent 10 minutes with it. I hate that stupid thing. But it gets my HR up. So I do it.

Achilles still fine. Am feeling good about it's progress.

Leave the gym, walking down the stairs, and pull my freaking Achilles on the 2nd step!  WTF!?!?!?! 

I got through the hardest workout I have done in months and I hurt the Achilles on the way out of the gym...

I am sitting here with my foot on ice and have had some anti-inflammatories. 

And I am pissed off.

But I'll get over it.