My Second Run

Tonight I ran for the second time. I was really suprised how much my quads hurt after the run on Saturday, but they were very sore. I did well tonight and I noticed that even my breathing felt better. Not great, but an improvement. I missed running so much that even these short 3 mile run/walks feel awesome. I felt refreshed as I finished. The pain that comes with sore muscles and fatigue is like an old lost friend. Goals... Keeping the eye on the prize.... For me it is losing 30lbs, getting back into cardio shape and running the Crim at the end of the summer. 10 miles of fun.... A great race that I have ran several times before, and if I had to do it today, I would die!!!! But, I will be ready...

http://www.crim.org/

Sign you are out of shape

Woke up this morning after I had run/walked that incredible distance of 3 miles yesterday, and I discovered that I needed my good old friend........ I'm pathetic.....

Yeah!!!! First one out of the way

I went to the gym today and ran on the indoor track. The track at my gym is very nice and soft. It is seven laps for a mile. That is approx 251 yards a lap. I alternated walking and running. I walked the first lap, ran the second, walked the third.... I think you get the idea. My legs felt light and full of energy for the first time in a very, very long time. I did however have some parastesia (numbness) in my left foot radiating to my 4th and 5th toe. Its probably an irritated nerve from the surgery. I noticed some burning type of feeling along my left lower leg (where I had symptoms before). This was concerning to me, but the more I ran the more it went away. I ended up doing 21 laps of which 10 of those I ran. That's 2510 yards or 7530 ft or 1.42 miles of running and 1.58 miles of walking.

By the way, has anyone seen my lungs.... I think I left them back in the gym.... going to take awhile to build my "runner lungs" back up.

First Run Today

Going to attempt to run today. I am supposed to wait another week, but as usual I am an impatient man. ....... Stay tuned for details......................

First Week Done!!!

Well, I just finished my first week back at work. I was very busy. I put about 1000 miles on the odometer and visited at least 10 hospitals and 15 Doctors offices. Picture of my legs below:

Of course I am kidding but it is the way they felt by friday night. I am swelling worse in my left leg than my right. Probaly because of the area of scar tissue that he removed and that is the leg where I had my infection. I need to get to the Medical Supply store and get some type of TED hose or compression stocking for when I am working. I spend hours in the car driving and it I believe it is worse for venous stasis. On the bright side, my muscles feel strong... Only 2 more weeks before I can start some light jogging.

Insomnia

Last night I did not sleep. I kept waking up because I was getting this cramping feeling in my calves. My toes kept jumping upward. I realized at 4am that maybe my first week back to work was tougher on my legs than I had thought. I sat on the bed, in the dark, and massaged the muscles along my shin. I could feel the the facial hernia's that come from the muscle bulging outward. The incisions are still sore.

I got home tonite and found that my lower legs were swollen. Maybe not like the elephant man, but I could tell the difference. Tomorrow, I will shop for some compression stockings. I guess 10 hours on my feet and 4 of those hours driving is too much for my healing legs.... It was still worth it!!!! I am so glad to be back at work.....

The Morning After

Ok, so yesterday I had my first workout since my surgery. I woke up this morning at 0600. There I was, lying in bed, and I could feel the covers rubbing on my incisions. I hate that prickly feeling I get when anything touches them. I expected some soreness from my first workout the evening before. I wiggled my toes and did some flexing of my foot..... no pain.. I then sat up and hit the floor with my feet and stood up... No pain.... I was a little stiff but there was no post workout muscle pain. I was very pleased. I have also been back to work for two days and my legs feel great. Today I put 200 miles on the car and went to 5 Doctors offices and two hospitals, and my legs felt great. The only discomfort I am having is on my incisions which should go away over the next couple of months... I'm hoping.....

My First Workout....

Tonite I went to the gym for my first cardio workout post surgery. I did 30 minutes of cycling and walking 3.8mph on the tread climber. I also did some weight training on my legs and calves as well as some stretching. It felt really good to exercise and have no numbness in my feet. Also missing was the burning feeling that I have had in my legs for about 6 months. I am weak and out of shape, but my legs felt better than I would have imagined.

My schedule for the next 3 weeks.

#1 week- keep cardio workouts to 30 minutes. incorporate stretching and light weight lifting.

#2 week- increase cardio to 45 minutes. continue with the stretching and light weight lifting. increase weight as tolerated.

#3 week- push cardio workouts to 60 minutes if possible. I will do this by interval training on several different machines.

Also, I am using a wobble board and half of Styrofoam tube to strengthen my ankle ligaments and calf muscles. The picture below shows how I use the wobble board. I usually stand on it one leg at a time and balance myself. On the half foam roller, I stand on the roller on the long axis with one leg at a time and balance myself. It may look easy, but it causes quite a burn.