Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Other stuff

Since last we spoke (well, since last I spoke and you rolled over and looked at me through half-glazed eyes like I was a shame shag or something) things have been, for the most part, super fu-fu. Me and Clubbie have been getting on like a house on fire, and I've actually been going out for drives simply because I want to go for a drive. I haven't done that in *years*. I'd driven 120 miles after only two days of ownership. And - BONUS - Clubbie is super frugal; I was sat in traffic on my way to work yesterday and it was amazing to just hear the engine cut out and know that I wasn't wasting a single drop of my precious, precious petrol. In my Cooper S I'd sit in traffic and literally watch the petrol gauge drop while I cried a little inside. I just hit 210 miles on my way home tonight - the point at which I'd have to go fill up my old one - and I've still got half a tankful left. I told Sparky Ma the other night that I think Clubbie could be my favourite Mini so far.

Anyway, it's not all been Mini adventures over the last few days - some other stuff has happened too!

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It had to happen. I've gone cold turkey, and drawn a line under it; I am no longer Gilwhoring. Having started watching Gilmore Girls last August when E4 was halfway through the third season, I've come full circle and caught up with where I began. Well, actually I carried on a little bit further than where I began, which seems to indicate that I'm a little bit addicted. Addicted and incensed, because E4 have not only been editing some episodes VERY BADLY by loping off the pre-credits teaser, but they also just missed out the season three finale completely! Outrageous! Anyway, I've gone cold turkey because I think if I didn't I'd just keep watching it forever and ever until the end of time, and it will actually be quite nice to reclaim an hour each day when I'd usually be found watching it.

I'll miss my daily dose of Stars Hollow shenanigans, and will probably cave massively and end up buying the the first three seasons on DVD at some point (tragically, that's all that's been released over here) in the near future.

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As if I'd ever forget, I was reminded that a certain person (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense) who I've been unfortunate enough to have dealings with in my life is even more morally and creatively bankrupt than I originally thought they were. There's a special place in hell for people like this.

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I went for a run last night, and for reasons too ridiculous to go into here, I ended up doing the longest run I've ever done; so long, in fact, that the voice of Lance Armstrong emanated from my Nike+ kit through my iPod to congratumalate me. Thanks Lance. Anyway, when I got home and uploaded my data, my little Nike+ Mini Me dude (the leaping chappy over there on the right-hand side) went totally mentalist (more so than usual).

This is all very well, you'd think, but, um, he's wrong. I don't feel amazing; well, actually I do a bit. Everything but my right leg from the knee down feels just great. And WTF is a 'runometer'? He totally made that up, didn't he?

Where were we? Oh yeah, right leg. OK, so to be honest I've been feeling a little twinge in it for a few weeks now; nothing serious, just what feels like muscle pain. I've tried resting it for a bit, but it sort of kicks back in - rather subtly - after I've been for a run. It was a bit more twingy than usual last night, so I rubbed a bit of ibuprofen gel on it and went to bed. It was still a bit achy at work today, which led me to-

OK, let me pause there: can I just say that I get really annoyed when people self-diagnose things on the tinternet. As great as the tinternet is, I suspect it's responsible for a vast increase in the number of hypercondriacts out there, and that is not a good thing, because hypercondriacts are really annoying and generally need a slap.

Anyway, I Googled several variations of the words 'leg,' 'pain,' 'running,' and 'ouch' which resulted in me spending several minutes reading up on stress fractures. Stress fractures, let me tell you, are not good things to have, especially when you've been running the best you've ever run and are really looking forward to this year's Dysart Dash, and, potentially, the Grim Challenge in December. Having read about them, though, I can't get rid of the nagging feeling … for the time being, I'm going to go on the assumption that it's just muscle fatigue, but if it carries on much longer I might go pay the doctor a visit. Hopefully he won't make me get nekkid or something.

Oh, and do you know what one of the treatments for stress fractures is? Those ridiculously massive boot things. I inwardly laughed at some woman on the street who was wearing one of those the other day. This is clearly some kind of payback. DAMN YOU KARMA!

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For some reason I've decided that I need to listen to all the unlistened to songs in my iTunes library. I've actually been striving to do this since the beginning of the year, but I've only just decided that I need to share my OCD tendencies with you. To be honest it's going rather well, and I've filled in vast swathes of unlistened to tracks simply by ruthlessly skipping through any that I have listened to while I'm sitting at my computer. Along the way I've found some true gems, and rather tragically, the occasional turd. My mission has not been helped, however, by the fact that I added a load more songs to my library last Thursday night in anticipation of Clubbie's iPhone/iPod integration, but on the plus side, all the songs I now listen to on my journey to and from work get saved in my library and the gaps are slowly but surely getting plugged. This whole in-car iPhone thing is also going to have an interesting effect on my top 25 listened-to tracks … I might have to post them up if anyone's interested…

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Oh, and if I may be allowed to return to the subject of Clubbie once more, I picked up my new rubber car mats today, which look awesome, even if they did come with exceedingly and unnecessarily complex instructions. I mean, whatever happened to:

1. Take carpet mats out of car.
2. Place new rubber mats in car.
3. Drive car.

I'm going to be worried that I installed them incorrectly for at least the next two weeks. On the plus side, it's been such a lovely day that I drove home with my awesome twin panoramic sunroof open, although the pleasure I derived from the glorious weather was somewhat counterbalanced by my paranoia that a bird was going to poo in the hole. I mean, there is precedent…

16 comments:

CyberPete said...

I'll refrain from being dirdy.

I'd love to hear more about your Mini adventures as well as your top 25 tracks on iTunes.

Here's to hoping you don't have stress fractures, but you'd better get that checked out. The foot thingy looks awful, you can't run with that can you?

Ponita in Real Life said...

Ok, Nurse Ponita here. Where exactly is the pain? The front of your shin? The calf? Behind the knee? In the heel? Just above the heel? You are very vague...

I may be able to offer some advice if you cough up more details.

First things first, though... if it hurts, put ice on it, elevate it, take some ibuprofen and give the running a rest for a day or two. And wrap it with a tensor.

Now... tell me where it hurts...

Tim said...

Cyberpete - Why change the habit of a lifetime? Heh heh!! As for running, erm, no - if it is a stress fracture running's out of the question - EEK!

But hopefully help is at hand from…

Ponita! OK, it's to the rear right-hand side of my calf, about three inches down from my knee. It's a bit of a dull ache, but it twinges a bit when I put weight on it - stepping off a curb so I step onto that leg twinges the most. It's almost like a light cramp feeling. I'm not limping or anything, but I can notice it - not great pain, but definitely a … twinge.

I just elevated it while I watched Gossip Girl!

The Tall Red Head said...

My whole body cramps at the mere mention of running. Your car sounds so hot, I am jealous. I want a cute little car I can zip around in. Instead I have a nice big "Family Car" for the feral children to be carted around in.

And I am lucky I spell checked because I just wrote, "your sounds so hot" when I neglected to put in Car...so I would have looked like a tinternet stalker with bad grammar.

And we need photos of the the inside!! Of the car that is..

Ponita in Real Life said...

Okay, Tim, here is a picture of the muscles of your leg. This is a rear view of your right leg. Figure out on this leg where your twinge is.

More than likely you have a little muscle tear, or a bit of chronic inflammation from running. The chances of having a stress fracture are pretty remote. Sounds like you are indicating the bottom end of the gastrocnemius muscle.

So... here's what you do, since this has been happening off and on for a while.

Two to three times a day: apply heat (heating pad, hot water bottle, one of those grain-filled thingies you can heat int he microwave) to the area for 20 minutes. Follow that immediately with 15 minutes of ice (make sure, whatever you use, there is a cloth between your skin and the cold thing... no need to give yourself frostbite!). It is heat first, ice last. No more than 15 minutes ice. (Heat increases circulation to promote healing; cold reduces pain and swelling.)

Keep it wrapped with a tensor. Keep it elevated when you don't have to be up and moving around.

Take 200 mg of ibuprofen (pills not lotion on the affected area) or naproxen three times a day (that's every 8 hours) for 5 -7 days. (Not Tylenol - it is not an anti-inflammatory.)

Lay off running for at least a couple of days and then ease back into slower, shorter runs before working back up to long runs.

Make sure your shoes are good - the cushioning wears down quickly and some recommend replacing them every 350 - 550 miles.

Let me know how you get on with this. I can't just kiss it better but then I can't make you do all this stuff either. :-)

Tara said...

I'm sending you happy leg vibes that it is just muscle fatigue. I'm thinking that if you had a fracture, you wouldn't be able to walk on it at all. Take it easy for a bit, marathon man.

Oh and I can definitely relate to making the mistake of looking things up on the internet. I went through a severe hypchondriac cycle awhile back which I think was brought on partly because I looked stuff up online.

CyberPete said...

Bummer!

I hope it's something that is easiely cured. Go to a doc and have it checked out.

We don't want you to turn into a hypercondriac.

Tim said...

The Tall Red Head - I sound hot? Flattery will get you *everywhere*! I'll get some pics of the inside of Clubbie when no one's looking - I don't want to look like a wierdo taking pictures of the inside of my car. Which is exactly what I'll be doing…

Ponita - Yeah, that sounds about right, nudging down to the Soleus muscle a bit. I like this - it makes me sound like I know what I'm talking about!

Many thanks for the advice - I shall be elevating my leg in front of the telly tonight (not so that it gets in the way, mind), and taking it easy for a bit!!

Tara - Thanks for the happy leg vibes! The internet is a bit dangerous in that respect, isn't it? We should stop the looking up ailments thing (unless it's Ponita offering advice) and just enjoy youtube videos of kittens and things like that!

BEAST said...

I hope your stretching enough on your warm up and warm down young man
***wags finger at Tim***

jt said...

Tim, I thought I had left you a comment already, but I guess not so... I just want to say I love your new adorable Clubbie! Congratulations! I like the white and black very much. I see a Mini very similar to your red one parked each day at work (though not white wheels), & now I think of you every Monday through Friday! Being a Michigander through & through, however, I have a special place in my heart for my Buick LeSabre, my 3rd one so far; next car will probably be a LeSabre too. I get your attachment to Minis. They are So Dang Cute. I'm jealous of the fuel savings. I'd love to see pics of the inside, too. Also, I'm no nurse, but as a mom, I'd recommend ice also... copius amounts... in a glass with some Jack Daniels. Totally do the trick. But don't mix it with your Clubbie! Wouldn't want you both to have a boo-boo.
~Julie

Tim said...

Beast - I think so…

*looks at wagging finger and feels suitably chastised regardless of warming up/down status*

Jt - I think blogger's having some comment-eating probs these days - I often find mine go missing, especially if they're long ones! I've started copying them before I try to post 'em just in case…

Glad to hear you like Clubbie! I'll definitely be doing another post about 'er, so I'll get some pictures of the interior then!

Isn't it funny how we become attached to specific brands and even models of cars? Sparky Pa tried to convince me to look at other cars when I told him I was thinking of changing mine, but I wasn't hearing any of it! There's something particularly characterful about Minis to me, but I also can't ignore the practical aspects such as fuel economy and resale value. Sparky Pa wasn't too convinced, but he knows not to argue with me when I've got my mind set on something!!

Miss Smuggersham said...

You lost me at shame shag.

That is all, you super fufu dude.

Ponita in Real Life said...

Hey Tim... I assume Clubbie is doing well, so how is the leg?

Tim said...

T-Bird - Saucy minx.

Ponita - Clubbie is *amazing*! And yeah, the leg's OK … going to skip my usual sunday night run, but hopefully it'll be good for Tuesday's!

Ponita in Real Life said...

Good man! If you don't look after it now, it will never heal properly.

Glad Clubbie is all you hoped for and more! I do believe you are smitten. ;-)

Tim said...

I am indeed smitten!