"We'll Get There When We Get There!" Mr Incr3dible's journal (comments definitely welcome)

[Mr_Incr3dible]

DW got her first knee replaced this morning. So far so good. It was amazing that they had her on her feet and doing stairs before we left. Modern medical science is incredible.

I saw my surgeon yesterday, at near the 3 month mark. He’s pleased with the progress. He says finish out this month’s PT and then start ramping back up to where I’m doing regular training runs at the end of March.
And, bless him, he deemed my 10:30 - 11:00 minute pace to be fast.
So I went home and celebrated with a 1 mile walk (20 minute pace) since it was so warm and sunny.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

DW is surprisingly mobile already on her new knee. It is becoming more and more apparent the timing of my own injury and surgery was fortuitous in that I'm healed enough to be able to help her. She just did her first trip upstairs to get a shower and be feeling more human again after her surgery, and I'm sitting on an ice pack, feeling the effort of lending weight-bearing support. Not complaining, just noting it.
We are now back in the recliners, starting a day of being couch potatoes and watching a lot of football. In fact, I have a second TV set up in the den so we can watch the Chiefs and the CFP farce at the same time. (I love the idea of a playoff, just not in the manner in which the teams and brackets have been set up to pick and choose likely winners, and how the selection criteria this year seems to be rather different than it was last year. No, I don't have any dogs in this fight, just hate seeing things done poorly or with bias.) But I digress.
Oh, I also got in a chilly mile walk this morning at a 19:23 pace, so that is also factoring in what I'm feeling.
Again, not complaining. I'm ecstatic that my wife is on her way to being pain free in her knees.

 

[The Expert]

So glad to hear your wife's recovery is going well and that you're feeling good enough to help her. And yeah -- the CFB playoff is a joke! I'm an NFL fan and don't normally pay a lot of attention to college ball, but it's hard to ignore the train wreck they've created this year.

p.s. Go Chiefs!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

This time last year, we were in KC, ringing in the New Year at a Top Golf after the Chiefs game. This year is a bit more sedate.
DW is 12 days past her knee replacement and is already walking short distances without the walker. Wow. Even better has been a minimum of the strong pain meds, which will make it easier for her to schedule the second knee this spring.
As for yours truly, I’ve had a few days recently where I was really feeling my hamstring, likely from bending over while assisting the DW and stretching it a bit much. Ice packs and taking care not to move wrong has me back feeling better. I managed to put in 12k steps yesterday and another 13k today.
PT guy also liked my ramp-up plan. I’ll be walking for the next 5-6 weeks, slowly increasing the distance and pace.
I ran about ten steps today, chasing after something, much to the surprise of my son who noted it. Small amounts of progress.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

As mentioned, earlier in the week, I spent several days really feeling my hamstring and wondering if I had done something bad. I think the pain was from stretching it while bending over for the wife (stifle yourselves; You know who you are) while tending to her. After sitting on ice packs and being very careful with some of my motion, I'm feeling better again, to the point of two walks yesterday for a total of about 2 miles, not to mention feeling rather normal going up and down flights of stairs.
So while everyone else is tapering off this week, I'll be tapering up, albeit slowly, and doing multiple walks as weather permits along with my at-home PT to build back up. Onward and upward!
Thanks for reading.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

The backside is feeling pretty good, well enough that I did 2 miles yesterday and 2 miles again today. Both times were in the 20-21 min/mile range. The half mile walks I've done until today have been just up and down the short street I live on. For my walk yesterday, I went out of my small section of neighborhood and onto my usual "neighborhood" course (as opposed to going to the greenway...). I drive right by there several times a week, and ever since the injury in August, it has been with the thought of "I used to run along here" or "One day I'll run here again". I know, maudlin and silly, but those were my thoughts. So yesterday was my first time back on those sidewalks and crossing that bridge and ascending/descending those hills; it felt good to be back out there. Today's walk was in part on the golf course cart path since the greens are covered due to the pending weather. Temps dropped 15-20 degrees just since this morning and it's now just above freezing and with wind chill (up to 37 mph gusts) in the teens as this front comes in. Brrr. Just not what this southern guy is used to.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Slight setback over the weekend. Took DD2 on a food run. The roads were mostly clear and dry and what was on the ground was melting. Yet I managed to pull into the parking space that looked clear, but had black ice on the driver's side. I stepped out and as I put weight on my left foot, it went sideways with me grabbing onto the steering wheel and door with my right (damaged) leg still in the car (small SUV). I wound up on my back, half under the car, but had managed to hold onto things enough that it was a slow fall and no smacking of the head or anything else on the pavement. But, having the two legs going in different directions pulled on that right hamstring, so I'm feeling it and back to sitting on ice packs and back to slower, shorter walks. Just dang.
Otherwise, things are going well for my recovery, and the DW is getting around without the walker on her new knee. In fact, instead of being completely peg-leg in her walking, she's starting to bend the new knee a bit as she walks. Remarkable progress for less than 4 weeks after the surgery.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

After taking it easy for a week, I've resumed normal activity and have gone back to longer walks. The polar vortex brought sub-freezing weather to the whole southeast, but the snow went below and around us. What this means is that the roads have been dry and the golf cart paths clear and I've been walking 2 - 2.5 miles each afternoon as part of ramping back up to running.
The DW is now walking as well and as fast as she did before surgery, at least for short distances, and has resumed driving, again for short distances. IMHO, remarkable considering she is right at 5 weeks post-surgery. Wow.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Quick update since a couple of hours ago: just did a 2.62 mile walk at 19:02 min/mile pace.
And for full rD immersion, done while listening to the latest R&R podcast…

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Hard to believe that just 2 weeks ago was a deep freeze and now I have 60 degree weather on Groundhog Day.
Just finished a 3.05 mile walk at a 18:55 pace. I mixed in a few run intervals, and by run I mean an easy jog for about 50 feet. Just dipping a toe in the running waters, and otherwise sticking to building back up distance. Curiously, it felt a bit like a shin splint in my right shin, even with just walking and wearing my proper running shoes. Curious.
But slowly ramping back up. I'll keep mixing in very short runs with the goal of some easy runs in March.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Did another 3+ mile walk on Wednesday that was mostly walking with about 6 intervals of jogging 30 steps or so.
The result was a 15:36 pace! OTOH, the shin splint-ish thing is still there, and I could feel it this morning when I took a quick walk up and down my block (maybe .45 or .5 mile). I'm assuming and hoping that it is simply months of non-use. As my PT guys puts it: waking up muscles.
And while my walking pace is dropping, my short runs are making it clear that I'm really starting over for serious running, which I knew in my head, but didn't want to confront. But progress, and I'll keep slowly ramping back up.

Something that wasn't progress was my running playlist. I downloaded a song and went to add it to my iPhone and pull it into my Running playlist. Instead, I managed to remove all of the songs on my iPhone other than that one song and the U2 stuff that is foisted upon us. I managed to get everything reloaded, but.... gads. Grrrrr
Thanks for reading

 

[col1]

Did another 3+ mile walk on Wednesday that was mostly walking with about 6 intervals of jogging 30 steps or so.
The result was a 15:36 pace! OTOH, the shin splint-ish thing is still there, and I could feel it this morning when I took a quick walk up and down my block (maybe .45 or .5 mile). I'm assuming and hoping that it is simply months of non-use. As my PT guys puts it: waking up muscles.
And while my walking pace is dropping, my short runs are making it clear that I'm really starting over for serious running, which I knew in my head, but didn't want to confront. But progress, and I'll keep slowly ramping back up.

Something that wasn't progress was my running playlist. I downloaded a song and went to add it to my iPhone and pull it into my Running playlist. Instead, I managed to remove all of the songs on my iPhone other than that one song and the U2 stuff that is foisted upon us. I managed to get everything reloaded, but.... gads. Grrrrr
Thanks for reading

You progress has been excellent from what I have been reading , taking it steady whilst trying to keep improving, I’m sure you will be back running soon.

Whenever I had a layoff from running and returned I was always welcomed back with shin splints but the always subsided after a few weeks but YMMV.

I feel you on the technology, I have rarely fought a battle with it and emerged victorious Good Luck !

 

[Naomeri]

Something that wasn't progress was my running playlist. I downloaded a song and went to add it to my iPhone and pull it into my Running playlist. Instead, I managed to remove all of the songs on my iPhone other than that one song and the U2 stuff that is foisted upon us. I managed to get everything reloaded, but.... gads. Grrrrr

This is why I now have a spreadsheet list of my entire running playlist. I was having an issue last year where new music wasn't downloading to my phone, and whatever I had to to do to solve that somehow managed to erase most of my playlist, so I had to start over from scratch.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I've been out walking/jogging like 8 of the last ten days, and slowly mixing in longer and longer jogs. I'm down to something like a 15 min/mile overall, with some of the miles down in the mid 14 min/mile range. I'm taking a day off today since I ran/jogged yesterday, and then I'll be back at it. And while I feel as if I've stayed active, the short joggling stints reveal just how much tone I lost in the right calf and other muscles. Just dang. But... progress, and so excited to be more active again.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

After false-spring, we're back to being below average temps with lows in the 20s and a high of 47. I know, balmy for some of you, but a bummer after the pleasant temps a couple of weeks ago. But I digress.... Anyhoo, the sun was out and I went for a walk/jog.
I took yesterday off and was feeling rather spritely and mixed in more joggling jogging and even one extended jog that was maybe 100-150 yards long. Sounds short but seemed much longer when I was doing it.
The results are: 3.16 miles with an overall pace of 14:07, and mile 2 (that had the longer jogging) clocked in at 13:34.
I'm now able to do a 5K without getting swept (at least mentally. I know most short races don't have a 15 min/mile cutoff). Woohoo! Now to see if I can get to where I can do 3x that for SS. I saw the 5k open briefly today, but I want the 10-miler.
Goals!

 

[GollyGadget]

I find your optimism and dedication inspiring. Thank you for sharing your journey!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I find your optimism and dedication inspiring. Thank you for sharing your journey!

You are making me blush, but thank you for the kind words. I consider myself blessed in that my injury was repairable, is healing, and is fairly temporary in the grand scheme of things. There are others with more severe/permanent/disabling afflictions, and my heart goes out to them.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I don't (didn't) plan to be updating this road to recovery so much, but hopefully putting this down for posterity will be of use to someone else coming back from an injury.
When walking, I now have a normal, even gait that is the same for both legs. Buuuut, on my runs, particularly towards the end, my gait becomes uneven as my right leg becomes fatigued. I know in my head that this is normal and expected, but it is new to me and still somewhat disconcerting. Again, the loss of tone and strength in my right calf wasn't apparent to me for the last 6 months, but it is there. Now I'm thinking I get to wife to take a photo from behind me to see if I can see a difference in my calfs.....
I say all that to say that I went running Sunday afternoon and managed 3.36 miles at a 13:58 overall pace! I've continued slowly mixing in more jogging and have managed stretches of running with surprisingly fast times, even with keeping a short stride. Even small amounts of running will really drop the overall pace time (Yes, Run-walk-run method on Line 1...). FWIW, according to the Garmin, I had some short stretches where I was hitting down in the 11's during some of the jogging portions.
But I can say that in that final mile and the .36 fraction of a mile, that I was really feeling the fatigue in my right leg even as I was hitting a sub-13 min/mile pace, which was cool. Temps going back up this week, so even better for getting some miles in and returning to race readiness.