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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.
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:
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:
Of course we can't have the yin without the yang, so here's what sucks:
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!
1 Comment
Jon Gooch
10/2/2016 12:29:45 am
Mike, I am glad that I found this, enjoyed reading about your recovery and I wish you the best in your return to domination. I also think you are missing a close parenthesis in the sentence detailing your crazy schedule; nasty hours!
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