Post Op 13 Weeks!

The usual weekly update...

Brief history, microdiscectomy on L5-S1 for a 1.5 cm herniation and bulging disc on Jan 5 of this year.

The tempo swims are going awesome. I'm getting the half lap back done in 20 seconds or less typically. I really hope for an awesome under 30 minute mile when I do my next mile swim for time. I would need to shave about 7 seconds per lap to do that and I think that will be very close to do-able :).

The weights are going well. The SHELCS are killing my hamstrings and my balance still isn't great coming back down from those but I'll get there. The hip weakness on the right makes the balance a bit off. It's really close, close enough on the step ups and doing pretty much everything else, but trying to lower my booty back to the ground when doing those requires pretty good control with both hips equally. That is not yet the case.

Continuing with the 40 lb assist on the pullup/dips but soon I'll be upping from three sets of six to three sets of eight.

And kettlebells, day one I had a couple kettlebell kisses but it'd been months since I did snatches. Since the first day no more bruised wrists!

I'm running two miles now, it's difficult definitely but last nights two mile run was much easier than the mile and a half last week. I might also be better hydrated, really trying to keep up on that particularly when running after work.

Other random things I'm down a full 14 lbs since my surgery. To go to what I've always considered my "normal" is now only 5-7 lbs away (varied day to day by those couple pounds). Very exciting! I'll be trying on the clothes I have stored very soon! My wonderful sister will be telling me what to keep and what to toss. She's awesome!

I've still had a little bit of lower back pain, still I think lingering from the shoveling the other day. But much MUCH improved and now not so bad in the mornings, only after I start doing things. I thought maybe it was the running, but last night running made absolutely no difference so shoveling it must have been. I could really go for an awesome massage though! Really miss those.

9 Weeks Yesterday!

It was a super busy night at work but I really wanted to post on the week marks. Yesterday was week nine since my microdiscectomy at level L5-S1. It's been 5 weeks since I've been back to work and 3 weeks back in the gym.

How are things going? Work, well I'm already sick of being back! I love my job though, truly. I have an amazing job and work with great people. Really can't ask for more. Except maybe for everyone to NOT get sick at the same time. Space it out people!

And in the gym, things are going fantastic! I'm swimming a mile a couple days a week and the water aerobics on Wednesday. On Wednesday I do a ton of leg stuff in the water to help balance my hip strength. My right hip was significantly weaker when I first started out in the gym. Today, I have no more pain in my gluteus while working out or after and the muscle fatigue sets in about 80% of the way through the workout in the right hip and thigh rather than at the beginning of my workout. My right is still weaker, however it's probably close to 80% strength of my left hip and thigh now.

The weight lifting, I'm lifting my 15 lb dumbells (total of 30 lbs) yet this week. Doing lots of step ups as well after my weight lifting routine below, copied from my earlier post when I returned to blogging :)

For this first 6 weeks, Super set 1: wide squats, narrow squats, and deadlifts. 

Super set 2: Bench press and chest fly's. 

Super set 3: Split squat, shoulder press, and overhead tricep extension (with just one dumb bell for that last one). All at 15 reps of two sets. 

Then of course the pull up/dip station (changed to a 55 lb assist from 70)

 After that over to the stepper and doing boring boring step ups forward, backward, lateral. 

Those are also all 2 sets of 15 reps. 

My routine as above is going for this week and an additional two weeks after that. Week 12 I'll probably steal a routine from New Rules of Lifting (the men's version). Next week I'm very excited about something. I GET TO RUN AGAIN!!!! So my plan is to add in a half mile of running on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I start an hour later at work those days so it'll be easier to run with the extra time. 

I really can't wait to start running again and registration just opened for my first half that I'm doing in September. I need to register for that as well as for my 10k in June. It really is awesome to have my body back. I had it taken away for so long with the pain and now, just the absolute joy I feel waking up in the morning, it's pretty great. 

Another Weekend Gone

But not wasted!

My kitchen chairs arrived Thursday so Friday when I got home from work I finished assembling them. So nice to have actual kitchen chairs since I sawed off the legs of a table to make it short enough for my kitchen (it was the counter height previously). And I only bought that table to get the chairs they refused to sell without the table. So it was a craft table until I hated my kitchen table and gave it away because I couldn't look at it for one more moment. Then I had no table and no chairs in my kitchen. Some days are like that, I just dislike something and one day I wake up and decide I'm done. Irrevocably. And that glass topped table, I hated that thing. And the awful custom tile shower I sledgehammered. Couldn't do one more day.

One of my friends came and kept me company Saturday night while I removed glue from my bathroom walls. I managed to only have 5 steam burns from the steamer. Calling that a win! And came off much better than with the chemical remover. I have about four hours of wallpaper glue removal left I think. It's a boring process and wish I had more friends to hang with while I did the rest. My little guy helped by watching and sitting on the step ladder ;). He's too cute! Overall, about 6 hours Saturday night, another 4 hours on Sunday. Getting there! Next weekend finishing that and ripping up the floor. Big plans!

And made it to the gym Saturday for an amazing workout. After the workout I brought Lil Man into the pool with me. He had a great time splashing and playing and jumping off the edge and into my arms. No one else was in there so we weren't disturbing any lap swimmers :). Visited my aunt as well and even managed to clean my car.

Sunday had my dad and daughter over for dinner. Cajun chicken linguni. No where near as good as what they serve at Red Lobster, but it'll do :). Lil Man loved playing with Big Sister, he was waiting for her to get done with work all day long. Dad fixed the J channels for the mirrors in the bathroom before dinner too. So much to do yet in there... Then finally everyone left at almost 11pm and I was able to take MY first bath in the bathtub! Very enjoyable!

This morning I did a mile in the pool, it was very busy. Two per lane and when doing the side stroke and breast stroke sometimes the person on the inside of the lane, their foot goes under the line and onto the other side. Really happens ALL THE TIME. I've been kicked more times than I can count. It happens in a small lap pool like that. Today, I was doing the side stroke facing away from the center line. The guy on the other side was a really quiet swimmer and with the side stroke, I couldn't see him. I ended up kicking him 3 times. At the end of the lane when we were both there I apologized, because well, crap happens but still nice to say sorry. And he goes into this tirade of how I should be more careful and that I could kick someone in the head and that he knows it's not his fault because he was on his side of the line and that I kicked him 5 times (It was 3!) and I need to have more control of my swimming... 

Jerk, I said sorry. Move on. And yeah, predominantly my fault because I did kick him. But I am NOT an uncontrolled swimmer! When I hear someone close (or see them if I can see them), I minimize my kick until we pass, that minimizing is restrictive and less controlled. And when someone is doing the breast stroke on the other side of the line and I'm swimming, I watch for them too. He clearly was not making any effort to avoid being kicked. Can't see you, quiet swimmer so can't hear you... So, yeah. And I was making a ton of effort to attempt to avoid him. In all the miles of swimming I've done he's the only person I've kicked more than once and I very VERY rarely kick anyone. I'm more often kicked than the one kicking people. He was new to the pool, well I haven't seen him before anyway. But I can guarantee that if he doesn't also make an effort to avoid being kicked, he's going to get kicked by more than just me :). And I'll feel vindicated!

No dating life to update. Thinking if I don't accidentally meet someone at Menards in the next few months, maybe after my half marathon and Tough Mudder in September and October, and hopefully a trip to Florida or San Diego in October, then when that's all done, I might consider re-opening a dating profile. Maybe. Or maybe not. I really don't want to do random dating. I want to like someone and have it just happen. But well, where would I meet someone? Wait around in the veggie area at the store for a guy carrying a basket instead of pushing a cart? Has to be veggies, want a healthy guy. Basket implies single. Or ask a guy at Menards to help fix something? You'd think a guy fixing his own place would at least be generally stable. Eh, someday... 

In Recovery! Return to Blogging!

So some of you may have been wondering where I went. I spent about a year being nearly unable to walk but still managed to get to the gym a little anyway. So this January I had back surgery. A microdiscectomy at level L5-S1, herniated by 14mm. I'm seven weeks post op about and at week six I was allowed back in the gym!

Most important thing, despite pain and agony and near death, I still did the Tough Mudder last year. Biggest priority of the year and only thing that was going to stop me was death itself :).

I'm back at the gym and swimming 3 days a week. I managed to maintain swimming last year till about October before I couldn't do that anymore either. My mile record pre-surgy was 39:00 in a saltwater pool. This Monday, 6w6d post op, I was only 40 seconds shy of my pre-surg PR!!! 39:40
Three days a week will be spent in the pool indefinitely. Two days swimming a mile, mid week water aerobics.

Other awesome news, I'm allowed to lift a total of 30 lbs, though I started with 20, two ten pound dumbbells for my first week and decided to stick with that for week two. Upping that at 10 lbs every two weeks though my doc said never with the bar across my shoulders at more than 50 lbs as a lifetime restriction. For this first 6 weeks, Super set 1: wide squats, narrow squats, and deadlifts. Super set 2: Bench press and chest fly's. Super set 3: Split squat, shoulder press, and overhead tricep extension (with just one dumb bell for that last one). All at 15 reps of two sets. Then of course the pull up/dip station with a 70 lb assist for now. Taking it easy you know ;). After that over to the stepper and doing boring boring step ups forward, backward, lateral. My right hip is much weaker than my right and it will take time to get that rebalanced strength. Those are also all 2 sets of 15 reps. 

Followed by the stationary bike for 30 min steady state or intervals depending on my mood. Then stretching for 10-15 min. I used to end with yoga but the scar tissue is currently too irritated to do that. So basic everything stretching. 

At week 10 I'll be allowed to run again starting at half a mile and upping no more than half a mile a week. Training will begin for my 10k this summer and my first half marathon this September followed by the Tough Mudder two weeks after that! 

In more personal news, I was in a great deal of pain nearly all of 2015. I left my very verbally and emotionally abusive ex in 2014. I made some bad choices and attempted to work things out with him very briefly this past year. Part of that was giving up. Depression caused by the pain made me have very little motivation or care much about what happened to me. He threatened to punch me and the police were called. He'd been physically violent with me before and I wasn't going to end up someone's punching bag. We were done. Truthfully we were done before we started. I knew he was not what I wanted and only tried because I felt like I was supposed to. The only thing I can be glad about with trying again with him is that I kept separation even during the trial, he moved back into my house but in a separate bedroom. It didn't take long even with that separation for him to attempt to control me again. I always want to believe people are better than they are and that they learn from their mistakes and wont hurt me again. Truth is people are who they show you they are. 

I've been doing everything as a single parent since my son was born basically and I met someone who I thought was ok with this shortly before my surgery. That person seemed to be everything I wanted and was looking for. A guy who takes care of his kids and cares about what happens to me. Someone who values fitness and clean eating. Who lives his life in a way that meshes well with mine. Someone I could picture growing with and decorating Christmas tree's with every year. This ended, but confirmed two things for me. I do very much know exactly what I want and I don't have to accept less. Ok, I learned something else too, my son is not a complication, he's the best part of me.

I am for the first time in years pain free! And fully happy. It's a good day to be alive :).