You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April, 2008.
Exercise: 4km Run - Treadmill, Level 1 Jillian Michaels DVD - 30 Day Shred (Phoenix’s)
As I had such a great run last night, I thought I’d follow up with another one tonight to see how the foot would hold up doing 2 runs in a row.
I had intended to run 5km, but at the 4km mark I felt a small pain and stopped straight away. Have now iced the foot and am remembering to take my anti-inflams regularly.
I’m sure there’s no problem with the foot, but you know what it’s like, one little pain/niggle etc and you get scared that the problem will return.
I’ve pulled my Saucony Phoenix’s out of the cupboard and gave them a go tonight. I don’t think they have the same cushioning as the Hurricanes but they were still very comfortable to run in.
The only reason I used the Phoenix’s is because my other 2 pairs of Hurricanes that I’m currently using are in the boot of my car and I was too lazy to go out and get them 
I also tried out my new Jillian Michaels DVD, 30 Day Shred. Think I might be a bit sore tomorrow, even though it wasn’t the toughest workout I’ve ever done. But it did use some muscles that I haven’t worked for a while.
Oh well, as Eat Em says, no pain, no gain 
Exercise: 4km Run - Treadmill, 30 Mins Crosstrainer (Trigons)
Okay, I admit it, couldn’t wait until after I’d seen the Podiatrist to have a run. 
Do you know how hard it is to walk in to the gym and NOT get on a treadmill. Well it just got the better of me tonight. I started out walking for a couple of minutes and as it was feeling good, I just upped the pace so that I was running really slowly, and I mean really slowly.
I’m happy to report that there was no pain at all in my foot - yep, NO PAIN 
I may just start increasing the distance gradually (but not too gradually - I’ve got a marathon to run in 10 weeks time!!).
My eating habits have been terrible over the last couple of weeks. While I haven’t been doing too much exercise I’ve been eating like a horse
I found that when I was doing heaps more training before Oxfam my appetite was much less and I didn’t crave anything crappy, whereas now, I’m just eating so much bad stuff. It’s amazing I haven’t put on more weight than I have already
Oh yeah, I watched about the first 20 minutes of Big Brother last night and then got bored so didn’t bother watching any more. And I watched tonight’s episode while I was on the treadmill and the cross trainer, although I couldn’t tell you what people were talking about as I had my music going
I am so happy
I do NOT have a stress fracture. Now everyone jump up and down and giggle stupidly like I did in the Dr’s surgery when he uttered those words
I do still have some tissue damage, which 10 days of very strong anti-inflams should clear up (that’s what he reckons anyway).
I’ve also got an appointment to see a “very good” Podiatrist at the Melbourne Sports place in Albert Park to assess my biomechanics. Hopefully he will fix everything (do you think that’s putting too much pressure on him?)
The doc did suggest not doing any running until I’ve seen the Podiatrist 
Anyway, I’m happy - I DON’T have a stress fracture
Now the really big question is - Do I watch the first episode of Big Brother tonight and get sucked in for the rest of the series?
Exercise: 30 Mins Cross Trainer, 10 Mins Rower, Weights
I was knocking on the door at the gym this morning. Okay, I was only a couple of minutes early, but I was still there before it opened
So I’m feeling a little bit apprehensive about the outcome of my visit to the doctor tomorrow. I am so hoping that he says it’s okay to run and that it’s only a little bit of tissue damage. If he even mentions the word stress or fracture I think I might have a little tantrum right there in his office
Okay it’s a short post tonight as Biggest Loser is about to start
Exercise: 33km Cycle - Warby Trail
I thought it was only fair that I kept Michelle company this morning while she did her long run.
Actually I feel really guilty that I’m all injured and not running at all, and the only reason Michelle is doing all this training is to run next to me when we do the Gold Coast Marathon, which, at the moment, I have no idea if I’m even going to be a starter 
Anyway it was a fantastic morning as we started out. No wind, the sun was just coming out and the trail was empty. That all changed on the way back (we did an out and back course). The wind nearly knocked me off my bike and poor Michelle was running up this hill with a massive headwind. It even looked like we might get rained on as the clouds were getting very dark.
Once again, I can only be amazed at how fit Michelleis, running all the way with only 2 small loo breaks. She’s just a machine
Autumn is rapidly approaching. This tree was just the the most beautiful shade of red. That’s the Warby Trail in the background.
And here’s another sunset. Unfortunately the camera in my phone just couldn’t pick up the deep red colour that was eminating (sp?) from the sun.
Exercise: 45 Mins Eliptical Machine (Trigons)
So I have finally pulled my finger out and got myself down to the gym for some exercise
I tried to imagine that I was running and put the Eliptical up to 10 (whatever that means). It gave me the same kind of feeling in the legs that I’d get if I was running, although after the 45 minutes I checked the distance and it said I’d only covered 2.76km 
So back to the foot
Well I was all prepared to mozy on down to Maroondah Hospital for my appointment and I got a phone call at 9.15am (my appointment was for 10am) to say that one of their machines was out and could they reschedule my appointment to Box Hill Hospital instead.
As I’d taken Tuesday off I highlighted to the woman who phoned me that it would have to be rescheduled for sometime the same day, so she had me hold while she made all the arrangements.
The only hairy bit of the whole day was that she’d booked me into get my x-ray at 10.15am and it was nearly 9.30 already. So if anyone saw a dark coloured car racing along Maroondah Highway on Tuesday about 9.45ish, that would probably have been me.
And if anyone happened to see the woman standing by the pay machine for the carpark underneath Box Hill Hospital using obscene language, that was probably me too. How can they charge such rip-off amounts to park there. I was there for just over an hour (literally 3 minutes past the hour) and it cost me $8.00
So anyway once I’d got the x-rays done and the injection done that puts the dye into the body, I had 3 hours to waste. So I drove home again, this time at a leisurely pace I was told that I should keep actively walking around as the dye moves along better through the bloodstream and they get a better picture.
Back up to Box Hill I go, this time parking in the Centro Shopping Centre car park and walking down to the hospital (pat on the back J for a great move!!). Walked straight in and got the scan done, paid my bill (OMG $523 later!!) and they gave me my x-rays and scan pictures to take with me). The actual report would be faxed to the Doctor.
Once home again I rang to make another appointment so that I could get the Dr to tell me what was wrong, only to be told that he wasn’t working at the surgery for the rest of the week, he was fully booked out on Monday and the next appointment available would be the following Thursday
I nearly cried from frustration. I just want to know what’s wrong. Can I run or can’t I? Is it too much to ask?
So I’ve rung back again today and there was a cancellation for Monday so I’m now seeing the Dr at 10.00am - phew!
In the meantime I’ll just try and do as much cross training as possible. I got Hubby to drop into the sports place where you can buy water running belts and of course they’re out of stock aren’t they Hopefully I can borrow one at the pool when I go to do some water running.
So that’s about it for now. Hopefully I can update you with some good news on Monday
Just a quick post to update everyone.
My foot was quite sore after running on Friday so I booked in to see a Sport Doc. Luckily the place that I normally go to must have a new Doc as I didn’t have any problems getting an appointment to see him today.
He asked all the usual questions, looked at my foot, prodded it a bit and then had me on the treadmill to check my gait. Seems that I run funny
So I’m off for an xray and a bone scan tomorrow morning. (Em, I did question the validity of the xray but he blinded me with reasoning!!). I’ve been told that in between getting the dye injected in my foot and then returning 3 hours later for the scan, I must avoid pregnant women and children (not pregnant children!!).
I was planning on going into work for the time that I need to wait inbetween injection and scan, but was advised that I should go home instead as you never know if there are any women in the office who may be pregnant but just don’t know it yet!!
I’m still confident that it’s not a stress fracture
Oh yeah, Alana is now part of the “we love Saucony trainers” team
Exercise: 11km Run incl 6 x 800m Yassos (Trigons)
This morning was my first run since Trailwalker.
I saw Corrie on Wednesday night and she gave me a real working over (ooh er!!) massage workover that is
My foot felt heaps better once she’d worked on the side of my shin, but about an hour later the dull ache had returned.
So today I wanted to see how the foot felt when running. Still not great though There was dull pain as soon as I started running. Perhaps this was just due to the lack of exercise during the week.
The foot is still a bit tender now (some 7 hours later) and I’m wondering if maybe I’ve got a bit of a stress fracture there. May have to go find me a sports doctor and get it checked out further. I’m hoping that it’s just some internal bruising - well we can always hope can’t we
How fantastic was this morning’s sunrise
Alana’s Quote: “Of course I know how to shop Dad, I’m a girl!”
Phew!
I’ve now come back to earth with a big thud!
It’s all over - no more preparation, no more training, no more organising. So now what do I do with my time - Oh yes, there’s still that Marathon that I’m supposed to be training for
Happy to report that all my aches have now gone apart from my foot. The pain is over the top of the foot, rather than underneath. It feels fine when I wear high heels, it’s only when I put my foot flat on the ground that the pain starts.
It’s not really a pain as such, more like a constant ache. Doesn’t hurt too much if I walk on my toes, but if I walk normally it’s very uncomfortable. I’ve taken some anti-inflams and have rubbed some Nurofen Gel on it, so I’m just going to have to give it a bit of time to heal (whatever IT is!!).
Now if you want a full report on the event you’ll have to go over to Em’s Blog where she’s written a fantastic account of everything that happened.
I got a text message from Michelle yesterday to say that she felt fantastic and had just been out for a 5km run. She’s a machine that one
Now here’s a list of some of the things I’d do differently next time (yep, there’ll be a next time!)
*Take salt tablets regularly
*Drink even more powerade
*Drink less water
*Eat less lollies and more salty things (which will be very difficult as I found it hard enough to eat anything)
*Take less stuff with me
*Use fuel belt instead of camel back on shorter sections
*Don’t change trainers, just socks
*Take more photos on the course
*Sing more
*Try and get a 7am start
Thankyou all once again for your lovely comments and your support. It would have been a whole lot harder without you all.
Exercise: 100km Run/Walk (8’s-36km, 7’s Blue-64km)
Well what can I say - we did it
Our time was 20 hours and 49 minutes, and I think I am now feeling every minute of it
What a fantastic event, and for such a worthwhile cause. The organisation was very efficient and the volunteers at all the checkpoints were so nice.
I probably won’t go into too much detail as there would be just too much to mention. I’ll just do it in bullet points!
*It didn’t rain
*We finished with a much better time than we thought
*We had plenty of food
*Tanty hill wasn’t too bad at the end
*The champagne at the finish line was wonderful
*My right foot is very sore and will need to be looked at
*I am having trouble walking and getting out of a chair and sitting on the loo
*I am so lucky to have 3 fantastic friends who made Trailwalker great fun
*I seriously considered giving up at the last Checkpoint
*I hate vomiting
*Having the right support crew is so important (thanks guys, you were amazing)
*I don’t want to eat any more lollies for a long time
*No blisters
Below are some photos of the day (and night).
These are at the start
Registering! (I think we all look very nervous)
Getting all our “stuff” organised
The Girls are ready to go!
At each CheckPoint
Okay, so the winning quantity in the lolly jar was 184
Thankyou everyone for your food ideas. There’s plenty of food for thought (ha, ha, get it!!)
So I’ve decided (and have now bought) the following:
Enough lollies to feed a small army (just in case!)
Bread Rolls (will just add butter)
Fruit Scones (will add butter)
Fruit Buns (will add butter)
Bananas (to mash up in bread roll if I feel the urge)
Protein Bars (Choc Fudge Brownie flavour of course )
Kettle Chips (for the salt)
Protein Shakes
Powerade
I’m sure that If I get a taste for something else I can ring the support crew and they can stop at the shop to buy whatever it is (Chocolate Frappe…..yum!).
Oi, Eat Em, who are you calling stupid 
Now I want to say a huge thankyou to everyone below who has donated to our cause, and of course not forgetting everyone who has donated personally too. We couldn’t have raised the money without you.
Exercise: 8km Run - Treadmill (Trigons)
Just a nice casual run on the treadmill at the gym this morning. Nothing too fast, just cruising. Legs felt much better today than yesterday.
Managed to raise $80 at work for the Lolly Jar Competition. Here’s the jar. How many lollies do you think are in the jar?
I’m having a huge dilemma about what to eat during Trailwalker. My big problem is that I have no appetite after doing exercise and my stomach turns at the thought of eating anything
I do have a huge stash of lollies that I will be devouring along the trail, but when it comes to real food, I’m struggling.
Any ideas?
.
Exercise: Netball Game (Propels)
Yeowy! Legs hurt
Remind me why I even thought that it would be okay just to try out a little bit of Jillian’s DVD? That was a stupid idea!!
Had a fantastic game of Netball tonight. We won by 1 goal, that’s how close it was. And we played the team that has my old coach playing in it, and I had to play against her in the last quarter. It’s really hard to play well when you’re laughing and fooling around so much
The Girls had their last supper yesterday. We all met up for some dinner, along with the support crew, to discuss tactics.
Three days until Trailwalker…..Aaaaggghhhh!
Exercise: 10km Run - Treadmill (Trigons)
FINALLY!!!
My first bit of exercise since last Sunday. I was getting a bit worried that I would never get around to doing any and that I’d get stuck back into that rut when you stop doing it for a while and then just don’t get back into a regular pattern.
Phew, that’s over now. I just hope that my legs aren’t going to be too sore tomorrow. I’m sure they won’t be, but with Trailwalker so close now, I’m starting to worry that things will go wrong. You know how it goes - “OMG my calf feel sore, oh no, I can feel my calf pulling, aagghhh my shins hurt”
I forked out for the latest Jillian Michaels DVD. It’s called 30 Day Shred and there are 3 Levels on it. It’s basically a 20 minute full on circuit training session which incorporates strength, cardio and abs. I had a watch through it yesterday and I have to say that I’m quite impressed. Anything that’s going to help tone in 20 minutes a day works for me! There are beginners moves as well as advanced moves too, so it’s not just for the already ultra fit people (yeah, like they’d be doing a Jillian Michaels DVD!!).
I’ll start it after Trailwalker as I know that doing anything different right now will create pain.
Want a laugh - Alana has just come out of her bedroom and has announced that she’s just done the first level. I wondered where the weights went to! She’s going to be in better shape than me, that’s for sure. She just went back into her bedroom to do Level 2
Michelle and I took the girls to see High School Musical on Ice yesterday. I could not believe how many times the actors fell over when they were doing their jumps. Surely they’d be better off doing less diffficult ones just to make sure that they didn’t fall over rather than the triple loops that they were trying to do?
OMG, only 5 days until Trailwalker
Well I am now in the full blown stages of being sick
Have taken the last 3 days off work as I didn’t want to give it to everyone else, unlike the person who came into work last Friday with it and very inconsiderately passed it on to me
I was told that as I’ve done the right thing and stayed home to get better, I now have to produce a doctor’s certificate, even though I’ve spoken to the same person every day this week and they can hear that I’m not well. So it’s now cost me $40, less what I get back from Medicare, to be home sick
And of course this has meant that I’ve not done any exercise for the last 3 days either, which is even more maddening as I’m actually really enjoying the training. I should have clocked up 34km by this time and as such I’ve done zilch, nada, nothing
I did, however, manage to get a photo of the beautiful sunrise this morning
Now did anyone watch Biggest Loser last night? And if you did, were you bawling your eyes out shedding a little tear for all the contestants like I was?
