Fitflops

Bought a pair of Fitflops today from Intersports in Whiting St Bury St Edmunds . Willing to try anything to help overcome plantar fascitiis. Fitflops contain a wobble board which supposedly give you a workout while you walk.

I am a little sceptical as to whether these will greatly help but after reading many reviews of folks with sciatica and plantar fascitiis problems benefiting from using these shoes I will give them a try and let you know my verdict in due course.


The official blurb on the Fitflop web site says
"Dass sandals are widely reported to almost instantly reduce pain in the knees, ankles and lower back, to reduce plantar foot pressure, and to help speed recovery from sports injuries. Recommended by physiotherapists and leading podiatrists for injury recovery and realignment, they’re wearable relief for sports warriors everywhere™"

Since April I haven't been able to run and even walking leaves me limping at the moment . Following a visit to my GP early in June she confirmed that I have plantar fascitiis. She said I had two choices  to wait and eventually it will go of its own accord but it may take up to a year! Or my other option would be to have a cortisone injection though this doesn't always work and carries some risks of permanent damage to the heel.

So I am going for the slow wait and see option and doing a range of exercises such as the rolling the golf ball under the foot , pulling a towel back with the toes and foot rises on the stairs!

In the meantime I haven't  been cycling since early June , it does act as a substitute though I much prefer running. I guess I will have to get back on to the bike in the short term. I would prefer long distance walking if I could but this seems to aggravate the heel pain in my left foot. Perhaps the new fitflops will give me sufficient support to do some longer walks in comfort.

Cycle ride to Flempton Suffolk

Back to the cycle this morning on day 6 of Juneathon. The weather was overcast but a little humid. I felt a bit stronger on the bike this morning after 2 days of not cycling.

My route took me through the villages of Fornham St Martin, Hengrave , Flempton, Culford and back to Bury St Edmunds. I did 11 miles in total for a total cycle mileage for the week  of 60 miles the most I have ever done. For a non cyclist with a heavy bike I found it hard at times. Not sure if I will beat this but for the mean time I need to carry on cycling as my foot injury hasn't yet improved for me to run on it

One Hundred Push Ups

Week 2 Day 2 of the 100 push ups programme.

My sets included 14 , 16,12,12, and 20 push ups for a total of 74.


 Being injured and not doing any running I am feeling tired after 5 days of Juneathon. Today was the least that I have done but you certainly feel it in the arms and chest.

Swimming and Walking at Holkham Norfolk

No cycling or running today instead on day 4 of Juneathon I did some swimming, walking and week 2 day 1 of the 100 push up challenge. It being such a lovely warm day we set off for the coast up to Holkham Bay in Norfolk.

Once you park the car at Lady Anne's Drive at Holkham you then have to walk a mile to reach the sands. It is a lovely walk along duck boards through pine trees It must be another half mile or so of sands to reach the sea!  There was a good breeze to keep the temperatures down and more comfortable. However you can't come to the sea and not go for a swim so after setting up base in some sand dunes I walked down the beach wandering how cold it was going to be. It was actually warm partly because you had to go a long way out to get to any depth. The shallow waters were more easily warmed by the sunshine. This was my first swim of the year, probably for a year since swimming at Southwold. If you just want a beach Holkham is ideal however you should note there are no commercial outlets such as food vendors or toilets which is fine in my book.

After this we went down the road to Wells Next the Sea a busy small town where there was very limited parking. We found some parking out of town and walked back in for a mile. This is worth a visit to a traditional fishing port with boats and plenty of fishing for crabs on the marina. Wells has the commercial attractions such as fish and chips, ice creams and amusements but go to Holkham if you want a good sandy beach.

After a day out in which we walked 4 miles approximately and did some swimming I still felt I hadn't really down enough for Juneathon so I returned to do week 2 day 1 of the 100 push up challenge. My session included 5 sets of press ups which were 14,14,10,10 and a final set of 20 for a total of 68 press ups , 4 miles walking and some swimming.

A cycle ride to Hawstead Suffolk

Another early morning start. There was a clear blue sky and it was already warm at 8am as I set off for Nowton. I went past Nowton Park and the church at Nowton before reaching Hawstead. Here there is a big open green with wild flowers and an overgrown football field.

From this point there was a long climb up Bell Lane, the road twisting and turning but I climbed up this fairly well making use of the 15 gears. My bike is old and heavy but it is doing the job for me filling in as a temporary means of providing me some exercise and site seeing around Suffolk.

I returned home through Nowton Park where there wasn't a sole to be seen.

Today I did 11 miles for a total of 49 miles this week so far. It was also day 3 of Juneathon and this was another motivation to get out on the bike.

A cycle ride to Great Saxham Suffolk

At 8am I set off on my cycle for a shorter ride of 9.3 miles to Great Saxham. This morning was warm and dry which was welcome after yesterdays rain. I hade to compete a bit with the traffic on the road going out of Bury St Edmunds to Little Saxham.

Once I had turned up the hill to Great Saxham it was traffic free. The minor road between Gt Saxham and the A143 Horringer Road is shown as unknown and it is not possible to get directions following this route for some reason.

There was a nice downhill stretch back to Lt Saxham along the A143 before turning back to Bury.

Thats day 2 of Juneathon and so far so good.  What I have noticed so far is that cycling just doesn't give you that buzz, that runners high that you can sometimes get during a good run. Perhaps it will come if there is such a thing as a cyclists high? I am still getting pain in the heel so I am not ready yet to try running unfortunately but may be in a week or so.

A wet cycle ride to Stanningfield Suffolk

The forecast for today wasn't good and in hindsight I chose the worst time to get out and do my Junethon Cycle ride. At about 1pm the rain started as a steady drizzle and progressed into a steady rain. I wore two tops and a pair of shorts as despite the rain it wasn't cold.

At Great Whelnethum I passed an old 2nd world war pill box

However by the time I reached Stanningfield I was soaked through. Feeling damp I decided that the  Red House Pub at Stanningfield would be my half way point.  I was begining to struggle to see through my glasses and every so often this led me to stop and try and dry the lenses. Rather than find a different way home I took the easy decision of just repeating the same route home.

The ox eye daises in Cullum Rd are slightly going over now.So a wet start to Juneathon and 13.4 miles on the board. Roll on tomorrow hopefully the weather can only be better!