My right leg is pretty sore today, mainly in the hip flexor/groin area. I haven't taken anything today, so as not to mask any damage I may do by overdoing things. Still, the progress from last week is dramatic. Last Tuesday I couldn't walk 100 yards without having to lay down and recover for half an hour. Last week, if I used stairs, I kept a two-handed death grip on the railing because my right leg was completely numb. Last week I spent most nights writhing, unable to find a comfortable position. On Wednesday, I had an epidaural cortisone injection, and that has greatly improved my mobility. On Thursday, much of the pain had subsided, although my right leg remained weak and numb. On Friday I was able to walk into town and back. Twice. I ran a bunch of errands and did a little shopping. It was more walking than I had done in the prior three weeks combined; I felt liberated! Saturday I dared to get onto the bicycle and coasted around the block a couple times, watched the bike races. Now that I was mobile again, I might as well start training, right? It has an interesting starting point - literally starting from zero, unable to walk or run.
My leg is definitely getting its feeling and strength back. I don't use the railing anymore and tingling is replacing numbness. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do any real running today, because, as I've said, there was a lot more soreness in the leg. I took a spin on the bike around the old state hospital grounds. Owie owie owie. Pain in a few places. Down to the track for GSRT practice.
I started with three laps walking, until warmed up. After 3 ¼ laps, I started running and ran for 1 full mile, all in a row. It was probably about 11 minutes.
The Running School starts one week from today. It would take a miracle.
I'm probably not supposed to run or ride the bike. I'm pretty careful, though, always having my core set and performing actions as smoothly, gently, and impact-free as possible, keeping the head and shoulders high and the spine stretched out. I also still spend the greater part of the day reclining. I can't sit, but at least I can water the garden, and do laundry, and cook and compost and all those other little things which haven't been done in so long. But still, I'm pretty much physically incapacitated. And don't even get me started about the brain thing.
Except that I can RUN!
biking distance: 4.0 miles
waling distance: 1.0 mile
running distance: 1.0 mile
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday, August 8
Monday morning, very early. My back is aching, regardless of position. I took an oxycodone and two ibuprofen tabs at about five. Another dose in afternoon, last one at bedtime. That's the plan.
It is difficult using the computer in general, and typing specifically. Even feeling as good as I do right now (compared with 2 wks ago), I still spend most of the day trying to keep my lumbar vertebrae separated (=lying down). Yesterday was the first time I did any typing, but it hurts more today. About three weeks ago I began to ponder the possibility of living with this as a permanent condition. I had mobility scarcely sufficient for the most basic of life's activities. I could barely sleep, and was able to stand or shuffle for about 30 seconds, and then my leg would catch fire, at which point I had about 30 seconds to get horizontal, into my "safe position." I was spending 23 3/4 hours a day lying perfectly still, on my left side, curled into a gentle "C" shape, with a thin cushion between my knees. What would I do were this the only position I could maintain? I can wait. I can think. I can read. I did all three. Lots.
So I spent the better part of three weeks reading. Every few hours I'd get up for a minute, moving from couch to couch to bed to bed, every room with a place to recline and a library in every room. Which is great. I can live like this. As long as I don't need to have any human contact or perform any sort of job. I decided that this would be a good opportunity to start using my little tape recorder. If I ever have the time and inclination, I'll transcribe the tapes. In the meanwhile, I've got to reconnect with the world. I have email that I haven't checked in nearly a month. There are so many people I wish would call me, instead. Kerry, Matt, Karen, Lorelei, LJ, Bart, Sean, Keith, Zander, Diane, etc., etc., etc. That's just me looking for the easy way back. I shut myself away from the world then resent feeling isolated.
Last Wednesday I had an epidaural cortisone injection. It helped a lot, but even just prior to the procedure I could tell that the back was finally starting to make progress. I would rate the progress as equivalent to moving from a 2 to an 8 on an arbitrary comfort/mobility scale (0-100). Right now I'm at 8! Here's what I consider an "8," yesterday's workout:
1.5 mile bike ride to Memorial Field
very gentle stretch
2 miles walking on track/grass - 28:56
1.5 mile bike ride back.
400 m splits: 4:13, 7:53, 11:xx, 15:17
15:20
13:36
I reached a maximum comfortable walking speed of about 13:30/mile. I tried to break into a very gentle run, but my knee collapsed on the first step, and the break in rhythm reminded me how precariously balanced was my speed walking stride. There was no back or leg pain while riding and walking! It feels great to be on the bike, but it feels very weird, with the right leg feeling somewhat detached, passive yet massive. I think I'll assign a "10" (out of 100) to "is barely able to run." I'm getting close.
Before the injury, I had ridden 62, 45 and 65 miles over three days. My ride to work is about 41 miles, and includes a Cat 5 climb near the start. It's a great ride! Yesterday's ride actually includes a couple pretty steep sections. Oddly enough, I climbed these sections very easily, with my right leg exerting a force barely greater than its weight. I think I've lost weight. My legs look like sticks and my clothes all fall off. If I can ever run again, I'm already at a great racing weight. I'd guess that I weigh about 153.
My knee is tingling. I think the numbness is slowly receding. There is definitely increased sensation on the skin surface of the inside of the knee, which was completely numb last week.
I'm going to try running again today.
...
I ran! It wasn't pretty, but I can do it!
Easy 2 mile ride to the track. Start walking. I start as quickly as I can walk comfortably. It takes a couple laps to smooth things out. In the interest of science, I took splits every 100 m for the first mile:
73 sec (about 19:30 min./mi.)
67
61
58
55
53
53
49
50
49
47
47
47
47
46
45 sec (12 min./mi.)
So it takes about 3 laps to warm up to a comfortably fast speed-walking pace. Even though my HR is barely elevated, it still requires intense concentration - the slightest misstep and I'm going down in a hurry. For the second mile I tried to maintain a steady 12 minute pace. Splits:
4:19
3:30 7:49
3:13 11:02
3:05 14:07
3:01 17:08
3:00 20:08
3:01 23:09
2:55 26:04
2:56 29:00
2:52 31:52
2:42 34:34
2:41 37:15
1:07 38:22 (5000 m)
After 8 laps, I walked 100 m, then RAN the next 300 m!! Because my right knee is still on sabbatical, I found that if I stayed completely on my toes (all ankles/calves, no knee/thighs) I could maintain a nice rhythm, with a top speed of about 9 minutes/mile. I could tell my right leg was getting stressed by the end, but I actually ran the last half mile continuously. Two miles on the bike home. I hope this doesn't hurt me too much later.
It is difficult using the computer in general, and typing specifically. Even feeling as good as I do right now (compared with 2 wks ago), I still spend most of the day trying to keep my lumbar vertebrae separated (=lying down). Yesterday was the first time I did any typing, but it hurts more today. About three weeks ago I began to ponder the possibility of living with this as a permanent condition. I had mobility scarcely sufficient for the most basic of life's activities. I could barely sleep, and was able to stand or shuffle for about 30 seconds, and then my leg would catch fire, at which point I had about 30 seconds to get horizontal, into my "safe position." I was spending 23 3/4 hours a day lying perfectly still, on my left side, curled into a gentle "C" shape, with a thin cushion between my knees. What would I do were this the only position I could maintain? I can wait. I can think. I can read. I did all three. Lots.
So I spent the better part of three weeks reading. Every few hours I'd get up for a minute, moving from couch to couch to bed to bed, every room with a place to recline and a library in every room. Which is great. I can live like this. As long as I don't need to have any human contact or perform any sort of job. I decided that this would be a good opportunity to start using my little tape recorder. If I ever have the time and inclination, I'll transcribe the tapes. In the meanwhile, I've got to reconnect with the world. I have email that I haven't checked in nearly a month. There are so many people I wish would call me, instead. Kerry, Matt, Karen, Lorelei, LJ, Bart, Sean, Keith, Zander, Diane, etc., etc., etc. That's just me looking for the easy way back. I shut myself away from the world then resent feeling isolated.
Last Wednesday I had an epidaural cortisone injection. It helped a lot, but even just prior to the procedure I could tell that the back was finally starting to make progress. I would rate the progress as equivalent to moving from a 2 to an 8 on an arbitrary comfort/mobility scale (0-100). Right now I'm at 8! Here's what I consider an "8," yesterday's workout:
1.5 mile bike ride to Memorial Field
very gentle stretch
2 miles walking on track/grass - 28:56
1.5 mile bike ride back.
400 m splits: 4:13, 7:53, 11:xx, 15:17
15:20
13:36
I reached a maximum comfortable walking speed of about 13:30/mile. I tried to break into a very gentle run, but my knee collapsed on the first step, and the break in rhythm reminded me how precariously balanced was my speed walking stride. There was no back or leg pain while riding and walking! It feels great to be on the bike, but it feels very weird, with the right leg feeling somewhat detached, passive yet massive. I think I'll assign a "10" (out of 100) to "is barely able to run." I'm getting close.
Before the injury, I had ridden 62, 45 and 65 miles over three days. My ride to work is about 41 miles, and includes a Cat 5 climb near the start. It's a great ride! Yesterday's ride actually includes a couple pretty steep sections. Oddly enough, I climbed these sections very easily, with my right leg exerting a force barely greater than its weight. I think I've lost weight. My legs look like sticks and my clothes all fall off. If I can ever run again, I'm already at a great racing weight. I'd guess that I weigh about 153.
My knee is tingling. I think the numbness is slowly receding. There is definitely increased sensation on the skin surface of the inside of the knee, which was completely numb last week.
I'm going to try running again today.
...
I ran! It wasn't pretty, but I can do it!
Easy 2 mile ride to the track. Start walking. I start as quickly as I can walk comfortably. It takes a couple laps to smooth things out. In the interest of science, I took splits every 100 m for the first mile:
73 sec (about 19:30 min./mi.)
67
61
58
55
53
53
49
50
49
47
47
47
47
46
45 sec (12 min./mi.)
So it takes about 3 laps to warm up to a comfortably fast speed-walking pace. Even though my HR is barely elevated, it still requires intense concentration - the slightest misstep and I'm going down in a hurry. For the second mile I tried to maintain a steady 12 minute pace. Splits:
4:19
3:30 7:49
3:13 11:02
3:05 14:07
3:01 17:08
3:00 20:08
3:01 23:09
2:55 26:04
2:56 29:00
2:52 31:52
2:42 34:34
2:41 37:15
1:07 38:22 (5000 m)
After 8 laps, I walked 100 m, then RAN the next 300 m!! Because my right knee is still on sabbatical, I found that if I stayed completely on my toes (all ankles/calves, no knee/thighs) I could maintain a nice rhythm, with a top speed of about 9 minutes/mile. I could tell my right leg was getting stressed by the end, but I actually ran the last half mile continuously. Two miles on the bike home. I hope this doesn't hurt me too much later.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
It's Sunday afternoon in early August, 2011. I'm not sure of the date, something like the 8th. I'd like to "start training" today. The plan is to bike to the track, walk a mile and bike back. Along with some gentle stretching, perhaps. I think I can break 20 minutes in the mile, but I'm not going to hurt myself. Yesterday was my first day daring to get on the bike in exactly four weeks. That was a hilly 65 miles in about four hours, including a couple short stops with a top speed of 42 mph. Yesterday I rode 3.0 miles with a top speed of 14 mph. I was also on my feet a lot watching the bike races next door throughout the day. I was really feeling it last night. Including all the walking I did on Friday, I've been more active in two days than over the entire previous month, since herniating a lumbar disc a day or two after the aforementioned (comfortably fast) bike ride. The weeks since then have passed in a vague blurrr, a vast sea of fire with the occasional oases of relative relief. Although I did not recognize it at the time, my life was greatly simplified. Within days my singular goal for each day became to stay as comfortable as possible. In other words, to stop the pain, please stop the pain. For a couple weeks my goals every day were: 1) don't pass out when you stand up; and 2) don't fall down.
Aim high. And to think, it was just April when my goals included holding back to eight minute pace for the first half of the Boston marathon. Today I'm hoping to be able to walk a mile. Two weeks ago my attempt to walk to the law school (less than 100 m away) became an Everestian struggle. I even take pride that, despite failing to reach the school, I was able to make it home and inside before collapsing in a quivering mass of agony. I feel weak, and shaky, and tentative. Terrified, even. Is my right knee always going to be numb? Again, it's much improved over two weeks ago, when I'd say my right leg was at about 20% strength. Yesterday it felt like about 40%. On the bike that is. It feels weird, riding with one leg you can't quite feel. Still, it's easier and more comfortable than walking. Running seems more natural, but I am nowhere near that.
Aim high. And to think, it was just April when my goals included holding back to eight minute pace for the first half of the Boston marathon. Today I'm hoping to be able to walk a mile. Two weeks ago my attempt to walk to the law school (less than 100 m away) became an Everestian struggle. I even take pride that, despite failing to reach the school, I was able to make it home and inside before collapsing in a quivering mass of agony. I feel weak, and shaky, and tentative. Terrified, even. Is my right knee always going to be numb? Again, it's much improved over two weeks ago, when I'd say my right leg was at about 20% strength. Yesterday it felt like about 40%. On the bike that is. It feels weird, riding with one leg you can't quite feel. Still, it's easier and more comfortable than walking. Running seems more natural, but I am nowhere near that.
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