Not just an unsightly bedroom ornament and that cat’s been overdoing the free weights again!

quinonostante: Before I began to use the treadmill I had this pain which would appear in my back just below my ribs on the right hand side. Obviously I’d googled it and given myself all manner of terrifying diagnosis and assumed that my gallbladder was about to explode or my appendix was dying or my lungs were collapsing! I didn’t think I was being a hypochondriac because the pain was quite, well painful really, and I suddenly became terrified of hospitals and operations and all manner of surgical interventions. Imagine my surprise then when after only maybe 10 days on the treadmill that pain in my back no longer bothered me and infact it had disappeared completely. It would appear the Internet wasn’t completely incorrect in it’s diagnostic endeavours because the primary diagnosis of back pain seemed to be something to do with posture yet I did not ignored this preferring the hideous and horrendous diagnosis and favouring the unfathomable terrible terrible terrible medical procedures I might have to undergo. For about two weeks I’ve been off the treadmill, I returned from my holiday with a stomach upset and it left me quite drained, yesterday and I thought I need to get back on the treadmill before it becomes the dreadmill or worse still an unsightly bedroom ornament, plus that niggly back pain had made another welcome return. It’s so good to be back to be moving if only for 30 minutes, and to be running even if it is more like overweight almost middle-aged lioness in short bursts very short bursts ending abruptly and winding down into walking, strolling and eventual meandering …
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quinonostante:

Before I began to use the treadmill I had this pain which would appear in my back just below my ribs on the right hand side. Obviously I’d googled it and given myself all manner of terrifying diagnosis and assumed that my gallbladder was about to explode or my appendix was dying or my lungs were collapsing! I didn’t think I was being a hypochondriac because the pain was quite, well painful really, and I suddenly became terrified of hospitals and operations and all manner of surgical interventions.

Imagine my surprise then when after only maybe 10 days on the treadmill that pain in my back no longer bothered me and infact it had disappeared completely.

It would appear the Internet wasn’t completely incorrect in it’s diagnostic endeavours because the primary diagnosis of back pain seemed to be something to do with posture yet I did not ignored this preferring the hideous and horrendous diagnosis and favouring the unfathomable terrible terrible terrible medical procedures I might have to undergo.

For about two weeks I’ve been off the treadmill, I returned from my holiday with a stomach upset and it left me quite drained, yesterday and I thought I need to get back on the treadmill before it becomes the dreadmill or worse still an unsightly bedroom ornament, plus that niggly back pain had made another welcome return.

It’s so good to be back to be moving if only for 30 minutes, and to be running even if it is more like overweight almost middle-aged lioness in short bursts very short bursts ending abruptly and winding down into walking, strolling and eventual meandering …

The Dawn Treader

Rain, rain reminds me that the purchase of this machine was not a selfish extravagance.

My voyage continued unaffected by Devon’s mighty precipitation today, and having skipped a day yesterday I found myself looking forward to my 45 minutes of movement, and quite possibly more energised.

Also discovered that Jaspurr, my daughters cat likes butternut squash soup - my post workout lunch, but that’s just an aside.

Wish my sketchers could look attractive on a 5ft 4” person of my build and age, tend to think wearing them outside in public will incur the type of scornful glances people usually reserve for ‘middle aged chavs’.

Hmm

Since beginning my treadmill trials
I have walked (and occasionally jogged) 30 miles, on a gradient! I’ve watched the entire first series of Homeland, two episodes of Supernatural (found Misha Collins very distracting), and one episode of Mad Men! Can breathe when I walk uphill outside, and my natural walking ‘style’ has improved. Yay!

Run Dawni Run

It’s weird, I can run, not for long I must add but I CAN RUN. I’d like to liken it to a lion-y’know that short sharp run because you have to, but really it’s more like a far well fed kitten at this point! I run for about 3mins at 3 kilometres an hour, then back to walking…rebuild the energy and run again for a similar time. I’m amazed that in only 11 days I can do that, and more astounded that I actually look forward to it! For once in my life I am walking before I run, but it’s worth the wait…

Dehydration.. and not from the machine! I’m quite disciplined with fluid replacement when I use the treadmill, on Thursday I walked a mile and a half, quickly, to meet a friend, didn’t drink enough. Felt awful next day… Day off Friday :(

A Little Help From ‘Twitter’ Friends…

Noticed on about day 5 of using the treadmill that around about a hour and half after working out for around 40 mins my mood dropped quite significantly.

So I sent out a ‘tweet’… http://www.twitlonger.com/show/hcre6l and I had some amazing advice…here are just a few suggestions. Thanks ‘tweeps’.


 In acupuncture ,might ask re treadmill if overusing lower back energy-hence Water energy=unbalance=moodchange?


13 May

 am also using free weights for upper body post workout toning ….

 

 - consider how to balance energy in/ energy out and peak demand/supply. Maybe a couple of dark choc bics 20mins after


12 May

. -aerobic exercise will mop up the blood sugar and drop levels causing a potential crisis for the brain which needs it. 1/2


 consider blood sugar level first; fatigue; drop in endorphines post exercise to previous levels, loss of distraction factor


12 May

 does it stabilize later or stay down if former than maybe coming down from exercise high ?


12 May

 Exercise releases endorphins. Looks like you’re getting a rebound when the levels drop.

Climbing The Mountain And The Breath In My Body Was Gone..

Got to thinking just now about how I joke about my encounters with the machine, when really there is a serious reason behind why I’ve taken up this exercise regime.

I think I always knew I’d reach a point in my life where my physical health began to affect my mental health and vice versa, and this has been the year. I’m overweight, but that wasn’t the issue, honestly. I had bronchitis over the winter and I recovered from it, or so I thought until I went for a wander over to meet my son in town about a month ago. 

I always walk the mile or so into town, it’s not strenuous, but the route I take is ‘flat’ and I don’t hurry, but on that particular morning I thought I’d take a short cut up ‘The Mountain’ as we call it - it’s really only a steep hill, but it comes upon you so suddenly that it feels like a sudden mountain climb.

Even seasoned walkers are slightly out of breath when they reach the top of The Mountain, and in the past I’ve walked up there with a set grin on my face, trying to convince those walking those down that I’m seriously enjoying it, and that I’m not even slightly out of breath, got to the top, admired the view (also known as getting your breath back by pretending you’ve never seen it before) and then continued my walk.  On this particular day however, I struggled to make it up with that smile on my face, and when I got to the top I couldn’t get my breath back, and I had a strange little wheezing sound coming from my chest. In the end it took ten minutes for me to regulate my breathing and I was pretty damn scared.

One call to the GP pratice confirmed my fear that the bronchitis had left some ‘scarring’ and I was going to have to work to regain my fitness.

When you are fatter than is good for you, or than you’d like to be, it becomes important for you to appear healthy and moderately fit and in the past I’ve been able to get away with that, I knew that day that things were going to be different and I wouldn’t be able to wing it any longer, you can’t disguise being unable to catch your breath.

Since I became unwell again a couple of years ago with major depressive illness - a nasty ‘bi’ product of my bipolar disorder, going out is more complicated than it used to be. It takes a lot of over-thinking, over-planning and quite often I sabotage my own plans, therefor saying I’d just go walking every day wasn’t a simple as that. 

Which is why I purchased the treadmill. Today is day 8 and I’ve used it daily.

Halfway up 'The Mountain' with a view

“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.”

— Noel Coward —

There’s an ass shaped hole in my sofa,

It’s where the padding used to be,

I said ‘Woah who did that’?

But of course I knew it was me.

****

So after much deliberation,

Procrastinating, moaning and stuff,

I bough myself one of these things,

And the ‘going’ is about to get tough.

Check out what I bought