Day Off, Drilling In More Than One Way

This morning I was due to see the dentist for a cleaning and another checkup of a tooth that's been a little bothersome for the entire summer. The way I had made the appointment I was only supposed to get the cleaning and then have the dentist look at my tooth, expecting to have to come back in a couple of weeks for any fixing that needed doing. Instead, after the cleaning the dentist said he could fix me up right away - take out an old filling and put in a new one. Great... An hour later half my face was uber frozen (having to get two injections because the drilling was excruciating after only one), and then a major headache set in from some nerve that was hit as part of the drilling process. In all, this was still perhaps the best experience I've ever had at a dentist's office for a variety or reasons, but having to call in sick for the day was not fun.

After a couple of Tylenol and a few hours of rest the frozen face was no more and I was feeling a little better. Not wanting to waste the entire day I decided to venture out for a haircut. I hate getting my haircut almost as much as visiting the dentist, so you can imagine that it was time to go. Also, if I'm to start swimming then having shorter hair will be a must.

Anyway, I arrived at the hair place and was informed that it would be an hour and a half before my turn, so I sat there thinking what to do with myself. Go back and watch Jankovic vs. Dementieva? ie. sit on my ass again? um... No! Instead, I was off to get a coffee and the Home Depot to get going on the calf stretching machine. A piece of plywood, some screws, four hinges, and some non slip tape and I was out of there. Wow, in a Home Depot for less than four hours! A record for me.

So, after the haircut (nothing interesting to tell) I dug out the jigsaw and drill and went to work in the garage. Although the Home Depot did not have 3/4" ply in a small enough piece (I hate waste), I decided to get the 1/2" and make do. In the end I had to double up on the part where one has to stand so that the thing wouldn't bend under my weight. Here's the result:

I can't claim the patent on this thing or anything since I got the idea from a similar contraption at the physios, but she wouldn't sell me the thing even if I'd asked since she only has the one and it was built for her by some guy by special request. (Hmmm, perhaps other physios could use these things? Do I have the entrepreneurial spirit??? Hmmmmmm...)

Anyway, I set it up to go up on four different angles so it should be good to go for a while. I am supposed to stand on this thing for at least ten minutes every night. Having already done so to test the thing I can report that it definitely works! Soon I'll be as flexible in the lower extremities as a synchro swimmer... NOT!

Tomorrow morning I'll be off for an 8km run to test the knee again. Tonight, it's more ass exercises for me and prickly boobs.

Peace!

Physio Knows Best, and Weights

So, I got the verdict from the physio and luckily the recipe does not call for a halt to running, at least not just yet. It would seem that I have two major issues that I have to work on, and both will take a bit of time to correct. In fact, I will be working on these forever I suspect! The first is weak muscles in the hips and ass area. (My wife has told me that she will no longer call me "Jackass" or "Dumbass", but rather "Weakass". Can you feel the love?) I have several exercises to perform daily to try and correct this assue. One of the exercises is particularly fun as my butt cramps up after about three seconds, and I'm supposed to hold it for sets of 15!

The other issue is inflexible ankles - very little dorsiflexion (lifting foot up towards shin) leading to an inability to absorb shock properly, which gets sent to the next joint up the chain, the knee. This is the problem that will be hard to fix since I am genetically built with little ankle flexibility in this direction. As such, I will be building a special contraption made of plywood this weekend to help in stretching out this area. When this project comes to fruition I will post some pics for your viewing pleasure...

The other thing that is kind of fun are these things:


Yes, that's right: Prickly Boobs! I am to stand on these things in a variety of ways performing several exercises in an effort to improve the sensitivity of my feet, or something to that effect. They are supposed to be somewhat excruciating (well, maybe that's a strong word, but they hurt the physio when she was showing me the moves) for most people to stand on, but for me they are a pleasant sensation, which is why I am supposed to "activate" the sensory thingamajigs on the bottoms of my feet. Don't understand how this will help the knee, but it should help the ankles and feet. Plus, I can wear them at Halloween!

So, I can keep running as long as my knee pain does not get worse or start to last throughout the entire run. The physio also showed me how to tape the knee in case I was interested in relieving the pain entirely while running. I am considering this, but am afraid to do more damage while pushing myself too much when not feeling the usual knee pain. We'll see if I use this taping thing, but for the moment I choose not to. At least my quads are OK and my IT band is plenty flexible, and this shocked the hell out of the physio! I like to do that whenever I can.

Did some weights tonight. Nothing too much different from the regular routine. I will be starting swimming next week, and have rented a locker at the athletic centre to store my stuff in. Now I will have no excuse to miss it once it becomes more of a chore than a novelty.

Details:

• 10 minute warm up on stationary bike
• Bench Press 12-12-12 135lbs
• Seated Rows 10-10-10 140lbs
• Military Press 10-10 105lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 10-10 145lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 12-12 30lbs
• Dips 12-12
• Hip Adductor Machine 15-15 130lbs (this one proved the ass weakness for sure)
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50

Oh yeah, one last note. I weighed myself again: 194lbs! I'm wasting away! A couple more pounds and I'll have to hit the DQ for a Blizzard treat - YES!