Ahhh… at last, the fire is getting hot and beginning the business of toasting my leg for another evening. I’m feeling virtuous, I just did my leg exercises and set an alarm for the next one and the one after that. I have five to do a day, currently 33 lifts per leg…ugh (seated on the floor, legs stretched in front of you, toes pointing up, 11 lifts up in the air, then with the toes pointed out to 10 and 2, carry on lifting til the magic number of 33, soon to be 36, which I will then have to maintain 5 times a day for a month).
It’s to strengthen my medial collateral ligament and all the relevant muscles that should help it not to get injured again. I hurt it a little over Christmas with too much activity and had to row back the exercises quite a bit, I’m only getting back up to the full five a day today, hence the virtuous feeling. And the relieved feeling, every time I hurt it again I do feel like ‘is it ever going to heal?’.
I sprained it in August, too much running, faulty footwear. Yes, I said running, no, I never thought I’d be able to, but I had gotten to the point after a couple of weeks going from hardly being able to run a minute without wheezing to being able to run for half an hour pretty much non-stop. I had been walking and cycling before that so I had built up a lot of strength and cardiovascular fitness (just in case you thought it was a total miracle). I got in touch with my inner warrior and it felt really good and then I had to stop and that felt really bad 
All going well, another month of the exercises should see me able to start back to running again. It was thought I’d be able to start back around Christmas (I started them on the 23rd of November), but with the ice and snow and a few other things, it hasn’t gone quite according to plan. So I’m hoping another month of lifting, lifting, endlessly lifting, should get me on track for starting back running again in February.
I did a tough session in the gym this morning (upper body weights, which is mostly all I’ve done in there since my injury), my god but I really am as weak as a kitten..well, comparatively. There was a guy there though who was virtually slack jawed when I asked him if he was using the bench press and then proceeded to throw myself (in a rather practised and fluid movement, I noticed) onto the bench and start my set with just a touch of wriggling, but little ceremony. EEE Gads! A woman on the bench press and she actually knows what she’s doing! lol. My ego loves it.
I am the only woman who does free weights in there at the moment (you see the odd woman using some of the fixed weight machines or using a low weight as part of some routine or something, but not lifting the heavy shit). The guys that work out at the same times as me are long over the novelty (they’re all lovely!), but I’m starting at a much earlier time now so I guess I have a few new ones to surprise 
Possibly he wasn’t thinking that at all, possibly he was just thinking, ‘I wonder why she’s wearing a tracksuit top’. Most people wear t-shirts in the gym but I like to keep my muscles warm until I get into it (just in case you wondered). Nah, my ego’s having none of it, I like being the tough chic that shocks the dudes. Hee.
Anyway, I have more leg exercises to do now, but I’ll leave you with some photos from New York that I never got around to sharing last year. Also, a question… I’m not saying NY is my favourite city, but I did really love it (I think we all know by now what my favourite city is), so what’s yours?
I love this first one, I have it as my wallpaper at the moment actually. If you like any of them email me and I’ll send you the big version for wallpaper or whatever…
Grarrrrrrrrrrrrr! Inner warrior.
Not much to say for myself, really. Just wanted to share that.
I do like New York, but I’m not certain that I have a favourite city (Kingston is home, so I don’t count it). Closest is probably Bangkok, but it’s also the most different from here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx9aWk3-rKg I Always think of this when I think ‘warrior’ in connection with exercise. What a cool, if slightly retro, track
Bangkok always makes me think of that monkey skull soup thing in Indiana Jones..was that Bangkok?
Hmm … Just checked, the monkey brains is in India. I had no idea until recently, but it’s still more common there than I would have liked to think.
Bangkok’s big drawback is the massive numbers of vehicles (loads of motorcycles), but that also adds to the ambiance of the place: the buzz the bikes, the exhaust, etc.
Lovely photos in NYC – did you take any when the snow fell down there on your way back? That was some storm, wasn’t it?
I love photos taken in the manner you did – (upshots of the buildings). Beautiful.
Thanks dear
I thought I had more actually, but it rained so heavily and then turned to snow…no snow pics, a few of the plane we were supposed to have borded (complete with icicles hanging off it’s snout!), but I didn’t take any of the snow, couldn’t get the camera out from under the poncho we had to buy. I did take pics of the landing like you asked – did I ever send those to you?
Wow, just about eleven months since you guys were on this side of the Atlantic. Time does fly.
Personally, I find that reading about your exercise/fitness progress gives me hope for my efforts along those lines. Thanks.
I know Jim, I was going through my pics last night, it doesn’t feel like that long ago. We’ll be back as soon as we can though, you can count on it
I’m really glad to hear that, I find I’m the same when I’m reading about someone else going through the ups and downs of training, yourself included. I just never thought in all those years of reading about you and your running that I would ever be doing the same. I had resigned myself to being cuddly and not sporty, how much I was missing out on, this wonderful body is capable of so much more!