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.