Saturday, October 6, 2012

Take Two!

It's now 7 weeks since my right hip surgery and 17 weeks since my left. The last couple of months have felt like Groundhog Day, but I can profess to being a pro on the rehab steps following a hip labral repair! It's actually been much easier the second time around, partly because my second surgery was two hours shorter, but also because I knew that there was an end in sight, and light at the end of the rehab tunnel.

So, what have I been doing the last 7 weeks, and the ten weeks before that? Unbelievably, I've been spending more time "training" at the pool, on the bike, and in the gym than I do when I'm training full time for ironman. Since I woke up from my second surgery August 14th, I haven't missed a day on the bike, a day in the gym or seldom missed a day in the pool. Most days I'm at the gym on the spin bike, doing strengthening exercises, pool running, doing exercises in the shallow pool, and swimming with masters, along with three 90min PT sessions a week.

Last week, I started riding on the road again, and decided to break my Trek Madone out from hiding. I love this bike, and for the last two years, it's been hard for me to ride a road frame comfortably because of the closed hip angle and impingement issues I was having. I guess the yard sticks for improvement post surgery are different for everyone, but I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to ride a road bike again. As I start to build up for next season, I'll go back to my first love, my Trek Speed Concepts tri bike,  but in the meantime, it's fun to be a "roadie" for a while.

Next up on my countdown is my return to running next week, and flip turns in the pool (finally!) the next week. Onwards and upwards!