The grand adventure has started and currently I’m halfway between Bag End and the Southfarthing; I’m 22.4 miles behind my optimistic goal but confident I can make it up. I joined my local gym yesterday and had my induction (I haven’t been in a gym since before my accident) and had a brief play on a couple of bits of equipment.
I see a physio/PT every Monday morning who mostly has me doing work on a pilates reformer. If you’ve not come across this particular torture machine equipment before it’s a horizontal sliding carriage with spring-controlled variable intensity and straps that can be used for arm-pulldowns or if you’re really lucky, what I like to call the ‘Gynae Position’; feet in the loops and legs akimbo. It’s definitely not the most graceful of machines, getting off it is a clumsy sideways roll not unlike Greenpeace rolling a stranded whale back into the water.
Absolutely not me but you get the idea: https://www.thepilateslab.com.au
One of the major issues I had post accident is that my left knee is subject to recurrent tibial head subluxation; basically the top of one of my shin bones likes to slide out of position and ohmygod it’s painful. I’m no stranger to pain but bloody hell. I ended up at A&E the first time it happened although typically, the paramedics fixed the issue while they were wrangling my leg into a splint. Side note: do people *really* give birth with gas and air? It’s rubbish!
I plan to keep up this regular strength/flexibility work on Mondays and then on Weds/Fri at a minimum I want to use the recumbent exercise bikes and maybe the static machines like the leg press. I put 5 miles in when I had my induction and felt pretty good (just on a 5/10 free cycling setting) although they only have three of those style bikes so might have to be flexible. I can do the crosstrainer too but that’s knackering as my balance isn’t great (I’m not symmetrical any more).
In the virtual Shire my hobbit burglar is level 19 and has done more or everything in the zone, I still need to do the godawful pie delivery quests but I have done all the Quick Post deliveries and all the deeds available except Enmity of the Wolves which I’m still working on. Now I’m biking as well as walking I expect I’ll open up Bree and the surrounds fairly shortly; the Fellowship used horses and boats after all, so I don’t feel like it’s cheating to count the exercise bike.
Right, that’s enough from me, I’ll check in with you next week.
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