For the complete story please review my previous blogs on this subject:
Final Week Post-surgery
Day 85 (Thur) – Today was my final post-surgery doctor’s
appointment, with Doctor Tingey: He’s released me to return to living the
running life (cautiously at first of course). The doctor was initially
very concerned that I’ve walk raced the last few weeks, far too soon to be
exerting myself he said, but Charlene reminded him that I’m on day 85 not day
65. He told us that he thought this was my 2 month checkup,
not the 90 day final check. He told us that I can begin running again,
slowly at first, preferably on a run/walk program of some type until I rebuild
my strength and conditioning.
He also told us, after I asked specifically, that I do not
necessarily have to have surgery on the right hip: The femur head is
misshapen, just as the left one was, but that alone does not mean that my right
labrum is or ever will be torn. He wants me to pay attention to how the
right hip feels as I begin running and training but for now we aren’t going to
mess with it unless it begins to hurt or somehow bother me. If it does
end up hurting I will have to meet with him again, get an MRI on the right
side, and then decide if surgery is necessary. I asked if we would
positively have to get a new MRI on that side, they are very expensive, he said
that he won’t operate without a clear picture of what is going on; I can’t
blame him there.
We discussed my physical therapy; how I felt about it, and
whether or not I believed it helped. I told him I am still getting a lot
of benefit from it and that I am trying to be very diligent about doing it 3
times a week (2 at home, 1 at the Physical Therapy facility). He was
pleased with my time and work with the Physical Therapist, and recommended that
I continue to go to PT until my insurance company stops covering it for this
particular issue.
After we finished with the appointment, Charlene and I drove
to Anahiem to begin our weekend adventure: She had a day of Disney fun
planned, my first run after surgery on Saturday, Charlene’s Avengers Half
Marathon early Sunday morning, and then our quick return to Vegas for the Rock
‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 10k.
Day 86 (Fri) – While Charlene enjoyed her day in the park I
walked around the local area a bit to warm up for my session of physical
therapy in the hotel. I couldn’t do all of the things I would have done
at home but I simulated as much as I could. I had to get creative a few
times as the “total gym” door mounted resistance device I brought wouldn’t
actually fit on the hotel room doors. I was able to get a good workout so
I can’t complain.
Day 87 (Sat) – ChiRunning lesson 8, titled “I’ve Got
Rhythm”, actually relating to helping a runner keep a consistent cadence as
opposed to anything dance related (thank God). As I return to running I
don’t doubt that I’ll need to pay attention to this again. It’s very easy
to waste valuable energy speeding up and slowing down when you aren’t paying
attention to what you’re doing, or you don’t yet know what you’re doing.
Danny recommended we use a metronome app (or buy a physical unit) to take with
us on runs, I’ll have to dig out the one I bought from the ChiRunning website a
few years ago. I used it during my first 3 Boston Qualifying marathons; I
can tell you first hand that it helped a lot. I still chuckle when I recall
the races I participated in with the metronome running; some runners liked it
and even fell into pace with me for a time, and some didn’t appreciate the
noise (the beeping must have clashed with their playlist). One of the
more valuable lessons I learned over the years, when running with a it, was to
set the beeping interval to a beat-pattern based on 3 as opposed to 1 or
2: A beat pattern of 1 monotone beep per foot strike got monotonous and
my mind would drift away rather quickly, a beat pattern of 2 (still 1 per foot
strike but alternating between 2 different beep tones) would sometimes lead me
to strike harder on my dominant foot as my body and mind became attuned to the
pattern. My preferred setting is the pattern of 3 (1 per foot strike with
two beeps of one tone and then the third beep of a different tone): It ensures
I don’t have a singular focus on one foot, the tones rotate due to the odd
number.
I finally got to run for the first time since just before
the surgery, it felt freeing. Charlene and I
found a small family park in one of the local neighborhoods near Disney; nice
and grassy but also had a sidewalk that followed most of the perimeter. We stretched and planned out the run while in
the shade of a nice big tree: She and I
would run together at a slow, comfortable pace for the first lap (I on the
grass and she where she felt most comfortable) and then I would finish up the
mile running and walking at 1 minute intervals alone. The second mile I would continue with 1
minute intervals but this time on the concrete pathway. That way I’d start out with the cushion of
the grass for a warm up and then get the feel of “street” running to finish it
off (street running is my most common race setting). I didn’t have any unusual pains or pulls
during the run; there were some tight areas right around the surgical sites but nothing I didn’t already expect.
Day 88 (Sun) – This was a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and
emotions for Charlene and I. We started
out very early, to get her to the Disneyland Avengers Half Marathon. The morning was actually very nice for a long
run; I don’t mind admitting that I was a little jealous. The temps and wind were beautiful, especially
compared to last year. I’m proud to say
that my sister had a solid run, good enough to earn 4th place in her
Age Group. She even held back a little
so she’d have the strength and energy to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas
10k. After she finished the half, picked
up her personal gear, and stretched out, Charlene and I hit the road to get
back to Vegas early enough to beat the crowds on Las Vegas Blvd. The good thing is, we arrived plenty early
enough to get a good parking spot and beat the bulk of the runners due to be
there; that bad part was that we were in such a hurry that we didn’t really
give Charlene (or I for that matter) enough stretch stops during the multi-hour
drive. We both found it rather ironic
that the weather in Vegas was to be much cooler and windier than we’d just left
in Anaheim, almost exactly the opposite of last year.
It felt very good to be back on the race scene, as a
runner. I did feel a bit nervous at the
prospect of doing a 10k as my second run in 3 months but I had confidence that
I could manage it with a slow pace and keeping the plan of comfortable
intervals. My plan for the race was for
3 to 1 intervals, 3 minutes of running and then 1 minute of walking. During the test run on Friday I’d discovered
that 1 minute intervals for both never gave me a chance to settle into the run
and establish good form; the 3 minute run would allow for that and for me to
feel like I was running again with the one minute of walking would keep me from
overdoing it.
We found a nice open place near the 10k start line to warm
up; stretch, dynamic warmups, short conditioning runs. While I was doing my short warmup sprints I
started feeling the all too familiar hip pain on my right side. A part of me immediately started planning for
the next operation, that was now sure to happen but I put the thoughts aside
for the race and got back to letting myself feel as much like a real racer as
possible. Even if the pain is similar or
familiar doesn’t mean it’s caused by the same thing. I can’t ignore the fact that I’ve not run in
a very long time, and there are bound to be a lot of complaints being logged by
my muscles and joints.
There are few races I could have picked that would have
matched the fun and experience of the Rock ‘n’ Roll race day here in Las Vegas. I’ve run the marathon and half marathon
distances with this group (here in Vegas) in previous years, it’s always been a
memorable run; visually stimulating, highly energetic atmosphere, and a great
bit of fun. I didn’t have any real
nerves or butterflies while waiting in the corral, it felt a lot like being at
my best friend’s house during a party; lots of people with similar interests, a
lot of buzz in the air that is generally friendly and interesting, plus a few
shout outs when we spot people we know but haven’t seen in a while. I wish we could have heard the playing of the
National Anthem from corral 1 just before the starting gun, it’s important to
me (obviously, being a Vet), unfortunately the start line/arch didn’t have
speakers or they weren’t functioning properly for us. Still, when we did finally hear the Anthem
the corral went nice a quiet and most everyone turned toward the music: there wasn’t a flag at the arch either or at
least I couldn’t find one. I got a big
kick out of the runner’s cheering at the completion of the Anthem, which is
always a welcoming sound.
I allowed myself start a little fast when the gun sounded
(no actual gun, just a racing expression), I didn’t sprint and I knew I could
allow myself to “celebrate” with a quick start since I’d be finishing the first
interval pretty quickly. Charlene started running with me shortly after
my second running interval and stayed with me the rest of the race. I was more than happy for her company and my controlled
pace was a good fit for her needs after having a half marathon several hours
earlier.
One very cool thing I heard on the course was at one of the
first water stations: One of the
volunteers called out to the other volunteers handing out water cups to back
off of the race course, get closer to the water table, so they wouldn’t crowd the
runners. After running so many races
across the country I’ve seen that problem so many times; the anxious and
friendly volunteers pushing themselves more and more into the race course,
eager to help the runners not really thinking about actually being a hindrance.
The wind and weather became rather crazy at times during the
2nd half the 10k race (after we returned to Las Vegas Blvd running south
towards the finish line); we ate dirt and dust a few times when the wind surged
and waned, and the temperature seemed to follow suit. The 3 minute run portions of my intervals let
me establish decent form for the most part.
It was kind of on and off at times but either I caught myself and
corrected it or my sister would see me and tell me I was off. Surprisingly enough I still had enough muscle
and form memory did help keep a cadence at/near 180 steps per minute (my trusty
Garmin reported later), that was pleasing.
That was my standard cadence before being injured, a sign of being able
to establish a level of comfort again. I
did have to keep making myself (and Charlene by extension) slow the pace
throughout the race to conserve energy and strength, I definitely needed that
by the time the finish line came into sight so we could finish strong. It was a great relief to cross that finish
line at a run, and a happy bonus to have my sister at my side crossing it. I finally felt like a runner again, like I’d
be able to explore my capabilities once again.
My right hip complained a lot during the run, especially
with the interval change from walking to running which has always been a
problem for me, and it kept letting me know it was unhappy after crossing the
finish line. I was also very tired after
the race, almost marathon tired to make a comparison. The weather didn’t help at all while we were
in the finisher’s area, it actually turned rather nasty; the temperate seemed
to take a big dive, the wind gusts got stronger and the sustained winds were
somewhat brutal, and then a downright cold rain started. We were going to wait a few minutes for a
mutual friend finish the half marathon but when the weather turned and I
started to get very sore we decided to grab a few post-race snacks, get our
event shirts, get my finisher’s medal engraved as a reminder, and then slowly
make out way into the foyer of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino (I had no more
hurry in me even though we were freezing by then). Thank goodness for our Rock 'n' Roll Mylar blankets, they're life savers. Sis and I stayed in the casino long enough to
eat a little and warm back up; I have to thank the Bellagio Staff for allowing
a bunch of us runners to mill about in the foyer, most of us wouldn’t be giving
the casino our patronage but we surely needed their hospitality. After Sis and I warmed up a bit we made our
way back to the car and began the very slow trip out of downtown to the freeway
and then home. I stiffened up pretty bad
during that drive because it ended up taking almost (or just over) an hour to
through traffic.
Day 89 (Mon) – My quads and hamstrings were really sore and stiff
all day long. I didn’t really push
myself beyond hard racing levels but my muscles were telling me plainly that I’d
pushed it a little too hard yesterday. I
was just thankful that my right hip felt great all throughout the day, it didn’t
twinge or give any pulling sensations.
Even my session of home physical therapy felt great after work, the
muscles seemed to appreciate the resistance training.
Day 90 (Tue) – My quads and hamstrings were still generally sore
but moved easier than yesterday. My hips
feel completely normal; not even a hint of the discomfort I had Sunday night. The weather turned rather wonderful by the
afternoon so I was able to get in a nice 2 mile track run during lunch. I increased my interval time to 4 minutes
running and 1 minute walking, but kept my speed low to avoid straining my legs
further. The run was very relaxing and with
the 4 minute interval I could go almost 2 laps without walking so it felt more
like training last year. I didn’t have
any issues at all this time, with my hip, no complaints during warm up or
during the run itself: That was a big relief.
I stretched, foam rolled, and iced after returning to my office. Until I’m in true running shape I know that I
have to stay aggressive with my recovery activities to keep complications at
bay.
Day 91 (Wed) – To help ease the lingering tightness in my
hamstrings I started using my tiger ball while working at my desk. It normally helps loosen my legs up so this
is a good time for it. Tonight’s home
physical therapy wasn’t quite as easy as Monday but it still helped my legs
feel better by the end of the routine.
It’s very cool that tired muscles respond so well.
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