Bad day!

Not running has made me a little bitter. Today was a rest day from pool running so I had little to work my anger out on. So it was a bad day for Simon to go to brunch and a) not tell me and b) not check why I wasn't there.

Finally at 1:30pm he arrived home. I was not a happy camper. It felt quite depressed....didn't even want to sneak off and do an extra DWR session.

Health and safety warning:

If someone is injured to the extent they can do very little, DO not do anything that might anger them.

On the bright side, I've found an intensive 9 week DWR (Deep Water Running) program. It has DWR 5 days a week and cross-training if able.....which I'm not. So now I'm happy-ish! At least I have a focus and feel like i'm not blindly treading water.

I've ordered a bouyancy belt so I won't have to hire the pool's ones which are always adjusted for huge abdomens. And so I penguin on....penguins fly in water, right!

Pool running!

Since I can't walk, can't run and can't bike and have a pathological fear of swimming I needed to find something to stop me from killing every runner I see.

The answer is pool running! Delicate petals refer to it as aqua jogging but I refuse to. I am going hard out so I'm running not jogging and I'm in a pool....pool running!

So what does my new sport involve? Basically I wear a bouyancy aid around my waist which by the miracle of science stops me sinking to the bottom of the 4.4m deep pool.....this is the woman with the pathological fear of deep water we're talking about! There is a lane for aqua jogging only so you don't have the annoyance issue. When I first tried it I spent 10 minutes in the Rec swimming lane so i could get used to rhe sendsation and still be able to touch the floor. Stepping into the unknown of the 4.4m deep pool ewas a real leap of faith! Once in the pool I move up and down in an exaggerated running motion. I managed 45 minutes today! I will get better. You can do most sorts of running workouts...apart from hills! It is quite boring going up and down up and down. There's no music playing in the pool and I have no waterproof ipod. Currently I use visualisation to keep me going but when I'm up to 2 hours or more I'll need something more!

You work really hard but your heart rate doesn't seem to get that high, you're cooler (no sweat!) and there's none of that impact! But you do end up feeling tired! Not muscle aching tired, just "Ooh it would be nice to curl up for a nap now" tired. You also seem to get a better upper body work out than with running due to the resistance of the water. Also if you pass close to a fast swimmer going in the opposite direction you get the added resistance of fighting their wake!

The people on the running machines in the gym overlooking the pool seem to find me very funny but as Lisa pointed out they are running and getting nowhere so who are they to laugh! at least I get to race elderly Asian ladies.

I'm planning to follow my Kepler training program in the pool so I'm going to spend a lot of time at the Olympic pool. I'll be there just about everyday up until my orthopod appointment and then see what happens. Either keep at it until I have surgery or if surgery is a no-go then I'll carry on! I guess I'll get used to the smell of chlorine which oozes out of your skin despite liberal use of body wash. I may have to invest in a waterproof mp3 player.

Long long runs will be fun! I guess I hop out of the pool every hour and hydrate (ha ha), eat something small, do a toilet stop and then back in. Currently I have to do two lengths every 8 with my arms tucked behind my back because they lose strength due to the fibromyalgia. But it means I concentrate on good technique while doing it so it's a win-win!

The year that's been!

Up until 5 weeks ago I'd had a brilliant year. My fabulous physio had fixed my hip, I'd got faster...really faster! I'd entered two Ultras: the Great Naseby Water Race and the Kepler Challenge. I was trail running and loving it...life was good!

And then disaster!

I slipped off a kerb and hurt my heel. It didn't improve so I went to the A&E. It was put in a tubigrip and I was to have an xray on the Monday. I had the xray and the doc looked at it and said "All fine. Just a strain. Take ibuprofen and carry on". So I did. Then the xray report arrived! Possible fracture! No contact from Doc but my lovely physio arranged an appointment with a sports Doc for me.

I went off to Lower Hutt where I'd entered the 5 Bridges Marathon. It was not to be either! I made a great cheer section in my moon boot and had a blast at Norman's 50th birthday party instead!

On the Wednesday after my return I saw the Sports Doc who sent me off for a CT scan. Finally got it done the following Monday...four weeks after injury. Back to Doc ....fracture was pretty much healed so he said get rid of the moon boot. I had the feeling he thought I was a hypochondriac! On examination it was still bloody sore. OK...we'll get an ultrasound done. Not likely to show anything.

In between I go to Naseby to once again support at an event I was meant to be running. Still I had grat fun being the timekeeper (scored a woolly hat) and trying curling! Woo hoo!

Got in for the US on the Monday....5 weeks have passed. Radiographer looks and says it all seems fine. There's a bit that looks like a split but it's probably just a variation on normal. She decided to get the Radiologist to look. In they both come. Radiologist directs the radiographer on where and how to put the probe and voila! a bloody great split in one of the peroneal tendons!

Just going off on a slight tangent here. Where you go to the radiologists often it is to see the cause of a pain. So you would think they would realise that repeated wriggling around over a sore point is not pleasant! But no apologies!

Anyway, back to the Doc on the following Wednesday. Quelle surprise! you are not a hypochondriac! No! I have what I originally thought I had! So he talked about 6 months rehab! I then asked about surgical repair. Having read research and feedback I felt happier with the idea of a total repair. He agreed to refer me to an Orthopod. And surprise surprise.....get back in your moon boot! Bloody hell!

I rang the Orthopod and got an appointment...in nearly 4 weeks! So if she refuses to operate on healing tissue I'm going to be very angry cos I could have seen her by now if all the tests had been done at once rather than piece meal to appease the hypochondriac!

So that is where it stands! Kepler looks like yet another ultra i don't get to do but I'm not admitting defeat yet! I have 90 days!