Reevaluate

26 minutes of running on Monday. 28 minutes on Wed and I felt a little sore. 25 minutes on Thurs followed by 40 minutes of aquajogging with Shannon, soreness increased a little. An hour of biking on Friday. A 1 hour walk-run on Sat because I had contracted some kind of weird virus from Banjo, chest hurt, made it hard to breathe. I think I ran for a total of about 25 to 30 minutes on the trail pushing Banjo. I was sore the rest of Sat. 1 hour of biking on Sunday. Soreness was light throughout Sunday. It's Monday, not sure what do to. Soreness is still there. Full recovery (do nothing)? Scale back? Bike? Gym? Time to reevaluate.

The 24 week mark passed last Thurs. Can't say that I'm comforted by this. Like I've said before, I don't know what is going to happen. I'll either improve some more.....or I won't-- both possibilities seem equally plausible at this point. Yeah, I know, I get a little sore and I'm headed to a dark place....poor me.

reconcilable differences

About a year ago I went to a running form workshop-- they film you running at various speeds and then you watch yourself frame by frame, looking for problems. I felt pretty good going into it-- I had never seen myself run before and I thought I looked pretty good, but the frame by frame revealed a minor trainwreck in each stride. My right leg was doing all of the work-- left leg was along for the ride. I guess I already sorta knew this. But since my left leg was taking it easy my right leg had to move quickly to get in position for each landing. And typically it would land too soon, creating braking forces and, well, pounding. This created problems in my stride that eventually led to (I think) the torn labrum on the right. Contributing to this (or caused by?) is a leg length discrepancy-- my right leg is 1/2" shorter than my left. This usually causes me to lean slightly and my right leg tends to land closer to the center line. With my right leg more under my body, it can generate more power. Also thrown into the mix is a slight twist in my left tibia-- it's a bone growth thing, something that happened as I grew-- it causes my left foot to point slightly outwards, reducing the power my left leg can generate upon push-off. It all adds up-- my right leg works much harder and gets most of the pounding. And my right leg has historically gotten injured more often.

The surgery has given me time to contemplate these things, and attempt to correct them-- starting over has this going for it. Lately I'm trying to bring my left leg in, such that it lands closer to the center line (and correspondingly, bring my right leg outward), so my left leg can generate more power via the glutes-- something my right leg appreciates-- now my right leg has plenty of time to get into position for a nice landing and less pounding. I think this small adjustment is having a big positive effect on my running lately.

I've been here before. My running log is full of this kind of theorizing. Each theory lasts as long as I feel good. 17 days and counting....

It's happening

After last Monday's very encouraging 20 minutes on the road, I did 22 minutes on the road without any issues Wed. Then on Thurs I hit the trail and did 22 minutes again. Sat I did 24 minutes pushing Banjo, again on the trail, and I clocked the final mile at 8:00, not that pace matters or anything... but I might have gone a tad overboard-- I was a little sore afterwards-- but seriously, I'm just being hyper-vigilant here-- it wasn't bad.... Just 6 weeks ago I ran a slow 24 minutes on the treadmill as part of a walk/run workout and was very sore for days....that's progress. Then today I went on the roads and did 26 minutes/a little over 3 miles. So far so good.

This is what I've been waiting for-- a slow but steady increase in volume without significant soreness-- the next workout builds on the previous-- and the feeling that comes with improvement. It all feels good. And it feels like I've turned a corner. (grimacing as I type this.) I'm hoping in the next week or so I'll hit 30 minutes-- it's a psychologically satisfying number.... and it's within reach I'm pretty sure.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went out on the bike and did 17 miles through the Redbud Trail area. It's really hilly-- did lots of standing in the saddle and the hip got a good workout, which was the goal. It felt good afterwards, better than before, and such is the pattern with the bike lately-- it's weird that it would feel *better*, but that is encouraging too-- I remember doing the same ride a few weeks before surgery and being sore the next day. So at 5 1/2 months post-op, I'm noticing a net improvement pre-op. I'm happy that it's happening, finally.

A good run

I had a good run yesterday. A great run actually. 20 minutes on the roads, no pain afterwards, and no pain later in the evening, which is when it usually happens. I'm cautious not to get too excited or read too much into it, just as I shouldn't read too much into a crappy run. OK, here's the real truth, something I've distilled from months of pondering the fate of my hip-- it's simple-- I don't know what the heck is going to happen. I'm improving for now, and that is good. And if I improve much more, I'll probably be able to run what I would consider a satisfying amount. And that would be amazing. But it may not happen. or it may...... I do not know.

I need to temper my excitement because it usually makes me do something stupid. But right now I'm sick, so I'm safe for a few days at least. Good thing I don't have a marathon this weekend... Go Boston!!!

Still weak

I mentioned that my hip is still weak.... I sometimes forget this-- back in November, a few weeks after surgery, I got off of the exercise bike and was amazed at how tired my hip was after an easy spin session. Why would my hip be so weak? Everything was still there, muscles looked fine, etc. It made sense that I would be sore, and the soreness would limit my activity. But weakness-- esp. profound weakness? Anyway, almost all of the weakness is gone now-- maybe 10% is left. And I'm trying to figure out how to address it.

Muscle strength is complicated. There's raw strength, explosive strength and endurance-- that is, I'm just guessing-- I don't know what the heck I'm talking about. At any rate, I feel like my hip's raw strength is decent, but the endurance and explosive strength is lacking. And I think more muscular endurance would give my running the biggest boost. Again, just guessing.... So I'm going to try to bike 2 or 3x per week for an hour or so, and possibly longer on the weekends to build some more endurance, see what happens.

not bad vibes

Last Sunday I felt good.... so I went to the gym and proceeded to overdo it, which made me good and sore Monday. I should know the pattern by now-- I feel good, which makes me likely to overdo it. I then overdo it, which makes me sore, this depresses me, I back off, until I start feeling good again, and so on.... Monday I went out for a 16 minute run on the roads, but my hip was sore, so I cut it down to 12. Tuesday I went to the gym and did an elliptical for 30 minutes. Wed I took off. Thurs I went to the trail and did 16 minutes. Friday I took off. And today I went to the trail and did 18 minutes pushing Banjo.

Not a bad week all in all. By Wed most of the soreness was gone, so I feel like I was able to steer myself out of the weeds and back on track. My trail runs on Thur and Sat were great-- being able to run for that long without soreness makes me feel like this whole hip thing is going to eventually go away. Whether that's true or not, it feels good.

I've noticed that my hip is still weak-- esp when I do lunges. My right hip has to strain more to get back up... so there is still weakness I need to address. When I overdid it at the gym on Sunday, I used too much weight-- I should do more reps, take it more slowly....

Good vibes

I don't want to jinx it, but I feel good lately. Monday, Wed and Thurs I did the sandwich workout and Saturday morning I went to the trail with Banjo and pushed him in the jogger for 14 minutes as part of another sandwich. I didn't worry about the pace, but I was well under 9:00 pace, not that it matters, but that too is encouraging. I saw lots of my old running buddies on the trail, which was fun. I'm gonna make this a regular Saturday morning gig.

Tuesday I went to the gym and did an elliptical with core workout. And Friday I aquajogged with Shannon. It has been a good week.

The sandwich

This gym thing has helped me realize that I need to choose workouts that don't make me feel like the life-force is ebbing from me. So yesterday during lunch I got out and did a 30 minute walk/run on the roads with our dog Lucy. I enjoyed it, Lucy enjoyed it, we were all winners. I did 10 minutes of walking, 10 minutes of running, and 10 minutes of walking-- I'm calling this the "sandwich" workout (I may have unknowingly stole the term from the Gallowalkers...) 10 minutes of continuous running was a post-surgery PR. And I didn't seem to be sore afterwards.

So I was thinking about tackling a 30 minute sandwich during lunch on MWF and going to the gym on TTh. The sandwich can progress to 9/12/9, 8/14/8, etc. Or maybe instead of 3 sandwiches a week, I could mix it up some more. Sandwich, wimpy plyometrics, sandwich...

I hate the gym

I've gone to the gym 9 times in the last 2 weeks. A typical visit entails 12 to 15 minutes of walking/running on the treadmill, sometimes I would do stairs carrying 20 pounds of weights for about 10 minutes in addition to the running, then I'd do ab work, 4-way hip machine, lunges, pull-ups, lower back machine, roman chair-- that's about it. Toward the end of the 2 week "trial period", I got sick of the gym, to the point where I felt like a small part of me died every time I stepped through the doors (seriously, it *sucked*) --- so my theory that I might get used to it didn't pan out. The soreness was kept mostly in check. Toward the end, it felt like it was catching up with me, but I think it was due to burn-out. Looking back on this, it seems silly to imagine that I would take to a 5x/week gym schedule when I hated going 2x/week. I guess I felt like my hip needed something difficult to make it better, and this was difficult. Also, I don't think there is such a thing as a "soreness threshold". It's more of a gradient-- the soreness builds gradually based on intensity and duration.

I'm not sure where this leaves me. I think the strength work in the gym is good, so I should keep going, but back off. The question I'm pondering lately-- what if I just take an extended break, maybe my hip will heal some. And maybe all this activity is prolonging my recovery. Hmmm...

Quick update

I've been to the gym 7 times in the last 9 days. One of the drawbacks that I hadn't anticipated is the soap. The stuff they provide is pretty bad-- I should bring my own, or I'll continue to smell like my over-cologned uncle, which ain't good by the way. Everything else seems to be going well though.....

A better strategy?

We spent the last week in Mexico. We weren't sure if a relaxing vacation with 2-year-old boy was possible or not, but it was a success. It was relaxing, and we're happier, I think. I've always suspected that I'm not very good at vacations, but this one seemed to work-- was it the free margaritas? Perhaps. Christina's mom came to help out, and although we realized that inviting her could be a big mistake, we had no urge to kill her, and in fact, that part worked out well too. We stayed in one of those all-inclusive beach resorts, the kind we used to make fun of.... but new realities.... Anyway, the day we arrived (Saturday) I did a 2/3 walk/run in on the concrete roads of the resort. Then did it again on Monday. Wed I stepped up to the treadmill in the empty resort gym and tried a 1/4 walk/run-- that made the hip significantly sore. It could have been the concrete from earlier in the week....but it was too much. Oh well. But I learned how to swim in one of the resort's colossal pools-- that was good, and I swam a mile nonstop on Friday, where previously I could only swim 50 meters before stopping and catching my breath. Swimming would be a great activity for me in theory given my hip and all, but I haven't decided if I like it or not. It's boring, I think. I'll try it in Barton a few times before I decide.

I've noticed that hip soreness after a workout sorta depresses me, esp if the workout is wimpy, and they're all wimpy at this point-- makes me question whether I'll be able to run any decent distance or pace, ever. And the soreness prevents me from exercising the next day-- none of which is good. So I think it would be best if I figured out what amount of running allows me to exercise 5 or even 6 times a week without soreness. Is it 10 minutes of running per workout? 13? If I stay below the "soreness threshold" as I'll call it, maybe I can push the threshold farther and faster than my current strategy, which I'd describe as the "2 steps forward one step back" strategy.

So I was thinking-- and this is the depressing part-- I'd visit the gym 5x/week, in the evenings, as a reward to myself I get to watch Jon Stewart--- 30 minutes of strengthening exercises in addition to running progression on the treadmill. The running progression (i.e. the progression of difficulty/duration from one workout to the next) will be very gradual. The idea is that I hang out around the soreness threshold to keep tabs on it, keep it in sight, and prevent myself from crashing into it. If the workout progression is too fast, I might overshoot (crash), which is what I've been doing. I'll try this for 2 weeks and see how it goes....too many hours in the gym will surely drive me insane or depress me or both. But then again I might get used to it.... Once I can run a reasonable amount, say 30 minutes, I'll do some of the running in the afternoon, outside on the roads or trail-- that should help keep me sane...

The strengthening exercises will be core work, emphasis on obliques, lower back, roman chair stuff, lunges, seated adductor and abductor exercises progressing to 4-way hip machine. To mix things up, I might swim. (I'm pretty uncoordinated, but I'd like to learn the flip turn.....)

Today is my son Banjo's birthday-- he's 2 years old! Yay Banjo! And by a surprising coincidence, it's my birthday too-- I'm 38. Uh, yay....

AT&T

Thursday I went to the trail and did about 2.8 miles 2/3 walk/run. And I felt good afterwards, no pain at all really, but as the day wore on, I could feel some soreness, but not bad.

Friday morning I aquajogged for an hour in Barton with Shannon and Liliana. Good times, forgot what we talked about though-- baby names? parenting? pot? hmmm....

I almost forgot--- The weekend before last was the AT&T marathon here in Austin. I ran it last year and PR'd by a significant amount, so it's a special race for me. (to be fair, I've only run 2 marathons, both here in Austin, but last year was a new course and new sponsor with more hills than previous years...) I met Shannon at a coffee shop and we biked around the course cheering for people. Brian Sell was running the half, and we got to see him at mile 12 flying at some sub 5:00 pace. He was about 2 minutes ahead of 2nd place. Incredible and inspiring. We eventually settled around mile 24 on the course and yelled for a good hour or so. Mile 24 is tough-- you are almost done, but 2 miles seems like forever. It was fun reading the runners' names on their bibs and giving them personalized cheers. The weather was good for spectators, which means it was too hot for the runners. It wasn't too bad though and I heard lots of good marathon stories afterwards, some of them were PRs, but lots of them were just good runs, and that's what it's all about, really..... Saw Megan, Erine, Amy, Pat, Alex, Kevin, Fletcher, and others....everyone looked happier than you'd expect after running 24 miles.

On track?

Some dead air on the blog lately mostly because of biz travels-- spent a couple days in Pittsburgh. Dang it was cold there. But I ate well and spent the "downtime" recovering from a treadmill workout where I finished at 5:55 pace just because I was curious..... and impatient after spending so much time at 10:00 pace. The faster pace didn't feel too bad, but I was pretty sore afterwards. (duh) But I still managed to run to a connecting flight on my way home a couple days later, so I don't think my urge to do something stupid was all that bad..... seems like I need to do those things occasionally to keep sane.

Saturday I did another 2/3 walk/run, 9:45 pace, 3% incline for 25 minutes, and felt a little sore afterwards. Monday I spent an hour in Barton with Liliana aquajogging. We talked mostly about running, stayed clear of running group gossip, unfortunately. Tues I did another treadmill run, 2/3 walk/run, etc, for 30 minutes. This put me at 2.5 miles total distance, 1.5 of it running. And I feel good today (Wed), very little soreness, so I might give it another go tonight. For extra incentive I can watch Jon Stewart at the gym (we canceled cable recently, and I need my Daily Show fix. Did you know that it's $2.99 per episode via podcast? what a sham.)

I should also mention that I talked to my doc on Monday and asked him if I was on track with my recovery. He was happy with my wimpy-ass workouts (my words) and said I am indeed still on track for a full recovery. Part of me believes him, but part of me sees a partial recovery where I'm constantly negotiating with the hip.... and then possibly finding another sport. And part of me thinks he's just dishing out positive thoughts even though he has doubts, or simply doesn't know. I certainly don't know-- maybe I should just believe what he says. But it's tough to imagine running 13 miles, which was a typical long run, when it's taken me 8 weeks to work up to a 2.5 mile walk/run. In 2 months I will be 6 months into my recovery, which he reiterated is when the recovery/improvement window starts to close. Wow, I used to think that a 1 month recovery was a big deal. oooof.

Oh, finally, I should mention to my many thousands of blog readers that Christina and I are pregnant again, due in late July. We're thrilled-- and everything is going well. But of course, I'm inclined to freak out about these things, so let the parental anxiety begin, again. We're going to Mexico next week to celebrate "the last days of one kid" and mentally prepare for numero dos. And our hotel has a good gym of course....

An unfascinating account

Did another treadmill workout, 4/1 walk/run, 7% incline, 30 minutes, except at the end, I made things a little more interesting and finished at 8 minute pace, just to see what it felt like, and it felt good, actually, no biggee. So Monday I think I'm ready to graduate to a 3/2 walk run. The thought occurred to me in the shower that there is no cheating the treadmill-- when you dial in 8 minute pace, you run at 8:00 pace, etc, etc. So what would happen if over the course of weeks, months even, you slowly cranked up the difficulty until you got to say, a 30 minute workout at 6:00 pace-- would it work? I've never been able to run that fast for that long, but I've never been very good at base building either. What usually happens, I think, is I get impatient and throw a wrench into my training by attempting something that's beyond me. Just a thought....I'd probably go nuts spending that much time on the treadmill. Listen to me-- I can't even run for 5 minutes, yet I'm talking as if.....

On Monday I did the 3/2 workout for 30 minutes. I eased up on the incline though, changed it to 5% because I felt like I was working too hard. I felt soreness afterwards, and it was greater than last week, but it wasn't bad-- muscle soreness? The workout added up to 2.2 miles, 1.2 of it was running.

Tuesday I visited my PT. He congratulated me for making it to 12 weeks. "No holds barred now" he said, which made me chuckle because I know it's not quite true-- the hip is improving, which is good, but it's far from no holds barred.

Wed I did another 3/2 walk/run for 30 minutes or another 1.2 miles of running. This time I felt pretty sore afterwards-- it could have been the squats and lunges that I did before, or it could be the running. Soreness in the groin, like before the surgery-- pain when abducting the right leg. I've felt it off and on since surgery. The pain is mostly gone when sitting though, which is an improvement.

Friday I did yet another 3/2 walk/run for 30 minutes, and I focused on keeping my right foot from landing on the centerline, which it usually does....one theory being that this isn't helping my hip any, and based on how it felt after the workout, there may be something to that theory, i.e. the hip felt much better than Wed. But it took lots of concentration to keep my feet apart. Did my foot cross over because of a weak glute medius? Wow, what a fascinating question! Something I'll have to ask my PT about....

And that concludes a fairly unfascinating account of the week.

Teeny tiny base

Last Friday I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the treadmill, 4 minutes walking/1 minutes running at 11 minute pace. It felt better than before...and 11 minute pace felt like 11 minute pace, so I left the gym happy, and less sore than the previous treadmill workout.

Sunday I biked down to Barton and aquajogged for 1:15 with Shannon and we talked about family, among other topics, namely parents, and how they can be a pain in the ass. This time, unlike the previous Sunday, the hip felt fine.

Monday I jogged again on the treadmill. I gave 10 minute pace a try and it felt fine, so I hung out there for the rest of the workout. 25 minutes, 4/1 walk/run, 7% incline.

Tues I got up early and aquajogged in Barton again. Christine was there and we chatted about various and sundry topics and did a few short "speed" intervals. She left after about 40 minutes and I did a few laps solo. I clocked a 7:40 200m lap which I can compare to my notes and be satisfied that I'm in decent aquajogging shape. (I spent lots of time aquajogging about 18 months ago because of a stress fracture.) The temp was oddly summer-like, and my hip was a little sore afterwards-- I'm going with muscle soreness-- my hip flexor and psoas are weak.

Today I did another walk/run on the treadmill-- I was feeling a little sore going into it, but it went fine, no real issues. So.... that's 3 times on the treadmill this week without significant soreness. I'm going to claim that I have a base, a teeny tiny base (boy, they really don't get much smaller) from which to build my running. From here:

3/2 walk/run, 3x/wk
2.5/2.5
2/3
1/4
20 min treadmill, incline, no walking, 3x/wk
25 min treadmill
30 min treadmill
20 min roads
25 min roads
30 min roads
....

Once I get up to 30 minutes on the roads 3x/wk, I want to work up to 5x per week easy running of various sorts, circuit, grass, trail, hills, before I add speed. How long will this take? One day at a time.....

A typical dad

Sunday was the 3m Half Marathon, so I moved "daddy's morning off" from Sat to Sun so I could yell at the runners. By the time I got there, the lead pack had already passed, but the local champs were running by. The last time I watched a race, I yelled an enthusiastic "go Paul" to a guy named Peter. Hearing your name during a race can be a mental boost, but hearing someone else's name intended for you could be a slight downer, so I found myself being cautious and forgetting names. I've spent some time lurking on the local race photography sites trying to associate names with faces, probably more competitive than social of me.... anyway, I know some names of local runners and many don't know who the heck I am. I rode up the course on my bike trying to remember the names of those I recognized and yelling with caution. I found my friend Lisa at about mile 12 running well, and I turned around and followed her for a bit tried to think of encouraging words for the final mile. She finished with an impressive 1:22. I hung out with Gilbert and cheered some more, saw Hugo, Kevin, Alex, Jonathan, Julie.... everyone looked good, and it was fun to watch.

After the race I went to Barton Springs and aquajogged for an hour or so with running buddies Shannon and Kathie. This was my first AJ workout since surgery. I've been avoiding it because of the cold weather.... I could feel it working my hip in new, slightly uncomfortable ways, which is probably good, but I've been pessimistic about the hip lately, so I took it as an indicator that things aren't going well. And I took this negative attitude to my physical therapist on tues. I asked him questions about what would happen, for example, if I blew off my rehab, etc. I guess what I was looking for was some coaching, some words of encouragement, because it's been 12 weeks and, well, I was really hoping to be running, or at least close. He sorta blew off my questions, which pissed me off, so I made it clear that I was becoming skeptical about the whole thing, whether the exercises were working, whether he really understood what was wrong, etc. I was frustrated..... Will I run? If so, when? I wanted a date and anecdotal evidence that guys/gals with my particular problem get better, etc. I think he gave me what I wanted. 3 months. And he gave me some new exercises to target my iliopsoas. We'll see..... I can stick it out for 3 more months. I thought he might say 6 months....

Wed morning I got up early and met some fellow injured runners for more aquajogging in Barton. It was 37 degrees outside, cold enough to dominate many-a-topic of conversation here in Austin. I put on my wetsuit and nearly froze walking to the car. I cranked the heat on full blast and drove, and when I got there, it took me several minutes to gather the will to get out of the car and walk to the water. It was so cold that I had no choice but to get in, and the water was really cold of course..... Anyway, my hip felt better than Sunday. We "jogged" for an hour and that was fine, and I almost reached a comfortable body temp. When I got out, the cold felt "evil" on my wet skin. I made my way to the showers, but they were shut down because of the freezing temps-- wow, what an unpleasant experience. When I got home, the hot shower and hot coffee were incredible. Still, I think the aquajogging is good for the hip, so I'm going to try to do more.... It builds character-- something a typical dad would say. Tomorrow I'm going to the gym to do a treadmill run/walk, 1 minute run, 4 minutes walk for 25 or 30 minutes if I can tolerate it.

Recovery week

On Sunday I went for a long walk with Lucy and Banjo, fairly brisk pace for 52 minutes, another post-surgery PR, but I probably overdid it because Monday my hip felt pretty crappy, worse than it's been in a long time. So I decided to make this a "recovery week" and take it easy.

Tues: 8 minute of stationary bike, 21 minutes on elliptical.

Thurs: Did 20 minutes of walk/run on the treadmill at 8% incline, 4 minutes walking, 1 minute running at 11 minute pace. Felt OK, but the 11 minute pace and the soreness afterwards put me in a bad mood. i.e., it wasn't what I was expecting by now-- i.e., when I saw "running" on the rehab schedule, I had something else in mind, like, uh.....running.

Elliptical high score

Went to the gym yesterday with the intention of doing some treadmill running/walking, a 1 minute on, 4 minutes off kind of deal-- I'm feeling like I'm ready for something like that. plus the elliptical is getting pretty stale. But I forgot to wear my running shoes, which have been buried for a while, so I stepped up to the elliptical yet again.... 27 minutes later, I had bested my elliptical PR. I keep track of this stuff....I'm so cool! it was set last March while watching the Bourne Identity at the end of my marathon recovery period. The action scenes helped in that case. In this case, I somehow bested my pre-surgery PR. Do they recalibrate those machines? Seriously. Or could it be my generalized frustration coupled with work stress? At any rate, I'll take it as a sign that my cardio work is paying off.

Last Sunday I gave Christina a pass to sleep in and took Banjo out for a long walk to the turtle pond at UT. Do they hibernate? Banjo wasn't too disappointed they weren't there though. I walked for 45 minutes, probably 2.5 miles or so. 45 minutes was way more than I've done before (roughly 2x) and I was expecting repercussions, but haven't noticed any. My hip is responding well lately.

Update wed: did a tad over 12 miles on the bike. Went from my house to Great Northern/Shoal Creek and back again. Austin marathoners are familiar with this route. Averaged 16.7 mph including stops. Hip felt good.

Thurs: I was near the trail this afternoon, so I put on some running clothes and did a 30 minute run/walk, 1 minute on, 4 off, for a total of 6 minutes of slow running. It was really cold. Hip felt OK, not great, and I'm glad I didn't try anything tougher, and I may wake up sore tomorrow. I'll probably do the same workout next thurs and see if it feels better before advancing to a 1/3 run/walk. This is my first official post-surgery "run"-- I'm happy, I guess, but again, it's clear that it's gonna take a long time......I'm still thinking that hip surgery is kind of a bitch.

Fri: Later in the day Thurs, the hip was a little stiff and I was expecting the same or worse this morning, but it was only a little bit sore when I got up-- honest. Went to the gym and did 40 reps of 70 pound squats and then 21 minutes on the stairs. Hip felt good.

Less pink

9 weeks out, I think I can see where things are headed. I can extrapolate my recovery line into the future and see that this is going to take a long time. I can probably run mid Feb as the rehab calendar says, but it will be lots of time, lots of workouts, lots of building up, before I can run for, say, 45 minutes at a time. I can see myself running in the future though, and that is good. I told myself before surgery, trying to look at this whole thing squarely, that it was like starting all over again, but it's actually worse. Each extra minute walking, biking, stair climbing, etc isn't exactly hard fought, but it requires significant consideration and planning. If taking up running were this tedious, I wouldn't have started running in the first place....but then again I wouldn't know what I was missing either (what am I missing exactly?) My desire to run, wherever the heck it comes from, is still there, and apparently quite robust. It drives me. But I'm frustrated. Anyway, just trying to be real about this. I feel like I've been painting things slightly pink in this blog.

Really dang white

We went biking on the tandem again this weekend, but my hip hurt quite a bit at the beginning, which was a little odd-- the bike had never caused this much pain before. The pain subsided after a couple minutes of riding, but it got me a little worried. I was thinking about biking some more this week-- I'll give it another go, but be careful. We did a total of 2.5 miles to and from Mangia pizza.

At any rate, I did my elliptical/stair workout today and it went fine. I cranked up the incline this time, which worked my hips a little more and made it a tad bit harder. I did 20 minutes elliptical, 8 minutes stairs.

Update Wed: went to see my PT dude-- did the same exercises as usual, but added 10 minutes on the treadmill, which was exciting I guess, but I had to wear a harness that reduced the weight on my legs. It sorta took the zen out of running, but I shouldn't complain.

In the interest of full disclosure, I've run a few times lately for short periods of 1 minute or so. The hip feels strong, but the range of motion isn't there yet. And I'm fairly paranoid that I'm going to screw something up. The running hasn't made the hip any sorer though.

I went for a short 40 minute bike ride today (on the single bike), and it went surprisingly well, given the problems I'd had over the weekend. No pain this time. I even had a little power. I found myself standing in the saddle when accelerating from a stop, not because I'm stupid, which I tend to be, but out of habit, but I remembered my doc telling me not to do that, so I stopped it for the most part. The time passed really fast when compared to the stationary bike-- I had fun. I think I'll try to get at least 2 bike rides in per wk. I did about 8 miles today. Other observations: my legs are really dang white.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, etc. I'd like to brag a little about a recent visit to the gym. 20 minutes on the elliptical at 370 calories, including warmup-- thats 1100 cal/hour, which was my pre-surgery lactate threshold. I was pretty worn out afterwards, but happy, in a sort of geeky way. I followed it with 5 minutes of stair climbing. I'm going to try to do some more stair climbing to mix things up and work the hip muscles a little more. The elliptical is great for cardio, but I don't think I'm getting a huge benefit for my hip muscles.

Today I got the tandem bike ready and hooked the trailer to it so our son Banjo can ride with me and Christina-- it's a human powered family vehicle. We did 4 miles total and had brunch. We hadn't ridden the tandem in 2 years because of the Baby Hole. It was fun, but cold. Banjo fell asleep. The hip felt OK, but occasionally I feel it move forward (or something) and it hurts in the front, a sort of hip flexorish pain. We'll plan on more rides, and work on extending the range that Banjo and my hip can tolerate.

I'm going to give the 3x elliptical, 2x long walk another try this week, my third attempt. Heading into Wed, things are looking/feeling good.

Wed update: did 20 minutes on the elliptical at 355 calories. 370 calories seems impossible without cheating somehow....dang... then I did 6 minutes on the stair climber. Felt good, but the real test is how I will feel the next morning. Someone at the gym noticed that I'm no longer on crutches, and I realized that I was pretty lame just 4 weeks ago-- that made me feel better, even though bragging about my elliptical workouts is pretty incredibly "lame".

I should mention that I somehow gained 5 pounds in the last month or so. I'm holding our Jersey trip mostly responsible. When we lived there I was significantly heavier-- must be the 9 months of winter. I'm going to try to lose the weight over the next month or so.

Thurs update: woke up and the hip felt great. Did a 20 minute walk and it went well. I'm still on track for the week.

Fri update: Did 22 minutes on the elliptical and 7 minutes on the stairs...hip still feels good, and it looks like I made it through the week. I'll try the 3x/2x again next week before cranking up the difficulty, but this is a decent base of fitness to fall back on. A base of fitness-- been thinking about this. I haven't been very patient in the past with building a good one. Gonna try to build a strong base this time.

Jersey

I'm in New Jersey for Christmas. Actually, Christmas was a few slow, uneventful days ago. I'm fairly bored. Not much to do aside from eat like crap.... There are these red candy things I've been inhaling-- we've got pounds of them...wish someone would take them away. My mother-in-law has an exercise bike and I've been using it. Did 45 minutes last night, a post-surgery PR. I really feel it at the back of my thighs near my buttucks-- hamstrings? I feel like I've plateaued a bit. Hip is getting better I think, but the improvement is slowing down. My hip pops every now and then when I bring my leg up. It sorta hurts. The rehab calendar says I can run in about 5 weeks. Wow, that sorta sneaked up on me. Will I be ready? Hmm....

Gazelle workout

Did my first workout with my training group in a long long while-- the workout entailed being on my feet for 3 hours at the xmas party. It was a fun party, and I even contemplated dancing, but thought better of it. Afterwards I headed home for some much needed sleep crosstraining. All in all, it was a great workout. I woke up the next morning with soreness on my right shin, not unlike shin-splints. But the hip felt fine. I'm thinking the shin-splint soreness is probably the same referred pain that has been hanging around my right knee. The knee pain has been getting better recently, although the pain is apparently moving down my leg.....

I saw my PT today, and he had me go through the same exercises that I've been doing for several weeks, clams, bridges, rollbacks, etc, but nothing else worth noting.

Last week I tried to do 3 elliptical workouts but only did 2. I was busy Friday and I felt some accumulated soreness from the week, so it's probably good I skipped it. I find it difficult not to hammer on the elliptical. I feel strong on it, which is a good feeling. My turnover is good, probably faster than before surgery, but the power isn't there yet. I'm guessing that some of my deeper frustrations are being exorcised on that machine. I've been doing around 25 minutes for each workout. I'd like to keep it around there but increase the intensity, push my cardio, maybe get it close to where it was pre-surgery. It's good to have goals...

I'm going to try for 3x elliptical again this week and do 2x long walks. I started walking last week, went for a 15 minute walk around the block with Lucy our dog. I'm not sure, but I blame the walk for my soreness late in the week. Went for another walk today, just shy of 20 minutes, but about 10 minutes into the walk, I could feel my hip getting stiff. But I focused on engaging my glutes...that helped. I figure that I'm not even going to attempt to run until I can comfortably walk for 2 hours without issues. I'll work on my walking progression on Saturday mornings.

Having said that, I did some running over the weekend. Christina dropped me and Banjo off at the starting line of the Jingle Bell 5k on Sunday morning so we could watch, but I was a little late and had to run over the 1st Street bridge so I could emerge on the other side and yell at the lead pack. I probably ran only 150 yards...and I was going pretty slow, putting lots of weight on Banjo's stroller, but still.... It's worth noting that I didn't have much pain, if any, but it didn't feel very good either. It served as a reminder that I'm far from being able to run any satisfying distance or pace...... but once I get there, I can look back and be happy that I've come a long way. Anyway, the race was fun to watch, and I recognized several runners. Patrick has been running well lately after recovering from a nasty ankle injury-- he ran well, but pulled his calf in the last 800 meters. That sucked, and I felt bad for him. He should heal in a couple weeks, but we're all hoping he gets professional help (for his calf.) Banjo was quiet the whole time. I think he tolerates these things for Daddy's sake.

I met Dick Beardsley, which was incredible. He was there promoting the Dick Beardsley Foundation. There should have been a mob around the guy, but I just walked right up to him and introduced myself. He asked if I ran the race and I explained that I was injured. He was genuinely interested so I told him about my hip, blah, blah, and told me a story about a friend of his that had total hip replacement and can still pound out 70 second laps. Dick still runs 3 or 4 marathons a year, which is amazing considering what he's been through. Really nice guy. I left the race feeling inspired. I also scored some really good cookies.

Update: the day after my 20 minute walk I was sore-- sore enough for me to consider skipping my elliptical workout, so in the interest of being "good" I went ahead and skipped it. That was yesterday. Today I did a 16 minute walk and feel a little sore. Granted, being able to walk for that long is an accomplishment, but it's also depressing that my hip complains 24 hours after such a "workout".....

Return of the sweaty dude

He's back, the Sweaty Dude. He enjoys pretty much any machine at the gym, as long as it makes him sweat, but he's particularly fond of the elliptical trainer. He gets on that thing and sweats up a storm, apparently trying to prove something to himself or reach some kind of elliptical high score. He clearly has some kind of exercise disorder.

I just got back from the gym. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, and I sweated quite a bit, by far the best cardio workout I've had in months. It told me that my fitness isn't too bad.....much better than I thought it was, so I'm thrilled. I drove to Houston today for my 4 week post-op with my doc. He was very pleased with my progress, so I felt motivated to pay the gym a visit at 9:00 on a Friday night, and sweat a lot. The grande starbucks I consumed on the drive home didn't hurt either....

Update: as is my tendency, I overdid it. I'm sore today--- not too bad, but definitely sore. I told myself I would put the elliptical off for awhile to avoid this kind of thing, but I felt like I got a better workout compared to the bike, and the weight bearing is probably better for my hip rehab at this point. My plan is to hit the elliptical 3x/wk, but back off the intensity.

More like a normal person

Being able to walk again is good-- I feel like I've turned a corner. Some other things I can do recently, more like a normal person:

Go up and down stairs -- until recently I'd use the baby-step method.
Touch the bottom of my right foot-- I needed to do this to wash my foot, instead of moving it back and forth on the soap while in the shower.
Put on a sock -- still difficult, but getting easier. It's challenging to put on a sock or shoe without bending your hip past 90 degrees, which the doc doesn't want me to do.
Put on pants -- a normal person stands on one leg at a time while putting on pants. I used to sit down or do a weird inching up my leg thing.
Get into a car -- A normal person puts his/her right leg in first when getting into the driver's side. I would put my butt in first then rotate my legs in.

Saw my PT today and he gave me new exercises and gave me a green light for elliptical, etc, but I think I'm going to stick to the bike and try to comfortably hit my 30 minute goal. He said my walking gait looks great. He keeps saying my hip problem originated from "femoral anterior glide syndrome", caused by a muscle strength imbalance, weak glutes....this is my reminder to read more about it. I tell him that my doc thinks it is femoroacetabular impingement that caused the labral tear. It's always good to have a fancy term for what ails you--- now I have two.

On the downside, I've been having a strange pain in my right knee when I engage my hamstring. My PT thinks it has to do with my return to walking, but I don't see how my wimpy steps can cause this amount of pain. I've read that knee pain can happen after hip surgery because of nerve issues. I'm driving to Houston Friday for my 1-month follow up. I'll ask my doc about it. I've also been sick lately, so I haven't been to the gym since Friday. Gonna go tomorrow though.

Update: 22 minutes on the bike and 3:30 on the elliptical, guess I couldn't resist....