Finding my new 100% - hip surgery 3 month update

Starting to feel a little confident again, and it's nice!

Wow, it's been a while since I last updated you on my recovery and return to athletics, and actually, it's been my return to athletics that's kept me from writing because I've actually been training again!!!!  Or at least I was right up until Labor Day, when I had a wedding over the weekend followed by a grueling work schedule (60 hour week of night shifts (last week) followed by a 72 hour week/weekend of day and night shifts (this week), and then finishing up with a 44 hour week/weekend of day shifts (next week).  Yikes!  Oh yeah, I also re-herniated a disc in my back, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

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So right around my last update, I was really doing well in my recovery, and was chomping at the bit to get back into training.  Although I tried to stave off any serious weight gain post surgery, I unsurprisingly failed miserably and put on over 30lbs. Luckily I hadn't tossed my fat pants yet!  The last time I had swam, biked, or run was around Jan. 1, so I figured I was going to be on the struggle bus when I started, so I actually did something smart for once in my life: I lowered my expectations, came up with an actual plan, and stuck to it.  Shockingly, it worked!  I started small and grew a little at a time, and progress was rapid!  For any swimmers out there coming off this surgery, here was my swimming progression, which I did three times a week:

Don't get bored swimming, use a FINIS Neptune MP3 player...I do!

Workout 1: 10x50 pull on the 1:00
Workout 2: 15x50 on the 1:00 (5 swim, 10 pull)
Workout 3: 20x50 on the 1:00 (alternating 5 swim, 5 pull)
Workout 4: 20x50 on the 1:00 (alternating 5 swim, 5 pull)
Workout 5: 14x75 on the 1:30 (alternating 2 swim, 2 pull)
Workout 6: 14x75 on the 1:30 (alternating 4 swim, 4 pull with 2 swim to finish)
Workout 7: 20x75 on the 1:30 (alternating 2 swim, 2 pull)
Workout 8: 15x100 on the 2:00 (alternating 2 swim, 2 pull)
Workout 9: 20x100 on the 2:00 (alternating 5 swim, 5 pull)
Workout 10: 10x200 on the 4:00 (1 swim, 1 pull)

This is a really nice and easy progression for getting back into swimming or even for those just starting.  In just 10 workouts, which ranged from 10 to 40 minutes, my stamina grew steadily, and my pace went from 1:45/100yds down to 1:25/100yds. Due to my work hiatus, I went back to workout 8 and will do that again, then progress next week to 9 and 10, and then I'll hit a 400 here and there.  I also joined a Masters Swim team and these workouts should get me in good enough shape to not embarrass myself when I start in October.  Overall, I am extremely pleased with where I'm at in the pool right now, and the kick is steadily returning.  I have no hip pain at all....however....

So I've had this nagging hamstring, glute, bursitis issue that just won't go away.  I've been focusing almost exclusively on this at physical therapy, only it just wasn't going away.  In the first 6 weeks I spent a lot of time on my bike trainer rehabbing my hip, however I was being limited due to hamstring pain.  All of a sudden the week before labor day, I got back on the bike and did 10 miles with zero pain!  I was pumped and excited to start really hitting the training on the bike, but like most things in my life, it just wasn't meant to be.  On labor day I woke up and my glute/hamstring/IT band were just on fire.  I was starting a week of 13 hour night shifts, and sitting in a chair for that long is already the worst, and doing that with non-stop pain in your hip is enough to break anyone down.  We hammered it out at PT that week to no avail, and it just got worse every day to the point that I dipped back into my post-op pain meds to get through the last night.  Well as it turns out, I've apparently re-injured my previously herniated lower lumbar disc.  My glute/ham/IT/bursitis pain may actually be nerve related, so I had an MRI today to confirm and will most likely have a lumbar puncture next week.  At this point, I'm ready to do just about anything to ease this pain.  If you've been following this blog, I will put this development into the "things that suck category."  I'm also easing myself back into weight training, and physical therapy is basically the equivalent of leg day.  Let's break down the good and bad things over the last 5 weeks:

Things that are good:

• Swimming!  Already discussed
• Biking without pain and actually feeling like a workout instead of just therapy.
• Running...I've been cleared to return to running, however, I'm only up to about 20 minutes on the elliptical at the moment, and with the back thing, I'm not ready to start the running protocol.  Plus I need to get some analysis done on my physiology and gait and get the proper shoes before I get back into all that.  I have a strong fear that running will result in further or re-injury, so I'm going to be extremely cautious and smart about my return to running.  Also I need to step up my elliptical game.  
• Lifting:  Mostly back to my normal lifting routine, although not in any hurry to lift heavy again (maybe never again) as I already have enough mass.
• Here's what my exercise schedule has been since the last update (not counting last week and this):
  • Monday:  Swim
  • Tuesday:  Physical Therapy
  • Wednesday:  Swim
  • Thursday:  Elliptical and lift
  • Friday:  Physical Therapy and either swim or lift
  • Saturday:  Elliptical and lift (or rest depending on if there's something more fun to do)
  • Sunday:  Mobility
• "Hey Mike, this is a hip surgery post, not an exercise post, how about some info on your hip?"
  • I feel like life was returning to pretty normal around 6 or 7 weeks, although not my old normal, but my new normal.  I am a habitual high-expectations-haver, which drives me to success, but also makes it easy to be extremely disappointed when reality doesn't meet those expectations (looking at you junior prom).  My physical therapist dropped some zen on me the other day when he said "You've got to find your new 100%.  You're old 100% is gone, and it's not coming back."  This instantly registered with me and changed my whole perspective for the better.  It was as if after 34 years I realized that it was OK to not always aim so high and expect to get there all the time.  Needlessly high expectations is what almost killed me last year.  Even though I love to work hard and chase the dream, it's OK to adjust the dream a little.  I'm not competing for a university, I'm not competing for a team, I'm not being paid to produce (outside of my job), I'm just doing all of this because I love it!  Now of course I'm not going to take it easy, but I'm going to find my new 100% and be happy about it.
  • So the hip is mostly well, I feel like it's plateaued a little bit as I've focused less on my rehab/mobility as I've increased my training, so I probably need to really re-focus on it.  Every now and then I feel some clicking and popping, and pivoting is still an issue.  I'm only 3 months out and I'm told it's a full year to return to normal, so I'm fine with where I'm at.
•  I bought this awesome hip ice/compression pack that is amazing.  I should have had this years ago. If you ever need to ice your hip, glute, lower back, hamstring, quad, or IT band, then this is for you.  So convenient.  I will put up a full product review when I get around to it.  Buy it here now for $75.
• I'm still up a good amount of weight since I had the operation, however I'm starting to notice that my body is rearranging itself and my clothes are fitting better, and that's a positive sign!  Night shift did not help though.
• Football is back! No explanation needed.

There are plenty of things to smile about now that I'm training again!

Of course we can't have the yin without the yang, so here's what sucks:

• Re-herniating my disc! This is terrible and a setback.  Beer belly + sitting at work + slouching at work = bad things for your lower back.  I am working on eliminating all of those things.
• Now that I'm mostly capable of doing most things outside, summer is freaking over!  My summer looked like this:  April:  Terrible weather.  May:  Terrible Weather.  June/July:  Surgery and mostly incapacitated.  August:  Terrible Weather.  September:  Great weather, had to go back on shift-work for 3 weeks, including weekends.  Not ideal.
• Painful reminders that I'm not healed yet.  You get going sometimes and forget that you're still fragile, and it's not until you've overdone it that you realize it, and then you're in pain for several days.  I did 25,000 steps two weeks ago, which included a PT session, a swim, and 18 holes of golf, and followed all that with a family wedding weekend.  My guess is that's where my back gave out.  
• I think with all of my back and hip issues, I may be done with golf.  I love playing golf (although I also hate playing golf).
• My stamina still sucks.  I'm not referring to my heart stamina, that's still not great, but it's good enough and getting better every day.  My leg stamina is garbage.  I get tired very easily, and forget about standing for long periods.  I suppose not exercising them for almost 8 months will do that.
• THE CONSTANT ACHING PAIN IN MY BUTT!  Hopefully the lumbar injection will solve the problem, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  If you've ever been in constant pain for a long time (more or less 2-3 straight years for me now), you'll sympathize with me.  IT.FREAKING.WEARS.YOU.OUT!

SO more good things than sucky things, and that's good!  Thanks again for reading, drop me a comment, send me an email, follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and all that good stuff!  To all my hipsters out there, good luck with your recovery, you can do it!  Find your new 100% and stay motivated!