A Lean and Hungry Look

I met with my physical therapist this morning and we decided to try ASTYM treatment on my achilles.  He gave me the first treatment today and we're going to try 4-6 treatments to see if it helps.  He could tell a difference between the quality of the tissue in my left achilles versus my right, which led him to believe that this has been something of a chronic problem.  That makes me a candidate for ASTYM.  Given the fact that it took me over 18 months to get through my last bout with achilles tendinitis, I'm willing to give it a try.

It's been a rough week in terms of time, so tonight was my first workout of the week.  I set up my bike on the trainer and rode for an hour.  My average HR was around 140, which is a little low.  I tried not to overdo it because I'm hoping to get two more rides in this week. The setup (in front of the big screen in my basement) is great.  I just need a couple of weeks to get myself used to spending time in the saddle (ouch).  It's nice to have an option that does not involve the elliptical.

Back at the PT today for ASTYM treatment #2.  It was a little more painful this time, but I'm hopeful that it will accelerate the healing and make Boston possible.

Only exercise was 12 minutes on the stationary bike at the PT as a warmup for the treatment.

After taking a day to let my "sit-bones" recover a little, I decided to get back on the horse for a 90-minute ride.  I got two episodes of Friday Night Lights in.  I realized after the ride that because the trainer is on carpet, my tire was rubbing the rubber mat and had almost worn all the way through.  Maybe that's why it smelled funny.

I couldn't take more than 90 minute in the saddle and wanted to test the achilles, so I threw on my trainers, leashed up Maja, and went for an easy 2 miles.  The achilles felt pretty good, but I felt pretty tired.  It was hard to tell whether it was because I'm out of shape or because I was already fatigued from a 90-minute spin.  It was probably a bit of both.

The achilles was pretty sore the rest of the day, so I made sure to do my assigned stretches about 5-7 times throughout the day.