The life cycle continues.

Two weeks have gone by and I am still unable to run due to my injured Achilles. I have caught up with all my gardening duties and done a certain amount of cycling. Not that cycling is keeping me fit, more of token effort to get out inthe fresh air.

Had a very pleasant day on Friday, we went to Wimbledon to watch the tennis. Having tickets for center court we were able to watch the matches of Laura Robson, Janowicz and Murray. Although it only lasted three sets the Janowicz match was the most entertaining. Robson was not at her best and it was all too easy for Murray.

It is good to see the Tour de France has started. Today it is Corsica which looks like an ideal holiday destination. Maybe one day when I win the lottery.

Run,walk and curse

I started out on a run today. This was the first time for three weeks that I had attempted running. The cycling was not really keeping me fit so I thought I would give it a go. It took two and a half miles for me to realise it was a mistake. The two mile walk home gave me plenty of time to reflect on the decision to run. I guess I will be back on the bike for the foreseeable future.

Cycling! That's pants.

Another week gone and still not able to run. Cycled on Thursday, Friday and today Sunday. The new cycle shorts that I bought for today's run are padded but I still felt a lot of the bumps in the road. Just to compound matters I picked up a rear tyre puncture as we were nearing home. I should really go out and mend it but it is Sunday afternoon and the final of the French Open tennis is on TV so I will watch that instead. I watched some of the motorcycle racing from Portugal earlier, fantastic close racing, superb skill.

Bank Holiday at Blenheim Palace.

Cricket on the back lawn at Blenheim Palace.

Re enactment of the Civil War staged at Blenheim Palace on the May Bank Holiday.

Spinning wheels

Tuesday was the third day in succession on the bike. It’s not hard work or to be more accurate I don’t make it hard work. It is not a training session but a means of stretching my injured leg without putting any strain on the injury. Spinning the wheels for three quarters of an hour in a medium gear gets me out of the house and with the sun shining it is quite pleasant. The injury is still painful and I do not anticipate running again anytime soon. As it improves I will put a bit more effort into the cycle rides to get the fitness level back up. It would be nice to get up to twenty five or thirty miles; this would give a change of scenery. We may also incorporate cycling into our normal routine but the running must come first.

Spinning wheels

Monday we both went for a bicycle ride. We are blessed with countless paths and tracks for running but it is difficult to find suitable off road routes for cycling. The off road sections that we rode were made easier because of the dry weather we are enjoying. I do enjoy riding through mud but this was an injury enforced ride so it was just a case of spinning the wheels in a low gear to exercise the Achilles without putting any strain on it. The sun was shinning and flys battered my sunglasses. My saddle did not feel quite as hard as Sunday and I may be tempted to go out again today. It is not as tiring as running but I do get time to see a bit more of the countryside.

Down at Heel.

Achilles too painful to run so have been forced to rest it. Went for a short bicycle ride today, the first for over a year. I am going to try another tomorrow but I will probably need a cushion. The days this week has been occupied with building a workbench for the garage and gardening. Not as much fun as running but it had to be done.