Tag / Fitness

by Gareth

New running shoes

Just been and bought some proper running shoes today – Saucony Grid Omni 3 CRM Moderate trainers… so I should be amazing in the Manchester 10K now(!)

Worryingly, it’s just four weeks away, and I’ve still not done any proper training because of my foot, although I have been to the gym a few times over the last couple of weeks, and of course there was the walk last weekend. The pain in my foot has eased quite a lot now, although if I twist it it still hurts, but hopefully these new trainers should support my foot well when I’m running.

My plan now is to try and do some running pretty much every day up until the event now – and that’s going to take a lot of will power, especially when I’m feeling tired! I think I’m going to try and go out somewhere tomorrow and do a bit, then split it between gym and road for the next four weeks. Can’t wait!

by Gareth

Decorating and foot still hurting…

The person who invented woodchip wallpaper should be shot…

Now I know that may appear to be quite a harsh statement, but you’ve not spent the last two days trying to get woodchip paper from my back bedroom ceiling!

I decided this weekend to clear all the junk out of the room, and give it a lick of paint, but I noticed that some of the paper on the ceiling was sagging so, I thought it best to pull it off, and just go over it all with some textured paint to hide all the cracks! Well, what started off as a simple idea has turned into a nightmare getting this woodchip stuff off! I’ve managed to do about half the ceiling now, but have now had to come to work, so hopefully I’ll get time this week to finish it. I’ve got to seal over the damaged plaster when it’s done, and try and fill a few holes and cracks before I put the paint on, but then it should just be a case of chucking some magnolia emulsion on the walls to give the room a fresh look. Why do jobs like this never turn out to be as simple as you first thought?!

Foot update: exactly nine weeks until the Great Manchester 10K Run, and my foot is feeling a little bit better since I’ve bought some things to push up the arch of my foot in my shoes, but I saw another doctor on Thursday, and he said that I must make sure I don’t do any running on it for a while or it could damage it more, making it take even longer to heal. So I am pretty worried that the run is getting closer, and I’m not able to train for it. Looks like it’ll be an intense few weeks beforehand, or it could end up being a 10K Walk instead!

by Gareth

Injured foot – but not the best timing…

Have been to the Granada doctor today because for the last two weeks, I’ve had a lot of pain in my left foot and it’s really causing me problems even just walking. I’ve already been taking max strength ibuprofen, using Deep Heat and wearing a compression bandage, but thought I ought get it checked out because it just doesn’t seem to be getting better.

Anyway, this lunchtime I got it looked at, and it appears that I’ve got fluid on my tendon on both sides of my foot, and that the arch of my foot has collapsed so needs support to try and get it back to the right shape. Oh, and I need to try and rest it and shouldn’t really do anything that puts any extra impact onto it. Now that’d be fine, except that a few weeks ago, I signed up to take part in the Great Manchester 10K Run which is happening on the 23rd May, and I should really be training for it now! From what the doctor told me, it could take at least a month before my foot gets anywhere near better, and when I told him that I’m taking part in the run, he just commented that he reckons I won’t be running particularly quickly!

by Gareth

Trying to get a bit fitter!

Yet again it’s been a while since I’ve done an update – nearly two months now!

I finally joined a local gym on Monday – I’ve been meaning to do it for ages, but just never seemed to get around to it! The one I’ve joined is just opposite MUTV, so it only takes a couple of minutes to get there, which should give me a better chance of sticking with it! I’m planning to try and go about 3 times a week during my lunch break from work, although after just my first week going, my body’s already gone into shock wondering what on earth I’m doing!

The house is looking even more of a mess at the moment. I pulled up the living room carpet at the beginning of February, but can’t put down a laminate floor until I’ve got the building work on the fireplace done, which I’ve still got to sort out. So now I’ve got bare floorboards – which are really rough – and I’ve also ripped off some of the skirting boards! And as well as that, I had my central heating re-done last month, which means there’s now a massive hole in the wall of the dining room where the back-boiler gas fire has been ripped out. At the moment it’s covered with newspaper but I need to get it bricked up and then get the whole room re-plastered! It’ll all get sorted some day!