Remedial massage Wed afternoon concentrating on back shoulders and chest. Something I need to do is get my chest more open, its so tight that at the end of the massage I come away very sore and bruised. Wed night trained chest and shoulders with some difficulty as the massage has also stirred up a rear delt injury (right side).

Light dumbells at 35lb for 5 sets of 8, painful but easy enough.
Incline dumbells 35lb 4 sets of 8
Bench press in the rack (partials) 45kg 4 sets of 8
Shoulder press (pyramid) 80x10 100x10 120x8 110x10 (this also hurt my rear delt)
Front raises 15lb 4sets of 8
Seated rear dumbell flyes 10lb

Last day in the office for 2 weeks - although not my last working day as I'm oncall over the weekend - blah!

Reviewed the post-op documents from the surgeon. General anaesthetic and a nerve block for my right leg which apparently will last 6-8 hours after the operation "for pain management" and an overnight stay in hospital. I think that's a hint as to how painful this is going to be afterwards. 7 days with leg elevated on a couple of pillows to help reduce the swelling which apparently may take 6 weeks to fully subside. After 7 days I am allowed light walking and I have to wear a post operative shoe for 4 weeks. Now, I ran into (not literally) one of the guys from work who has been off due to snapping his achillies tendon and he is wearing post-op boot and his comment was that the boot is not the same height as any of his shoes so he is lop sided which in turn is putting a lot of pressure on his other leg - note to self - find a show that will match the post op shoe (in height at least). I somehow think that I will not be making a fashion statement. His once piece of advice (which he did not follow and has suffered as a result) was to KEEP THE FOOT ELEVATED. Seems this is an important part of recovery. Am I getting nervous? Hell yeah! but that's just between you an me right! Anyway the long term benefit will outweigh the short term pain (as intense as it may be).

Started preparing my environment for the upcoming disablement - re-arranged the bedroom, brought up the TV from the rumpus room (bloody thing was heavy - awkwardly so), brought a book to read (which I've almost finished - whoops better get another one), giving Madi a refresher course on the art of latte making since she will be the chief barista whilst I am confined to bed. Made arrangements for one of her friends to take her dance lessons (for the upcoming debutante ball) Hoping the pager will be reasonably quiet so I can do some things around the house and prepare some meals to make it easier on the girls while they look after me - and themselves (and so I don't end up eating junk.....). Taking Monday as annual leave for any last minute running around and final leg training session for a while.

I'll try to get another post in before the op and and some 'before' pics like me standing on 2 feet. :-)

Equine Flu

72 hour lock down - fortunately for me the lockdown started after Adult riding club had finished - although the usual social gathering at the clubhouse was cut short as we were informed that all horses had to be back in their home paddocks by 3pm. Madi was not impressed at pony club being canceled the next day but understanding the seriousness of the outbreak its best to be safe than sorry. Anyway it was back to basics - trot poles, serpentines and standing in the saddle at a trot - great inner thigh workout!!!

One more week to the toe op, so I'll make the most of this week's training - back in squat rack tonight going deep with a light weight - 60kg 4sets of 8 reps. Probably my cardiovascular will give out before my quads! Leg press & hamstring curls 4 sets and finish up with 4 sets of 25 on the leg extension.

Wobbly-man: Movement is moderately restricted, I am unable to do any calf work and its now at the point where its painful to walk even in flat shoes. The surgeon said it was better to get it done now while the prognosis for a full recovery is likely - ie the joint has not yet degenerated (too much anyway) although he covered himself by saying that he wont know the full extent of degeneration until he open up the toe. The wait list was 7 months to get an initial appointment with the surgeon and normally about 6-8 weeks after that for surgery. However the booking nurse got me in a little quicker (3 weeks) when I explained that I had just finished competing and needed to get it over with in order to have an uninterrupted training schedule for next year. They seem pretty sensitive to sporting/training requirements. I'll post an update on coolrunning too as I know there were a few others also suffering from this problem that might be interested in knowing my progress / result.

Back in the saddle

Quite literally... Worked from home last Monday so that Mojo could finally get shoes on and this weekend is Adult riding club. Feels like forever since I've been or a ride. This weekend we have a special instructor Colleen Kelly for a one hour lesson on posture and position in the saddle. I'm in the second class from 11.30 to 12.30. First lesson will be a combined dressage / low jumping class. Of course I wont be able to ride again for a couple of months after the operation. Madi has a formal pony club rally on the Sunday so Mojo is going to earn his keep this weekend. Busy weekend ahead.

My bodyweight is starting to edge back up a little , up to 68.5kg. Eating well - kindof, but not much of an appetite still. And event ho I'm not in full training I know its important to keep eating right for recovery. Making myself drink more water too - one of my biggest failings is not drinking enough plain ole water. I've also started back on the MAX's pre workout protein powder and I think that's what is helping with my weight and training energy levels. Tonight training hammies, back and shoulders. Leg curls, seated row and overhead press. Quads are still sore from Wed night, once again I didnit go heavy just repped out and got all the muscles moving. Feels a bit weird going to the gym without a proper training plan but what can I do?

Had to cancel my October leave, the AQ training that was canceled in July is now scheduled for the first week of October - the week I'd planned to take off (last week of the school holidays. Bugger.

Creepy..... Phone call form my ex last week - just to say "Hi, how ya doing?" "Hmmmm just fine thanks" He doesn't know I'm seeing someone. That, along with an email from my girlfriend Jo, who is back from visiting her boyfriend Steve in Far North Queensland, saying she's heard that my ex is out and about with another mutual friend who has split with his girlfriend and has come to the realization that he 'f*ucked up' badly and is missing me. . Well too bad... like the saying... "you dont know what you've got 'til its gone...." I am wayyyy gone! And, no, Jo's not pregnant yet but Steve is putting her under a lot of pressure to move up with him later this year. What will I do without my bestest bestest girlfriend ?


POST Note: Blogger has added the 'POLL' tool. So I've included one just to see how it works. Please feel free to 'vote' Thanks.

Back in the gym

At last well enough to train and so following Leigh's advise I went in to train arms only. Only light but they were sore the next day - I guess thats what happens when you take time off - even a short time.

Given that in 2 weeks I'm gonna be laid up I'll just spend the time working thru the muscle groups and keeping everything moving and its a good opportunity to do things I havent done for quite some time. Tonight some leg work - leg extensions, leg press and some calf work and Friday back shoulders and hammies.

According to Webby I have a participation medal, a trophy and a bucket of oats waiting for me from the nationals - yay oats! LOL.

Today in the mail I received a bunch of state record certificates in the masters division, in particular one from the Nationals for the Deadlift state record at 157.5kg - still just a smidge away from the Open state record that Shazza holds at 165kg. I plan to topple that in December - its so close I can almost taste it. Shaz has mentioned getting a team of us girls to compete - it would be great to see her compete again.

Catchup

Well, I fell prey to the Indian cuisine...... somehow I managed to pick up a bug and got really really sick on the Friday night just before I was to leave. The driver took me back to the Taj where I had planned to have dinner but instead found myself violently throwing up in the hotel toilets. I felt a little panicked at the thought of flying in this condition and with only 5 hours before I had to board I seriously contemplated calling the SOS number we're given for emergencies. Anyhoo after I had purged everything from my body all I wanted to do was sleep and so I made my way to the airport, doubled over still in pain and boarded my flight..... I considered asking for an upgrade because I was sick but thought I may end up not being allowed on the flight at all. In the end I slept all the way from Bangalore to Singapore. I was so dehydrated by the time I arrived but still could only manage to sip water - slept again most of the way between Singapore and Melbourne. Zipped thru immigration with my e-passport bypassing the long long queues (suckers!) and into a taxi home..... Remained sick the rest of the weekend with severe stomach cramps and at Leigh's insistence I went to the doctor late in the afternoon on Monday and was prescribed antibiotics....

On this same Monday I had my long awaited appointment with Dr Mark Blackney about the bone spurs on my big toe. This appointment was made 7 months ago. Fortunately my collegue had taken the pager for the afternoon (yes I was carrying the P1 pager the first day back - while sick... such a martyr :-) ) So he check's out my toe and the xray and says I am a good candidate for surgery, there appears to be little degeneration of the joint and prognosis is for a t least 10-15 years of pain free walking/running (and high heels) before any further intervention would be required. Hooray. Next... in with the booking nurse - when do I want this done?? ASAP as I've just finished competing and now off season, get it out the way as early a possible so I can start on my campaign for next years Nationals. In for surgery Tuesday September 4th - overnight stay followed by 1 week complete rest - off work, 2nd week can start getting around (work form home) no driving the car for 2 weeks, and slowing start back at the gym, upper body and slowly work in some light leg work. Unfortunately its general anesthetic so I wont be able to take any pics :-( but if you want to see what the operation entails here a couple of links....

Cheiletomy1

Cheilectomy2



(to be continued.....)

Bangalore

Thursday night.....

I check out tomorrow morning and this has been a long week. By tomorrow afternoon we will have crammed 8 days of training into 5 days. I've been arriving at the office at 8.30 am and not leaving until 6 - 6.30 ish with very few breaks and little coffee..... Siteseeing this time is at an all time low, the evening rush hour is literally that - what takes 15 mins in the morning to get to the office turns around to be an hour or more to get back to the hotel.


As with last time I was here I am fascinated by the amount of 'livestock' roaming around the main roads. This morning 2 baby goats were butting heads on the side of the road. The bigger one was trying to push the little into the on coming traffic - typical kids (LOL - get it... kids... baby goats.... forget it)

The food here is wonderful, except that I may have over done the curries the other day - after dieting so strictly to then bombard my system with curries and spices.... well lets just say my tummy hasn't been too happy - but that doesn't stop me.

Chicken curry and..... A wheat thing stuffed with potato

Its been great catching up with my BDE counterparts here and meeting the new members of the team and meeting up with familiar faces from my previous trip. I've been very well looked after here by my collegues and the hotel staff who have all been out running errands for me while I've been stuck in the office. Sathya found a couple of the Indian Soda bottles - Codd's for me to take back - apparently not so easy to get in Bangalore any more.


Tuesday night, the hotel security guy, Arun, organized an appointment with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, here in Bangalore so that I could swap some Victoria Police badges for Bangalore ones for Leigh. So... I was put into the hotel car along with one of the hotel staff to escort me to the police station. Its not like walking into a police station back home let me tell you. Guards with rifles at each entrance and outside the Commisioners office. After bit of chat I handed over a few of the badges Leigh had given me and he promised to get his assistant to take some badges over to the hotel the next day...... Nothing arrived.... Arun made some more calls and they kept promising to send the badges by 8.30..... Nothing.... Next message is they'll send them tomorrow..... I get to the hotel tonight after work.... Nothing..... Another call is made and about 30 mins ago 3 Bangalore police badges were delivered to my room. :-)

Myself and the Deputy Commisioner of Police

Well time now for me to relax and watch another episode of 'The Shield' before I hit the hay. BTW.... This will be the last update until I return to Melbourne at the weekend.

Lunch at the Sahib Sindh Sultan restaurant

2nd place Open division

3rd place overall - not a bad effort - but not my best. I knew I was in for a hard battle and even Frank Manning had done the numbers for me, pointing out that I was going to need a 400kg total to beat Tegan - a tough call. Managed a 370kg total comprising of a 132.5kg squat and a 157.5kg deadlift - both competition pb's but failed in my benching only getting 80kg in and missing at 85kg for technical reasons - ala not going up evenly and on my last attempt my butt came off the bench - although I didnt feel it...... The judging was very strict - and so it should be at this level. I had my 2nd deadlift attempt, which was passed, taken from me on protest because I failed to return the bar to the floor with control - actually my foot slipped and even tho I held on to the bar, it went down a little fast and I lost my balance.

157.5kg deadlift

132.5kg squat

I'm not able to give much of a report as I was Leigh kept me from seeing a lot of what was going on - in order to focus on what I needed to do rather than what everyone else was doing. I do know that Tegan pulled some great lifts and Maria also made a huge improvement on her squat from last year and setting a new Vic state record of 147.5kg. An impressive effort considering the squat was not her strongest lift last year. Anyway time now to hand my squatting over to Leigh with a 160kg squat set as my target for Christmas.

Got to say a brief hello to a few of the competitors from Queensland that I met last year, Marie White, Michael Trentin and Terence Titus. Frank introduced me to a couple of strong masters ladies he's training and I was pleased to meet one young girl the daughter of one of the Queensland masters ladies, whose name eludes me at this jet lagged state of time, apparently she has also been reading my blog - nice to meet a reader!!


Here I am now in Bangalore India, hence the delayed update. Flew out of Melbourne at 10 am Sunday morning after the comp - 8 hours to Singapore (4 hour stop over ) 4 hours to Bangalore. By the time I arrived at the hotel I had a massive migraine and had trouble sleeping - before I knew it the wake up call was blaring and it was time to head to the office. Crashed out last night from 8.30pm until 6 am this morning. Still feeling somewhat jet lagged as its 10pm here but 2.30 am according to my body clock. I'm off to bed......