One step back, another longer one forward

Saturday was bad, severe swelling and dead blood everywhere.

Sunday, 27th, all well again, went for a prolonged swim/sauna and feel loads better, mowed the lawn and have got ready a list of things for the journey as well as a list of people who will be invited to cheer us along the way.

And Madam bought a new mobile phone..takes pictures, sends emails and will work in France.

Recovering speedily

Loads of expert prescribed exercises plus some sauna, swim and steam room and I feel loads better. I recommend the careful swimming to anyone afflicted as I was. Leaving the water to-day was easy enough, got out carefully, no worry about the ever increasing weight as I rose. Of course the weight remains the same , it is just that one loses the buoyancy effect of the water. Archimedes principal, if the bath oeverflows run around naked until someone pulls the plug.

Wednesday 23rd July

Allowed to swim to-day and it was a great help in relieving stress and pain. The only problem was getting out of the water, there are small steps but no handrail and I was not going to risk falling. But courage and determination got me through

BIG PROBLEM
On Sunday I went for a 1 1/2 hour walk in the morning, good speed, came back feeling fine and one golf ball better off, the road goes through a course. Then pm decided to look for the grave of a local boy, Richard P....r, who had been eaten at sea by his fellows in 1884. A macabre way to spend a Sunday but the boy's name happens to be in my family. Whilst looking for the grave I took a bad step and seriously pulled a calf muscle with the consequence that I am out of action for 3 or 4 days. The curious amongst you should enter 'yacht mignonette' into google for the full sad story.

Tried to upload a picture

As it is Saturday there is no gym work but I did I 1/2 hours fast walking, uphill and down dale, stopping at West End Museum to talk about a now long dead sailor eaten by his fellow shipwrecked mariners and memorialised in the cemetery at Pear Tree, Southampton. Also discovered that the Captain of the ship which rescued a lot of the Titanic passengers has a memorial in West End cemetery, he got a K too.
Lambeth

STILL TRAINING

Yesterday I walked almost 4 miles to the Police Station and completed the 4 by walking back to the bus depot so that I could have a brief rest. That was supposed to be 5 minutes but took 15 by which time a bus appeared that took me to only a mile from home. Result only 5 miles yesterday.

Even worse to-day, an hour in the gym followed by 45 minutes serious arm swimming (saving my legs for Friday). Overall I feel all right and will be able to handle 10 miles in 7 or 8 days time. Short of injusry I will feel tired at the end of each days walk but not so tired that I will not enjoy a good evening meal with an old friend.

The training for 15th July slipped a bit,only 2 miles of brisk walking.

For to-day 16th July I did an hour in the gym followed by 30 minutes gentle swimming mainly using my arms. This afternoon I plan to walk to the nearest police station with an envelope containing a letter which is clearly a scam. If they choose to the police can get some dna from the letter and may then find a rogue in the London area, they will probably not choose to do so, no one has lost anything. To and from the police station will take about 2 hours but if weary I can catch a 'bus.

For those interested in the training regime:
To-day, exactly 4 weeks from the start line, I did an hour of hard work in the gym in the morning, hard means going at about 9 calories per minute. For my weight, 87 kg, that is equivalent to walking uphill gradient 8% at 5.5 km/hr or 3 mph. Before supper I was out on the roads and fields for 1.5 hours at about 5 km/hr. Tiring but not shattering.

Fifth attempt

Life has become easier, that fourth post went through without bother and I have a record of what I did, it was not the same as the first three attempts.

The River Thames, the major river in England, is about 200 miles long but the last few miles are really part of The North Sea so for my purposes The Thames Barrier is considered to be the end of the river.
The Barrier was built some 15-20 years ago to stop the tidal flow at times of very high tide, if not stopped London would be flooded, the present barrier is said to be valid for the next 15-20 years then we shall need another very expensive operation. The cause is not global warming but the fact that the island of Great Britain is tilting about 1 mm a year in a way that drops the east side of the country into the North Sea.
This tilting has been going on for a number of years and about 1900 parts of London were indeed flooded and embankments were built to stop this.
There was a time when, at low tide, the river could be forded at Westminster, I have seen a picture of a very tall Member of Parliament walking across the river bed, he went under for a few yards, that was in about 1950, I doubt if there would be any takers now..all too namby pamby.

Lambeth.

Fourth attempt

Time has gone by and my current chief activity is preparing to walk the length of the River Thames. This will be a walk of about 180 miles carried out for fun at about 10 miles per day. Hardly an epic adventure but there are numerous items of interest to view on the way and my present plan is to post a blog each day so that my friends can check on progress and offer advice.
Start date 11th August 2008.