Well it seems that the cause of the pain was the kneecap not being in the correct location (groove) as it should be and is rubbing against some other part of the knee that it shouldn't. Yes I am very technical with my explanation I know. Anyway the reason its not sitting correctly is the muscle in my legs in the front of my hip that go down the leg and attach to the kneecap are very tight. So with a little elbowing into some tender part of my leg I seemed to have a bit of relief. But unfortunately I wish that one session of pain was going to be enough but it wasn't. I now have to spend many hours of the day rolling my legs and laying with a tennis ball on some tender muscles. Lucky Dee has lent me the use of her elbow most nights while watching TV. She might even enjoy it as it brings me pain and when she laughs about something the slight bounce in her body pushes her elbow into my leg even more.
The good news is it seems to be slowly getting better. It has fallen into line with the end of a 4 week training cycle so I get to have a more relaxed week this week and the coach said I can miss a couple of sessions here and there without any real set back.
Apart from the injury I have been amazed at the stupidness of some of the shops around here. On the weekend I went for a drive to look at a tri wetsuit. It was an hour away as they are the only people anywhere close by that has the brand that I was looking at. I could not fault the lady at the Aquashop in Gordon. She let me try it on. Talked to me about some of the cheaper options and generally listened to what I had to say. So far out of three brands I have in mind they are now on the top. A lot of that has to do with service and I will drive the hour to buy it instead of purchasing online or anything like that. So when I went to leave I thought about dropping past a triathlon specific shop and looking at some tri bike shoes which I had read about. Once again this is brand that not everyone stocks and the tri shop is the closest to home that have it. This is where the good service of the day ended.
Knowing I have to almost pass the shop on the way home it was a good excuse to have a look. I remembered the shop was closing for renovations so I gave them a call first to see if they were around still as a store or now only online. The shop owner said that yes they were seeing people in his wife's yoga studio and he would have the shoes I was after. So I turned up to the shop, tried on the shoes. Had a bit of a chat as you do but nothing special. He said they should feel snug but not too tight as the foot will swell. Nothing I have not heard before but always good information. The shoes were ok but nothing special. My current ones are more comfortable but as these can be molded to the foot so they could be the best shoe ever I don't know. Anyway I was not ready to purchase as I have other things I want to do and look at first so I thank him and go to put my shoes back on. He says so are you going to take them acting like its a done deal. I said I was going to look at others and if I decide to buy them I would be back. He then told me that he should have said on the phone that there was a $50 fitting fee. I told him that yes he should have told me and its unfortunate that he didn't. He explained that I was going to order them online like so many people do and he would be out of business if he didn't charge these fee's. I thought that's sad but really its not my issue. I told him that I was not out to buy shoes today and I only came past to have a look as it was on my way home. I did explain this a few times on the phone and while trying on the shoes. I said that if I spend $200 on shoes without talking to my wife about it first I would be in trouble. Yes a slight joke but honestly as a couple you should discuss these things first. He replied with if he let me out of this shop without getting his $50 his wife would not be happy either and that he would have to call her and see if that was ok. I said well you have to do what you have to do. He then said that if I can't afford $200 shoes then I am in the wrong sport. I really don't think that he understands the full story. Its not that I can't afford to spend $200 but I do like to talk to my wife about it, look at all my options and also not be pressured into it. He also tried to use the guilt trip of him having to get the shoes out of wherever they were so I could have a look. I mean is it my fault that he is renovating his store. Really he tried every tactic to get me to pay him some money. So anyway I walked out without paying a thing thinking what a f@#k head.
So if anyone ever is in Oatley NSW and wants tri gear DO NOT go see The Triathlon Shop (trigearonline.com.au) as he is a jerk and should be out of business with that kind of service. While you are at it you may as well boycott Gracefully fit yoga as if his wife runs her business the same she can go to hell as well. I hate to see a triathlon shop go out of business as we don't have many around but if you are going to run one like he does then screw that shop.
So that was stupid shop one. The next is where I get my gels from. They are cheaper than the rest but they have no idea how to run an internet shop. I have made a few orders and delivery is fast and good when they get it right but when they don't pray to god as he is the only one that seems to be able to help. I have learned never to call the 1800 number for them. You get a answering service but no matter what option you select the phone just rings and rings. If you call the interstate one they answer but when you ask for who you want they are always in a meeting. No matter what time of day. I think they just have meetings. Anyway I was informed they would call me back and as they have new staff because the last guy left as he was a joke I would actually get a call back. Well sure enough they called me back this time. Yay. I was basically asking why my order had the status as part paid when I did select that option. They said that they could only supply half the order so only charged me half the amount. I was cool with that and sure enough I got what I had paid for. So far so good. Anyway a few days later I get a call from them asking if they can have my card number again to charge me for the rest of the order. They told me that they sent the complete order when they realised they actually had all the stock and now wanted their money. I informed them that I did not receive my full order and I don't believe that they sent it and relayed my conversation i had with them a few days before. They said they would find out when the extra stuff was sent and get back to me. So far I have not heard from them again. If I do get the extra stuff I will call them and let them know but its just crazy they are so messed up for the professional business that they say they are. I mean where is the online store that checks stock from a database etc like most online stores have. Just crazy. Anyway I have ranted enough.
On a brighter note while the mornings are cold the days here are really nice. Maybe not if you were a farmer relying on water but for me and my training its wonderful. Even last night I got off the train after work and I noticed it was brighter than a few weeks before so I can start to tell that summer is coming. Woohoo.
 |
| Pyrmont bridge in the morning |
