Seven weeks I’ve now been out here. Nine weeks since I last had a hug from my partner or saw any of my family. It makes me a bit sad to write it like that. But, I chose to enter this race, and chose to support MND Association and raise awareness for Sporting Chance.
So how’s the body coping?
Left foot. Since I’ve stopped getting blisters on top of blisters on my middle toe it now feels like it’s broken. Every now and again I get a shooting pain from it for no reason at all, which after a while subsides. I thought it was infected but I’ve had the antibiotics for the skin infection at the same time and figured they would have cleared anything up. I’ll keep an eye on it when it keeps reminding me with the pain.
Right foot. It’s fine for the first 10 hours of a shift. Then my heel starts to ache a bit. This increases until I start lifting my heel when I push back from the foot plate with the oars in hand. Two hours of that action and my right hip begins to hurt. So then it’s back to the heel down and pain in the right foot again. Joy!
Left Knee This has developed a kind of clicking thing, not all the time, just when it suits the knee and usually when I’m hoping to block the pain of something else out. It just feels like it should join in I think!
Right knee. It’s going great so far. But it may surprise me with miles still to go.
Right hip. Joins in two hours after heel lifting begins. But then at least I know two hours have passed. He’s also been through the sunburn phase due to the lack of shorts on that area and that fact he’s not seen sunlight like this before! lol
Bottom. Mmmmm....... where to start?? It’s gone through hell, and then some more! I could hardly sit down at one point, however I’ve nursed it to a point now where it feels better. It now feels like there are a lot of scabs on there, this is good in terms of healing but bad in terms of that when I start rowing at the beginning of a day I feel them splitting apart, undoing all the healing that may have happened over night. I can’t see what is going on down there and I refuse to get my signalling mirror out of may grab bag to look at the horror........but I know it’s covered in spot, scabs, boils and pimples, which only the blind could read!!
Just around the corner. The scrotum is progressing well. I would dwell on it as I’ve had feedback that my blog put people off Tupperware. Needless to say he is well protected and spends much time inside a sock out of the way.
Hands. Being a manual labourer I thought these would be fine, on the whole they have been. They were beginning to take a turn for the worst a few days back as the callouses had dried out some much they were then starting to move up my fingers but once I chewed them off they’re were good again (I hope Craig is talking about the callouses and not his fingers!!!!) I’ve been treating them to some time with hand pads on and they seem to like that.
Right arm is ok until you get to the shoulder and the Trap requires massaging before bed each night now.
Left arm. I’ve had a pain in the deltoids since early on in the race, they take it in turns ...which is good of them!!! Just the last few days my left elbow has also produced a pain. He doesn’t seem to mind which deltoid is providing the agony, he just jumps on when he feels like it and joins in the pain delivery service. The left Trap also needs a nightly massage.
Neck This feels ok as long as I keep stretching it out......and then winding it back in. Haha.
Back. Had no issues from this while I am rowing but when I am sleeping on an evening....WOW.....He gives me some aches. I just love tossing and turning to try and get comfy just so he can pop up with his dose of pain and let me know how nice he has been to me while on the oars.
Face. Still smiling. Regardless of all of the above.
So there we go. All fit and well on board. And if you want to sign up for a future race, the application form is on line. Atlantic Campaigns
Cheers.
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