Back With a Capital Vengence!

March was a good month for me as I've been making all sorts of progress! Got off crutches, traveled down to Moab and Escalante to ride my bike, eased on to the elliptical, and didn't start slacking on the PT until 2 days ago. Nothing but on the up and ups from here on out!

30 minutes spin bike, 10 minutes on the elliptical, and all sorts of hip stuff.  

60 minutes spin. Hip doin' good! 

AM: Bike at PT.

BAD news: Right SI joint was out again, which I am pretty sure it has been that way since last Friday. Hurt like a son of a to get back in.

GOOD news: Got to do normal squats today and I can do them! This is a HUGE indication for me that I might be fixed because I hadn't been able to comfortably get into that deep of position in the left hip since this whole thing started nearly 2 years ago. What a crazy feeling to be able to do something that you haven't been able to do without pain, instability, and serious discomfort for almost ever! I keep complaining to my PT that my hip feels weird and today he said it was probably because it is normal. Not a feeling I am used to.

PM: 45 minute walk around the Aves.

AM: 20 minutes on the stationary bike. I've angered the hip gods again. Ughhh every time I start getting excited... I blame the new cutie Dansko heeled sandals I tried to wear for 5 minutes yesterday. Pain!!! 

PM: 25 mile BIKE ride on the Legacy - woot woot! Stationary biking is still winning for the week though - boo!

AM: Bike at PT. Hip has super tightened up and I had trouble sleeping on it ughhhh. I am trying so hard not to get bummed out, but sometimes I get really sick of dealing with this hip and I get so crabby to everyone and everything :(

I give up. I am going to buy a TV and maybe a microwave while I am at it...

PM: Wine and wasabi almond dinner followed by lots of rolling and ice. Hip feels a little better.

Met Fritz for early Saturday morning spin with interesting existential (overtly sexual) instructor lady. We were instructed to make babies during class, men were the strength and women were the speed which results in baby POWER. Yup, exactly! 10 minutes on the elliptical and hip drill after.

Rode from the 600 North JRP trailhead to Farmington and back, 33 miles - boo yah! Strava says that is my fastest time ever, which is AMAZING considering I rode that route many times last summer and I am only 2.8 months post surgery. Yippie skip! 

AM: Bike at PT. Added donkey kicks to the hip routine. 

PM: Clam shells and more hip exercises. Taking an easy day after the weekend's overly stoked biking fest. 

 AM: 75 minute of SPIN.

 This film looks awesome! "Enjoy your boring life, I am going to go get dangerous."

Trailer from America reCycled on Vimeo.

AM: Bike at PT. 12 weeks out of surgery now and I am supposed to be able to start easing back into normal sport at this point. Too bad I am not even close to ready yet. I still have a very, very long way to go... Sad :(   

PM: Short bike up Memory Grove and around the Aves. 

Officially 12-weeks post-op, which is supposed to mean RUNNING and well I don't even feel close to giving it a try. Last surgery I was already up to running a mile and was getting back into Nordic skiing at the 12-week point and I was feeling great and hopeful. It is hard not to get discouraged since I was told that this recovery would be so much easier, but progress has been so slow and well walking still feels like crap. 

And then I see something like this and think damn I am a wuss. Maybe I am not trying hard enough, maybe I get discouraged too easily. People recover from much worse things than I! 

Please watch and vote!!!

I guess I want to formally dedicate myself to running again. I see my doc on May 1 and want to plan on getting the go ahead for running. I have 3 weeks and this is how I am going to do it.

• Walk more and get on the elliptical more consistently.
• Be religious with the clam shells, 1-legged bridges, squats, fish oil, vitamins, and vegetables.
• Start reading running magazines again.
• Use yoga and meditation to chill the freak out and practice un-guarding that hip.
• Finally make an appointment and use my acupuncture groupon.
• Buy a new pair of running shoes.
  

 *I just looked back and I have been on a bike every day since February 20th. I don't call this Lulu's stationary cycling blog for nothin'.

AM: 20 minutes stationary bike.

PM: 30 minutes bike.

AM: Restore yoga followed by 5 minutes elliptical, 60 minutes spin bike, and then 10 minutes elliptical. Now rewarding myself with a gigantic Whole Foods salad that cost me a week's paycheck. Goal eat more vegetables is going well.

Rode from home on the nice new bike lane on North Temple adjacent the airport Trax to the JRP to the Legacy to the Red Barn and back. My new compression bike shorts are making me feel slightly super human. I am considering switching to a compression only wardrobe.  

 Smart words from The Atlantic per usual:

"We don't have to be scared, and we're not powerless. We actually have all the power here, and there's one thing we can to render terrorism ineffective: Refuse to be terrorized."

***VOLUNTEER ALERT***

For reasons I still don't understand, I am responsible for driving the half marathon pace car for the Salt Lake Half on Saturday and I need to find a co-pilot. Any takers? I guarantee a good time in the Hyundai!!!

AM: Spin class and 1 miles on the rowing machine which I will probably regret later today.

Crabby. Crappy hip. Nada.

Broke my bike streak today. I was probably on day 60 or so.

Got up at 3am so I could drive the pace car for the Salt Lake Half. Overall an incredibly stressful experience although it was an interesting way to watch a race. I can say my Salt Lake Marathon volunteering days are over - too disorganized and disrespectful of my time!

Then 60 minutes on the Spin bike and 1640 meters of rowing in 10 minutes. 

AM: ~2 miles walking around the Aves with my coffee.

PM: Biking around Antelope Island and a little hiking. Lovely day! 

PM: Bike at PT and then a pretty intense manual therapy session focusing on my right SI joint. Now that the left hip is doing well we're shifting the focus to overall hip stability and the right SI.

PM2: First ever acupuncture appointment. Needles in my right shoulder and palm to fix my left hip and needles in the back of my left hand for the right SI. I hated it at for the first few minutes and then I think I finally relaxed and then my hips felt all warm and pulse-y weird so I do think it was doing something. I also got some acupuncture-to-go in the form of ear studs that are supposed to keep me from being an anxious freak. We'll see how well that works!

AM: Spin class and morning hip stuff. Hip feeling alright.

Gave the bike a whirl up City Creek since I have officially been cleared to tackle some hills. I thought all the flat biking and Spin class would have prepared me, but the ride was super hard! Then some yoga and the hip drill.

Today was one of the first days I have actually felt that running again might be a real possibility. My hip flexor has really loosened up in the last week and I keep getting compliments that I look like I am walking like a normal person. Yay!

Parked at the gym and then went into Pibs to try on some clothes, then walked around the park for a half hour, and then finally, after much resistance, went into the gym and did 25 minutes on the elliptical. 

Considered hopping on the treadmill for 5 seconds of running just to see how it felt... My hips are feeling great so it is getting harder to resist the urge. The past few days I've felt very little pain and quite a bit more balanced in the hips, but unfortunately I have felt headachy, nauseous, and slightly more anxious than normal. My acupuncturist says it is because we have disrupted my energy patterns and it takes awhile to rearrange the Chi. I guess I have been harboring a lot in my hips. I would really like to scoff this all off as quackery, but this is the best my hips have felt in like 2 years!

AM: Bike and SI beating at PT.

PM: Hour of biking on the Legacy.

So just yesterday I was complaining to a certain broken friend how annoyed I am that all my friends are broken and can't do anything fun now that I am finally getting better! AND THEN, I get to PT this morning to find out that my PT tore his ACL and meniscus and had surgery yesterday. I am so sad - way sad for him not to mention selfishly sad for myself. My PT has been my absolute ROCK through two surgeries and has been above and beyond supportive and encouraging. Imagining him drugged up in his CPM right now breaks my heart :( 

AM: Hour of walking around the Aves.

PM: Rode from my house, up Memory Grove, through the U, and to the top of Little Mountain and back. Way hard, but I did it! 29 miles and 2200+ feet of climbing. I looked back and I wasn't biking up Emigration until I was about 5 months out of surgery last time. Since I am at the 3.5 month mark I am going to consider myself ahead of schedule!

First week I have had more outside biking miles than stationary miles - yay!

Hour walk around the Aves and then spring cleaning fest. Prolly my hardest workout of the year! 

Bike at PT,  mega glute and core workout, and then acupuncture followed by deservedly tasty Vietnamese food.

Easy ride on the Legacy wearing my new silly SI belt. I honestly felt great! The belt was a little weird to get used to but it really seemed to keep my pelvis stable and I had ZERO wonky low back weirdness. I felt like the belt really equalized me and that I was using both legs evenly on the bike.  Exciting!!!

Surgeon appointment in the morning and I am really hoping to get the ALL CLEAR for RUNNING!