and again....

...this is the last one, I takes too long to put them all on, but they are in my gallery.

and again....

and again....

This could be slow....

....I can only do one photo at a time, there is no way of saving what you have written, you lose it.

Lets catch up....

I have been pretty slack with the execise regime since my injury. Since then I think I have only been twice. I also went yesterday to see just how much damage I have done. I was actually prettu impressed with myself. I completed a 5K which was a suprise. I went into the gym expecting to be a weezing mess, but I wasn't. I was my ususal sweaty mess, but hey, thats normal! As I still cannot use the rower or weights, I did 30 minutes on the cycle. I went prepared, and read my book while I was on it! I probably looked stupid, but hey.

So, if i haven't been going to the gym, what have I been doing?

Well, I went to visit family for three days, that was great, to go there and not rush around trying to see everyone in one day. I have also been busy in the garden. I am picking runner beans every day now. I have started to blanch and freeze them down. We will be picking tomatoes one day too. There a quite a few on the plants, but they are still green and hard though they are sizable. I have planted the other beds too. There will be pointed cabbages, carrots, broccoli, parsnips and brussel sprouts at some point in the future. I may be lucky and get carrots in the autumn, but the rest will be winter vegetables. The first lot of carrots are sprouting through the earth, so something is going on down there! I hope a few more pop through, its a poor show at the moment. The garden is looking quite pretty at the moment. The frens are looking healthy, and finally starting to grow. The lavender I put in the big pot that used to be home to the lemon tree has certainly grown. It now reaches the edge of the pot, but the flowers are not so good. In  the front garden, the lavenders look lovely, they are bright and perky. The geraniums are growing beautifully and have large red blooms. The antirinums that my sister gave me last week are sprouting already. They are late, but then they were in a seed tray until last week.  The bouganvillia is ok, its not flowering, but then I cannot really expect it to after the severe haircut I gave it in the early spring. And finally the azalea is really healthy, but again its not flowering. The soil is just not acidic enough, I am putting coffee grounds in to make it better, but its not showing any improvement so far.

Here are a few pictures:

I had to alter my workout today to ....

...make sure I didn't hurt my finger. Sounds dumb, but it REALLY hurts still. 

So, I couldn't row, or use weights, so I did some treadmill work, although I was scared of hitting my hand on the side rails. I did 5k, but it wasn't all jogging. There was  a bit of walking in there, but also some running and sprinting.

Then I used the elliptical for 15 minutes as usual, then instead of the rowing and other bits, I did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike, and did 11.4km.

Man, I hope this gets better soon......

I finally made it into double digits today!!!!

I weighed myself this morning and it read 99.6kg! It certainly cheered me up! And boy did I need cheering up!

I had just finished work at 9pm last night, and went to pick up a carrier bag. It F'in hurt so I automatically dropped it back down. I looked at my finger and it was black with blood pooling behind the skin. It was a good job I didn't have my wedding rings on incase it swelled up. Anyway, I ended up going to A&E at then thirty at night. After waiting and waiting it finally got sorted out, its a fracture! Yep, I have a fracture in my finger! And the most stupid part.....I have absolutely no idea how I did it!!!!! All I do know, is that it hurts!

So, I went to work, after getting home at 2.15am! But, there wasn't much I could do, so I left after two hours. It wasn't a waste of time though as I had to fill out the accident report and cancell my overtime for this week.

I have to go back next week for a check up. I guess its to make sure its healing and that the blood has drained. So, I have my ringer finger strapped to my middle finger, not fun.

I didn't have a brilliant day at the gym today...

...as soon as I walked in, I noticed how warm it was in there. Then when I got going on the treadmill I was sweating buckets. After just 1.6 miles I just couldn't get going. I don't think it was just the temperature, but maybe also the after effects of yesterday.  Oh, I don't know, its just one of those low energy days....

Anyway, I jogged another quarter of a mile, but it was good and had to walk the rest of the 5k. I did do my 3k on the rower, albeit a bit slower than usual. I did 9 minutes on the elliptical and 300 sit ups. So it wasn't an altogether wash out, but it still makes you feel like you've failed somehow.

This afternoon I have not only attacked a HUGE pile of ironing, but also did my little eco bit for the garden. I unscrewed two parts of the drain pipes and put an old dustbin under one behind the garage where its hidden with the mint, and another with the brewery bucket which is hidden behind the rubbish bins so you can't see it from the road. I was also thinking about collecting water from the drain out the front. If I put the baby bath under it when the shower  or the washing machine is on I could collect quite a bit of water. I just need to make sure the soaps won't harm the plants. Theres my task for the afternoon.

This mornings exercise was a little different...

...instead of going to the gym, I decided to go to the seaside! I drove down to Haybridge Basin, with the TomTom as I've never been down that way, and found the estuary. The was a little free car park, always a bonus, and I had a choice of going up the river, or out so the basin and along the sea wall. I thought the sea would be lovely, and it was! I jogged 5.53km out along the coastline. It was a little windy so it was hard work, but SOOO worth it. It was nice to escape the boring white walls of the gym! It was a little tiring on the legs, but nothing painful. I hit my goal, then sat on the breakers for a few minutes to enjoy the view, it really was lovely watching the sail boats bob about. A few of them were going out to sea, and there were also a few canoeists braving the water. It was such a beautiful day, the water was calm but there was a slight breeze. I guess it helped me stay cool though! I was no where near the sweaty betty I am when I've done the same distance indoors.

Then I walked back to the car, and boy, it was a long way! I took my cap off and enjoyed the sunshine. I even have a bit of a red nose to prove it! When I got home I hit the shower and washed away all the salt from my skin, I was crusty! Yuck! It was worth it though. So I did 11km today, abeit only half jogging.  But according to Nike I burned nearly 1000 calories. I kept up a brisk pace on the walk back, so that would have helped.

On another plus point, I have found somewhere to take visitors when they come to see us. The are a couple of pubs and a Tiptree Jam cafe there, I am sure I could be persuded into one of those!

started to tell people...

...about the 10K. I went to the gym this afternoon and Tony was there, so I told him, and he agreed that I should be increasing my distance by around 10% a week, and it will give me time to spare too. So, today I did 6k, but I had to have a break half way through. I used the km treadmill and so I had to guess the speed, and I think I went a bit too fast. So, overall I jogged 5.5km. I then did my 3k on the rower, 15 on the elliptical and an overall 15 minutes on the bike. I couldn't do the sit ups as the floor mats were being used.

So, when you start telling people it becomes a lot more real, and it means you can't back out..........