So I have been eating mostly OK lately, not great, but OK but I haven't really been exercising. Cycling at the moment for me isn't all that fun, I do enjoy it, but it's not like it used to be before I hurt my back, it's such a struggle whenever the road inclines even in the slightest... so I am not putting the pressure on myself to ride to work as I really don't like the ride home. Instead, I am thinking of riding like a gym session. It's time to get myself into a regular enjoyable routine again and that will be either heading to the outdoor velo on my roadie or doing a session on my trainer and I want to start out trying to do this 3 to 4 times a week. I have also been told by the physio to try to start doing walks again and see how my hip handles it - I am excited that I will be able to do my morning walks again! I also need to do my daily strengthening exercises more regularly... but mostly I just need to stop being slack in general!
I think I have sussed out that my headaches are from tensing my jaw, however because I am not clenching my teeth, my dentist told me that he can't do anything to help and that I need to try to stop doing it (duurrrr!), try to rest and relax my jaw and/or find a physio that specialises in the jaw joint. I have spent the past few days mostly at home trying to avoid talking, massaging my jaw and using ice packs and nurofen plus to get the inflammation down.
This week I am going to try and eat more fruit - I need to eat more fruit!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Where was my weekend?
What a huge few days! 3 days of being a vollie at the Track World Cup and then today the Victorian Women's Omnium Championship run by my cycling club (Brunswick) with CSV and their women's committee! I have very sore knees and feet from standing so much, but I had a great time, saw some great racing and enjoyed the experience. Today is the first time I have been at home in daylight hours in the afternoon/evening since Wednesday! I feel like I have pretty much only been home to sleep and that's about it
Today at the Omnium I was a judge and time keeper and I made mention that I was in the process of doing my level 1 Commissaire qualification and the Chief Commissaire said he could assess me today for my practical component and that when I submit my theory, I need to put in a note to send the information and paperwork to him to sign it all off for me - how awesome! :D
Today at the Omnium I was a judge and time keeper and I made mention that I was in the process of doing my level 1 Commissaire qualification and the Chief Commissaire said he could assess me today for my practical component and that when I submit my theory, I need to put in a note to send the information and paperwork to him to sign it all off for me - how awesome! :D
Friday, November 21, 2008
In brief
I am tired, stiff and sore from volunteering at the Track World Cup... so tired I can't even be stuffed doing a hyperlink to websites - google it! I still have my almost constant headaches, plus now I have a stiff and sore back, hips and knees and I am tired from all the above combined with no real exercise. Last night and tonight I have had to have a really nice warm shower upon getting home and then doing 20 or so mins of stretching and exercises to try to reduce the tightness and everything I am experiencing from standing up and walking around so much volunteering but I am loving seeing the cycling!! Tonight, with 5 -6 or so laps to go, seeing Chris Sutton get into position to lead fellow Aussie, Leigh Howard to the spring win in a 15km scratch race was just awesome beyond words!
I have another full day (12+ hours) of being a vollie at the TWC (but I want to get to see the madison!!) and then a full day at DISC for the women's omnium... I think I am going to be cranky on Monday!
I'm glad I have a physio appointment on Tuesday!
I have another full day (12+ hours) of being a vollie at the TWC (but I want to get to see the madison!!) and then a full day at DISC for the women's omnium... I think I am going to be cranky on Monday!
I'm glad I have a physio appointment on Tuesday!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Putting some effort in
Last week I got a new pilates program, the first new one since July - far too long between new programs and I admit, I got complacent and a bit lazy with the program. Today I had the first go at the full routine and WOW, did I put in a lot of effort! One of my exercises (scooter bending forward) is on my program again, but I need to push myself even further now and focus on pushing past what's comfortable and if my legs don't feel fatigued by the end of it, then I'm not doing it right and trust me, today I was definitely doing them right! So much so that I couldn't complete my exercise on the wobble/spring board or on the foam matt due to my legs shaking so much from pushing the weight further and focusing so much while doing scooter. I even had worked up quite a sweat, more than I had ever done before during pilates and it felt GREAT! I did however learn that I need to do the wobble/spring board and the foam mat first next week.
I've also been trying to do my exercises at least once a day most days and also use my physio massage ball and it is amazing how much pain you can give yourself with one of those things! It hurts so much, but it's good pain, it's getting the tension out and can only be good for the long term.
Tomorrow is the start of the Australian round of the Track World Cup and I am a bit Big Kev about it. I am volunteering at the event selling programs before the start of each session and then I get a free pass to go in and watch all the racing free - how awesome is that!
Sunday, my cycling club, Brunswick, in conjunction with CSV are running the first Victorian Women's Omnium Championship which is kinda like the decathlon for track and Anna Meares is going to be there to sign autographs and do a general meet and greet with the just under 50 competitors and spectators!
The next four days are going to be great and have a massive track racing overload!
I've also been trying to do my exercises at least once a day most days and also use my physio massage ball and it is amazing how much pain you can give yourself with one of those things! It hurts so much, but it's good pain, it's getting the tension out and can only be good for the long term.
Tomorrow is the start of the Australian round of the Track World Cup and I am a bit Big Kev about it. I am volunteering at the event selling programs before the start of each session and then I get a free pass to go in and watch all the racing free - how awesome is that!
Sunday, my cycling club, Brunswick, in conjunction with CSV are running the first Victorian Women's Omnium Championship which is kinda like the decathlon for track and Anna Meares is going to be there to sign autographs and do a general meet and greet with the just under 50 competitors and spectators!
The next four days are going to be great and have a massive track racing overload!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Not a lot going on
Dear Diary, it's been a week since I last wrote something, I really need to update more regularly!
Anyway, not a lot has really been happening... I haven't ridden a bike since Tuesday due to 35 degree days and then being too busy and I feel so lazy today because of it. i have (mostly) been doing my daily exercises, and I am improving, but I still have a long way to go.
This week is going to be very exciting with the Track World Cup on this week! I am SO excited! I am volunteering as a program seller for 5 out of 6 sessions and it is going to be bloody awesome!! For the first session I will take my compact camera and then suss out the facilities available to vollies to see if it will be safe enough to bring my good camera or not.
On Tuesday night we had the Korean national team come to our regular racing and it was VERY good racing! I hope more teams show up this week, although Tuesday might be too close to Thursday racing. From what I have heard, the Korean's have been going around all the local racing which is just awesome!!
After talking to my physio on Friday, I think I may know what is causing my almost 4 week constant headache, but I wont know more until early next week, so I will keep soldering on and doing what I can to manage it in the mean time.
I have done the majority of my CycleSkills coaching qualification paperwork, I really need to finalise it and send it off to be graded, I then need to complete my Commissaries level 1 qualification course :D
I got sunburnt today while helping out at the junior cycling clinic - it wasn't even sunny though! Ripped off!
Anyway, not a lot has really been happening... I haven't ridden a bike since Tuesday due to 35 degree days and then being too busy and I feel so lazy today because of it. i have (mostly) been doing my daily exercises, and I am improving, but I still have a long way to go.
This week is going to be very exciting with the Track World Cup on this week! I am SO excited! I am volunteering as a program seller for 5 out of 6 sessions and it is going to be bloody awesome!! For the first session I will take my compact camera and then suss out the facilities available to vollies to see if it will be safe enough to bring my good camera or not.
On Tuesday night we had the Korean national team come to our regular racing and it was VERY good racing! I hope more teams show up this week, although Tuesday might be too close to Thursday racing. From what I have heard, the Korean's have been going around all the local racing which is just awesome!!
After talking to my physio on Friday, I think I may know what is causing my almost 4 week constant headache, but I wont know more until early next week, so I will keep soldering on and doing what I can to manage it in the mean time.
I have done the majority of my CycleSkills coaching qualification paperwork, I really need to finalise it and send it off to be graded, I then need to complete my Commissaries level 1 qualification course :D
I got sunburnt today while helping out at the junior cycling clinic - it wasn't even sunny though! Ripped off!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
End of an era
When I think of home as a child, I think of my home at Carrisbrook Crescent. I lived there until I was ~13 and anytime I dream of home or anything like that, that is the house I dream of.. Because of this, I have never been able to drive past that house since I left, and that's mostly because I heard that they guttered the place and rebuilt it all - sometimes its best to have the memories. Just like my Grandparents place - I haven't been able to go past that either since we sold it 15 odd years ago.
Where am I going with this? Well, I just found out tonight my Dad has sold his house. While I don't have emotional ties to that place as such as a family house due to all the crap my mum caused, I still have lots of memories from that place. I remember my dad making the boundary for the back lawn, planting all the plants, getting my feet black as anything from wearing thongs while carting soil to the backyard. I remember when they almost bought the place across the road... I remember a LOT from back then and while it's not 'my home' like it would be for my brothers, I still have memories from there.
On the other hand, I am so happy for them that they sold it! It means that they will get to build the home they want to on the land they have bought! I will always have my memories and I am SO SO SO happy they are able to move on and build the house they want to live in!
This morning I discovered how popular the junior cycling clinic is that my cycling club runs!! OMG! 50 odd kids all under the age of 16 and mostly under the age of 13 all wanting to ride bikes around the outdoor velodrome - how awesome is that?!?! Bloody awesome is the answer!
I have committed to going to Campbells Cash and Carry this week to stock up the fridge and the lolly supply before next week and hopefully with enough to last until Christmas - Talk about massive amounts of sugar! ;) I am up for the challenge
Where am I going with this? Well, I just found out tonight my Dad has sold his house. While I don't have emotional ties to that place as such as a family house due to all the crap my mum caused, I still have lots of memories from that place. I remember my dad making the boundary for the back lawn, planting all the plants, getting my feet black as anything from wearing thongs while carting soil to the backyard. I remember when they almost bought the place across the road... I remember a LOT from back then and while it's not 'my home' like it would be for my brothers, I still have memories from there.
On the other hand, I am so happy for them that they sold it! It means that they will get to build the home they want to on the land they have bought! I will always have my memories and I am SO SO SO happy they are able to move on and build the house they want to live in!
This morning I discovered how popular the junior cycling clinic is that my cycling club runs!! OMG! 50 odd kids all under the age of 16 and mostly under the age of 13 all wanting to ride bikes around the outdoor velodrome - how awesome is that?!?! Bloody awesome is the answer!
I have committed to going to Campbells Cash and Carry this week to stock up the fridge and the lolly supply before next week and hopefully with enough to last until Christmas - Talk about massive amounts of sugar! ;) I am up for the challenge
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Daily exercises
Here is a list of all the stuff my physio wants me to do each day - it really is a lot of stuff, no wonder I am sick and tired of all this! However, if I don't do it, I wont get better and I wont get back the fitness level I was at 15 months ago, so I am going to do it! I did everything they told me to do for my back and it worked, so this will work too
To get my my head around doing all of this, I think I really need to treat it like little gym sessions twice a day - put the time aside and make sure I do it all. I need to really focus on doing all of this so that I can eventually stop having to do all this! Also, not doing it doesn't make much sense when I am spending $70 every 7-10 days on seeing the physio, the more I do this the less I will need to see the physio!
- Standing posture - this is what I need to focus on at all times when I am standing - my feet straight forwards, shoulder width apart with my weight over the middle of my foot. i need to engage my glute muscles and turn my knees out gently to be in line with my second toe and I need to ensure I also have my pelvic floor and TA muscles on.
- Squats - In front of a full length mirror, start in standing posture as above and squat down as if I was about to sit in a chair. My back needs to remain as vertical as possible and my knees should not move forward and my bum needs to stick out to engage the right muscles. When I am almost in a sitting position, I then need to squeeze my glutes to power up/push hips forward. I am to do this twice a day with 2 x 20 reps, so up to 80 squats a day
- Single leg standing - engage the glute muscle of the leg i am standing on with my knee over my second toe. Ensure my pelvis is level. I need to do this 2 x 15-20 seconds on my right leg and 1 x 15-20 seconds for my left leg, twice a day
- 1/4 squats single leg - set up as per above but do a small squat on the one leg ensuring the kneecap is over the second toe and my pelvis stays level. I can use something to gently hold onto so I don't fall over for this. 2x 5-10 reps for my right leg and 1x 5-10 reps for my left leg, twice a day
- Roll up a towel, place it on the ground and lie on it with it along my spine lengthways in my upper back area with my arms out to my sides for up to 5 minutes
- Move the towel to be horizontal across the lower part of my shoulder blades and lie on the towel with my arms stretched above my head for up to 2 minutes
- Leg slides - lying on my back, feet flat on the floor and knees bent, engage the pelvic floor and TA muscles and do 20 leg slides, twice a day
- Tension release - using the spikey physio ball, I need to use a wall and massage my hip with the ball for 5-10 minutes at least once a day
- Glute stretch - lying on my back, bring my right leg across my body towards my left hip to stretch out my right glute - 5 reps each leg, once a day
- Walking - no more than 5-10 minutes at a time as this causes too much trauma to my hip, but w/out walking my back gets restless. I also need to ensure that I have the correct posture when walking - pelvic floor and TA muscles on
- Pilates - 1 or 2 pilates classes a week
- Cycling - as much as possible within reason to avoid further injuries, but to improve fitness, lose weight, to enable sleep at night and for my own mental sanity
To get my my head around doing all of this, I think I really need to treat it like little gym sessions twice a day - put the time aside and make sure I do it all. I need to really focus on doing all of this so that I can eventually stop having to do all this! Also, not doing it doesn't make much sense when I am spending $70 every 7-10 days on seeing the physio, the more I do this the less I will need to see the physio!
Friday, November 7, 2008
I am over it
I've been to the physio this afternoon and I really have to say this - I am over it. I am over being injured. I don't want to do this anymore. The past 12 months have been the worst my health and fitness has ever been and I'm seriously over it. I'm sick of doing multiple exercises/stretches/strengthening/tension relieving things every day, multiple times a day. I'm just over it.
However, I have no real choice do I. I have to do these things or be in pain or never get better or never get back to where I was 15 long months ago - I just want to be fit and healthy again. Why do my joints have to be hypermobile and cause me all these bloody problems?!? For some reason, today I have just had enough. I spose it was getting the list of 5 or 6 new exercises I have to do at least twice a day on top of the other ones I already have to do and its just pushed me over the edge.
In other, slightly more positive news, I rode my hybrid to work yesterday and apart from the numbness in my hands I loved it! I enjoyed riding that bike to work and I will continue to ride that bike to work and to the shops and anywhere else because I enjoyed it.
However, I have no real choice do I. I have to do these things or be in pain or never get better or never get back to where I was 15 long months ago - I just want to be fit and healthy again. Why do my joints have to be hypermobile and cause me all these bloody problems?!? For some reason, today I have just had enough. I spose it was getting the list of 5 or 6 new exercises I have to do at least twice a day on top of the other ones I already have to do and its just pushed me over the edge.
In other, slightly more positive news, I rode my hybrid to work yesterday and apart from the numbness in my hands I loved it! I enjoyed riding that bike to work and I will continue to ride that bike to work and to the shops and anywhere else because I enjoyed it.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A very historical day
Today history has been made, Obama is President Elect of the US! Wow, amazing. I hope he lives for a long time and that the secret service do their job in order that he spends a full 8 years (2 terms) in the White House.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Utility Cycling
Last week I decided I was going to start riding to the shops to do my shopping! I went and bought a basket for JT, my GT Timberline hybrid bike, I finally bought the new slicks w/out a bike attached and I was all ready to go on Saturday! However, I realised my D-Lock couldn't lock my front wheel to the frame. My armour cable was at work, so after swapping the two locks over I was ready to go! And go I did this morning! I had planned to just ride to Northcote Plaza, but it took bugger all time to get there and I wanted to keep riding, so I change course and went to Fairfield shops instead. It's such an awesome day to be out on the bike too! I think I did about 8km's in just under 30 minutes - crooooooozy pace and I loved it.
I've added my Ride To Work Day Honka Hoota and I think need some fake flowers or something to decorate the basket with :D
I think I am really going to get into this utility cycling and riding JT around the neighbourhood. The setup of the bike is a bit NQR, but it's ok enough for short trips and the big squishy saddle means wearing normal pants isn't a problem.
(blogger is doing whacky things with photos, so here are the links instead)
JT!
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1047a
The basket
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1048a
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1049a
The new slicks - Schwalbe marathons - they make a huge, no, massive difference!
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1050a
The old tyres
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1043a
I've added my Ride To Work Day Honka Hoota and I think need some fake flowers or something to decorate the basket with :D
I think I am really going to get into this utility cycling and riding JT around the neighbourhood. The setup of the bike is a bit NQR, but it's ok enough for short trips and the big squishy saddle means wearing normal pants isn't a problem.
(blogger is doing whacky things with photos, so here are the links instead)
JT!
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1047a
The basket
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1048a
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1049a
The new slicks - Schwalbe marathons - they make a huge, no, massive difference!
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1050a
The old tyres
http://www.imagesbylisa.com.au/gallery/JTMakeover/IMG_1043a
Monday, November 3, 2008
Dear Head...
I am really quite sick of these headaches I have had every day for almost 2 weeks now. The pain is between the two temples and across my forehead, and I am really quick fed up with it. If you could please stop, I would really appreciate it.
Ta,
Love, Me.
Ta,
Love, Me.
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