Well-Trained Bodies: March

[crazyforlatin]

@Jenny in Florida That is such a beautiful tree and lake, imagine walking past that every day. 

 Just ran 1.5 miles in the evening, deciding run up hills rather than extend the run on flat streets. 
 

Do you guys ever feel that the first .5 mile is the hardest? 

[Laura Corin]

7 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

@Jenny in Florida That is such a beautiful tree and lake, imagine walking past that every day. 

 Just ran 1.5 miles in the evening, deciding run up hills rather than extend the run on flat streets. 
 

Do you guys ever feel that the first .5 mile is the hardest? 

The hardest for me is often the bit before the first half mile - actually getting myself out the door/onto the mat.  I often use hills to get my heart going when I don't have time for longer walks. 

I'm still not on top form but getting there.  The weather has been glorious for the past few days - I've been watching gorgeous spring weather from my chair with some herbal tea and a novel in hand.  I walked to the Post Office (300 metres) last night.  Woohoo!

Today I'm officially back at work (at home).  I'll go for a short walk around the village at lunchtime and perhaps take a nap.

[Soror]

3 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

The hardest for me is often the bit before the first half mile - actually getting myself out the door/onto the mat.  I often use hills to get my heart going when I don't have time for longer walks. 

I'm still not on top form but getting there.  The weather has been glorious for the past few days - I've been watching gorgeous spring weather from my chair with some herbal tea and a novel in hand.  I walked to the Post Office (300 metres) last night.  Woohoo!

Today I'm officially back at work (at home).  I'll go for a short walk around the village at lunchtime and perhaps take a nap.

I'm so happy to hear you are feeling better. Did you ever test positive for Covid or is it just a cold? 

[Soror]

10 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

@Jenny in Florida That is such a beautiful tree and lake, imagine walking past that every day. 

 Just ran 1.5 miles in the evening, deciding run up hills rather than extend the run on flat streets. 
 

Do you guys ever feel that the first .5 mile is the hardest? 

I'm not a runner but in difficult workouts I notice that there are stages. At first, it is I've got this- it isn't so bad. Then I hit crap, I've only been going how long???? Then that adrenaline and endorphins hit and I'm back to this is hard but I can do it. Unless it is a really hard workout (like the EMOM HIIT yesterday). I hit the --it isn't so bad at first -- nope, it's hard-- yep, still hard-- dang-- got to break a minute so I don't puke--- ok HR recovered enough- this is hard but I'm going to make it-- damn I made it-- ya!!

 

[Soror]

Last week/5 more workouts- of my current workout program/strength cycle- 1 week until deload, woohoo

Today- upper body strength focused on shoulders, chest, and triceps-- 50 ish minutes total--

My butt is sore but feeling ok elsewhere (so far)

[Jenny in Florida]

Got out for a very short walk last night, more because the weather was lovely and I wanted to be outside than because I felt like walking.

I made it slightly less than 1K outside this morning, because the knee was feeling both tender and weak. I've found it feels better to step side-to-side than to actually walk on it, so I dug up one of the short walk with weight videos I used to do frequently and kind of followed along with that, subbing side steps for pretty much all leg movements. That earned me the equivalent of another .5K of steps. I followed it with the shorter gentle chair yoga video. 

Went for the knee MRI this morning, so I'm hoping to hear from the doctor in a day or two about next steps. Still crossing my fingers it's something that can be addressed with rest, but I am looking forward to having clear instructions about what I should and should not be doing.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 492.0 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 373 Days

[Laura Corin]

55 minutes ago, Soror said:

I'm so happy to hear you are feeling better. Did you ever test positive for Covid or is it just a cold? 

Thanks - no, LFT and PCR were negative.  Just a cold or flu.  Given that I had to crawl to the loo and back, I'm voting flu.

[MEmama]

46 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Thanks - no, LFT and PCR were negative.  Just a cold or flu.  Given that I had to crawl to the loo and back, I'm voting flu.

Ugh! 😞 

Glad you are on the other side of it! 

[wintermom]

I've been outside walking circles around the backyard with this little fella. He's here with mom and I now. So much fun! He seems to be a lap puppy. He's on mom's lap in this photo. Mom is in heaven. 😃

 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by wintermom

[MEmama]

He’s so adorable!! Those floppy ears! ❤️

[Laura Corin]

What a sweetheart! @wintermom

[Ali in OR]

Love the pup!

My workout early this morning was a cardio workout on YouTube. We found out last night our care provider is sick, so I knew I had to get dd up and ready for her day before school, so I got exercising about 5:30 instead of 6:00. I'm just tired now. Lots of schoolwork yesterday, up late, dh snored, dd screamed, got up early--just not enough sleep. I'm going to try for a short nap now.

[MEmama]

Day 7 post-op: my watch battery died at 1202 steps.

Nursed some soreness today so I didn’t venture out in the rain, just walked around the house whenever the cat wasn’t sleeping on me. 🙂 

[MEmama]

I just want to extend a huge Thank You to everyone here for encouraging me to continue rowing in the final weeks before my surgery, even when I was feeling a bit hopeless. The bloat is quickly receding from my abdomen, down now to just a protective “shelf” above the incision, and I’m able to finally—for the very first time in years—actually see the muscle and definition I've gained. I can’t even express how uplifting it is to look in a mirror and not only not look pregnant (!!) but actually pretty decent for being a week out of surgery. 
 

You all are an amazing group. I wish I could hug each one of you. ❤️

[Soror]

4 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I just want to extend a huge Thank You to everyone here for encouraging me to continue rowing in the final weeks before my surgery, even when I was feeling a bit hopeless. The bloat is quickly receding from my abdomen, down now to just a protective “shelf” above the incision, and I’m able to finally—for the very first time in years—actually see the muscle and definition I've gained. I can’t even express how uplifting it is to look in a mirror and not only not look pregnant (!!) but actually pretty decent for being a week out of surgery. 
 

You all are an amazing group. I wish I could hug each one of you. ❤️

That is wonderful! It makes me so happy to read how well you are doing. 

22 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Thanks - no, LFT and PCR were negative.  Just a cold or flu.  Given that I had to crawl to the loo and back, I'm voting flu.

That sounds miserable. I had the flu one year and it was rough. It is so sad to be stuck inside sick when there is nice weather, adding insult to injury. Here's hoping you continue to recover quickly and fully.

@wintermom soo cute! 

 

[Soror]

Today is leg/glute day--- a workout of lots of variations of Bulgarian lunges---

 

 

[Ali in OR]

Just finished bodyweight circuit x2 and Wakeup Yoga. Off to get dd up.

[Jenny in Florida]

Short, slow walk last night.

Slow 1.6K this morning, followed by about 20 minutes of strength stuff focusing on arms/upper body.

Feeling really down about all of the walks and events I can't commit to or plan for because of this stupid knee. In addition to the two WDW events already paid for and on my calendar for the end of this month, I got reminders yesterday about two annual charity walks I have done for the last few years that are coming up in the next month or so. I know this isn't a tragedy, but it's hitting me hard today.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 494.7 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 374 Days

[MEmama]

11 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Short, slow walk last night.

Slow 1.6K this morning, followed by about 20 minutes of strength stuff focusing on arms/upper body.

Feeling really down about all of the walks and events I can't commit to or plan for because of this stupid knee. In addition to the two WDW events already paid for and on my calendar for the end of this month, I got reminders yesterday about two annual charity walks I have done for the last few years that are coming up in the next month or so. I know this isn't a tragedy, but it's hitting me hard today.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 494.7 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 374 Days

It’s hard to get sidelined, especially when you’ve been crushing it! I hope you are able to go easy on yourself and that you get answers (and maybe more importantly, solutions) soon! 

[Soror]

5 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Short, slow walk last night.

Slow 1.6K this morning, followed by about 20 minutes of strength stuff focusing on arms/upper body.

Feeling really down about all of the walks and events I can't commit to or plan for because of this stupid knee. In addition to the two WDW events already paid for and on my calendar for the end of this month, I got reminders yesterday about two annual charity walks I have done for the last few years that are coming up in the next month or so. I know this isn't a tragedy, but it's hitting me hard today.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 494.7 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 374 Days

I'm sorry. It stinks. No it isn't a tragedy but injuries are still upsetting. I hope you get some good news soon.

[Soror]

I made it through my workout of bulgarian lunges. It is so nice to see how far I've came. When I started with Carolyn I went back to using mostly bodyweight for the bulgarians as the volume was so high I couldn't use as much weight as before. Well, today I did it with my second highest weight set. It was very hard. I feel so accomplished. To feel that what was the hard thing now feels so much easier. We had 100 heel elevated forward leaning lunges as the finisher before these felt so difficult especially to get good depth but today I knocked them out. Not easy but I did it.

I've been adding in extra stretching to my workouts but still feel some tightness in my hips. I'm ready for a week of easy exercise. I might make it 2. My body needs a break. Just 3 more workouts to go.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Soror

[wintermom]

Puppy and I have been "working out" doing all kinds of fun things. He's really good in his soft-sided carrier. Just snuggles up and chills. He's a smart pup, too, which makes training really easy but I have to be more aware that I'm not the one sending the wrong signal. 😉  For your viewing pleasure, more puppy!! 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by wintermom

[MEmama]

Day 8 post-op: 3595 steps

Had tons of energy today. Took two walks around the block and was pretty active around the house, comparatively. 

[Ali in OR]

Cardio Core Flow workout done.

[Jenny in Florida]

Didn't attempt an evening walk last night. I drove to Whole Foods and had to slam the brakes when someone changed lanes directly in front of me. I felt that in my knee and decided not to push more once I was home.

Felt pretty okay this morning so headed out for a walk, but made it only just over a kilometer.

My doctor called while I was searching for a seated upper body workout video that looked appealing. It turns out there is nothing torn, but the problem is damaged cartilage, rather than a strained or sprained ligament. She called the damage "quite advanced." I am being referred to an orthopedist.

I did the workout video.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 495.8 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 375 Days

[Laura Corin]

Feeling less wobbly today.  I managed a normal 2 1/2 mile lunchtime walk, just slower than normal.  I won't try any yoga this evening, but will finally mop the kitchen floor and hoover the other hard surfaces.

I'm sorry the enforced rest is so hard for you @Jenny in Florida.  Lovely puppy photo @wintermom As always, I'm in awe of your strength @Soror Your commitment to fitting exercise between your other responsibilities, @Ali in OR is admirable.  I'm glad you are recovering so well @MEmama

[Soror]

14 hours ago, MEmama said:

Day 8 post-op: 3595 steps

Had tons of energy today. Took two walks around the block and was pretty active around the house, comparatively. 

Ya!!! You are recovering so well.

54 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Didn't attempt an evening walk last night. I drove to Whole Foods and had to slam the brakes when someone changed lanes directly in front of me. I felt that in my knee and decided not to push more once I was home.

Felt pretty okay this morning so headed out for a walk, but made it only just over a kilometer.

My doctor called while I was searching for a seated upper body workout video that looked appealing. It turns out there is nothing torn, but the problem is damaged cartilage, rather than a strained or sprained ligament. She called the damage "quite advanced." I am being referred to an orthopedist.

I did the workout video.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 495.8 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 375 Days

How long until you can get into the orthopedist? No tear seems like good news but advanced damage does not sound good. 

25 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Feeling less wobbly today.  I managed a normal 2 1/2 mile lunchtime walk, just slower than normal.  I won't try any yoga this evening, but will finally mop the kitchen floor and hoover the other hard surfaces.

I'm sorry the enforced rest is so hard for you @Jenny in Florida.  Lovely puppy photo @wintermom As always, I'm in awe of your strength @Soror Your commitment to fitting exercise between your other responsibilities, @Ali in OR is admirable.  I'm glad you are recovering so well @MEmama

Thank you for the kind words. I'm happy to hear of your continued improvement.

[Soror]

Today was 'the pushup' workout. I've felt discouraged that I'm not making progress with pushups but I could see some improvement today. 

It was 52 minute workout- 8 minute warm-up+ cool down; 28 minutes pushup supersets; 11 min abs; 5 minutes- 100 pushup finisher

supersets for first 28 minute were 45 second set+ 30 second set with 30 second rest

I went 20-25 seconds for nearly every set - ie about half of the first set of each supeset and 2/3rd of the second. I was thrilled with that. Last pushup workout 6 months ago I did maybe 1/3 -1/2 of her time. Maybe in another 6 months I can do it all. 

I was able to do more reps of some of the variations than before. A couple of variations I still can't do very well at all but did what I could. I used my band for the tricep pushups, still lots of work to do on those.

The finisher was 33 decline, 33 regular, 33 incline pushups and 1 slow pushup. My declines were a very small ROM but I did all of the pushups from my toes (several breaks for the declines, did the 33 regular in 3 sets and inclines in 2 sets). I had been subbing regular for decline so that is another sign of progress. 

Lots of hard workouts this week with it being the last week- tomorrow is a rest day- 2 more workouts to go.

[Jenny in Florida]

50 minutes ago, Soror said:

How long until you can get into the orthopedist? No tear seems like good news but advanced damage does not sound good. 

TBD - My primary doctor did not refer to a specific ortho, so I have to deal with the referrals department before I can make an appointment. In theory, they should call me within 24 hours, but my experience suggests I will need to call them to get the ball rolling. Then it's a question of how long the wait is to get booked with the ortho. 

It's honestly driving me bonkers not having any guidance about what I should/should not be doing. All I can get out of my primary doctor is to "take it easy," ice and elevate when I need to and take the NSAID she prescribed. But, boy, would I love to have more details about what "take it easy" means in this context. 

[Laura Corin]

1 minute ago, Jenny in Florida said:

It's honestly driving me bonkers not having any guidance about what I should/should not be doing. All I can get out of my primary doctor is to "take it easy," ice and elevate when I need to and take the NSAID she prescribed. But, boy, would I love to have more details about what "take it easy" means in this context. 

FWIW - when I've had knee injuries from running, I've taken it very, very easy.  Basically doing as you are doing - only upper body work and very gentle stretching unless it hurts - until the pain stops.  Knees are just so involved in most exercise that it's hard to 'favour' them whilst continuing with exercise.  I hope that you get advice that allows you to do more.

[Jenny in Florida]

So, I finally got a look at the actual report from radiology. The findings include:

• Focally prominent subchondral marrow edema in the medial femoral condyle with mild irregularity of the articular surface.
• Greater than 50% thickness loss of articular cartilage over the peripheral medial condyle in the medial compartment.
• A 0.7 x 0.6 cm region of full-thickness articular cartilage loss in the lateral patella, with underlying marrow edema in the patellofemoral joint.
• Tricompartmental chondromalacia most advanced in the patella with grade IV chondromalacia.

I'm working hard not to panic, but none of this sounds great, and Google is not reassuring.

[Harriet Vane]

6 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

TBD - My primary doctor did not refer to a specific ortho, so I have to deal with the referrals department before I can make an appointment. In theory, they should call me within 24 hours, but my experience suggests I will need to call them to get the ball rolling. Then it's a question of how long the wait is to get booked with the ortho. 

It's honestly driving me bonkers not having any guidance about what I should/should not be doing. All I can get out of my primary doctor is to "take it easy," ice and elevate when I need to and take the NSAID she prescribed. But, boy, would I love to have more details about what "take it easy" means in this context. 

A good physical therapist who has a sports mindset and who believes how hard you work at exercising will have much, much better advice than a doctor. They are simply more used to figuring out movement with issues. 

[MEmama]

Day 9 post-op: 3250 steps.

Felt really strong again today. Took a long (ha) walk outside just as the snow started to fall. 

[Harriet Vane]

I am taking it easy for a couple weeks. We're in Colorado, me to just keep working as usual and dh to ski. (My joints and especially my knees just can't take the stress of skiing.) I have been short of breath and groggy for days--the altitude is tougher on me than it has been in the past. I am still holding to some Tues-Thurs gentle maintenance, but otherwise I'm mostly resting. I plan to amp up my aerobic exercise when we return. 

[Laura Corin]

8 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

So, I finally got a look at the actual report from radiology. The findings include:

• Focally prominent subchondral marrow edema in the medial femoral condyle with mild irregularity of the articular surface.
• Greater than 50% thickness loss of articular cartilage over the peripheral medial condyle in the medial compartment.
• A 0.7 x 0.6 cm region of full-thickness articular cartilage loss in the lateral patella, with underlying marrow edema in the patellofemoral joint.
• Tricompartmental chondromalacia most advanced in the patella with grade IV chondromalacia.

I'm working hard not to panic, but none of this sounds great, and Google is not reassuring.

I wonder how much of that is normal-for-age and how much is actually causing the pain. I've no idea.

[Laura Corin]

9 hours ago, Harriet Vane said:

A good physical therapist who has a sports mindset and who believes how hard you work at exercising will have much, much better advice than a doctor. They are simply more used to figuring out movement with issues. 

Yes.  The medical system is different here, but for reference: I went to my GP because my knee kept hurting and got an x-ray and diagnosis.  His advice was very general - keep moving but rest it when it hurts, use painkillers/ice/heat as necessary.  I then went separately to a well-qualified physiotherapist who, because of his clientele, has a lot of experience with sports injuries and with people who are really keen to keep exercising.  He was able to give me specific exercises to strengthen the knee and also advice about how to proceed.

[Soror]

Rest day today--- light yoga+ easy walking-- maybe some work outside 

Nothing strenuous today abut aiming for a fair amount of low level activity

[Ali in OR]

Thursday is dumbbell workout day, but I needed shorter than 32 minutes so I tried a new one, Pahla B, hoping it would be more appropriate for my age and strength than the younger ones! And I discover that I still have trouble lifting my right arm out from my body and there was a lot of that. I had to put down the weights for a couple of moves and I don't think I got as good a workout as usual. Hoping to get back to my regular routine next week.

[Jenny in Florida]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I wonder how much of that is normal-for-age and how much is actually causing the pain. I've no idea.

Definitely not normal-for-age. This specific condition is much more commonly found in younger people. (My husband was diagnosed when he was a pre-teen, actually.) It's commonly referred to as "runner's knee."

[Laura Corin]

Added my morning sun salutations back in today - I've been feeling too wobbly in the mornings recently.  Faster walk including hills at lunchtime, but I'm avoiding adding in an evening work out for a few days to build up slowly.

[Jenny in Florida]

@Harriet Vane, @Laura Corin - I'm a bit cynical about physical therapy, honestly. I mean, I suspect that is what's going to be prescribed once I get to the orthopedist, and I will absolutely follow instructions and do my exercises and so on. I'm actually a really good, obedient and cooperative patient. However, I did three full rounds of physical therapy (three separate prescriptions from two doctors at two different facilities) to rehab the broken arm, address knee pain caused by arthritis and sort of incidentally try to improve strength and range of motion in my left arm (the side on which they removed lymph nodes during the mastectomy). 

Almost two years post-break, despite the fact that I did everything I was told to do by both doctors and physical therapists and have continued to exercise multiple days a week every week in the intervening time, I have never regained full strength or range of motion in my right arm. (Example: I can't reliably remove a mug of coffee from the microwave mounted over the range.)

My left arm and chest are still tight and weaker than pre-mastectomy.

And, ultimately, the knee pain required medication to (temporarily) resolve. And, again despite my being careful and regularly doing the exercises I was taught to strengthen and maintain my knees . . . well, here we are.

To be clear: I don't "blame" any of this on the doctors or physical therapists. I'm certain I received great care from competent professionals who did their best. I just think that, at my age and with the variety of sort of low-level physical stuff bubbling under the surface, better-but-never-as-good-as-it-was is the best I can expect. And that's a downer given how big a role walking has played in my physical and mental health for the last few years.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Jenny in Florida

[Jenny in Florida]

Once more, no evening walk last night. It was my son's birthday, so he and his girlfriend came over to visit after work and then we all went to dinner. By the time we got home, all I could manage was a couple of hours on the couch streaming TV with an ice bag on my knee.

Walked a very slow (like, I'm literally moving at half the speed I normally walk) 1.5K, then came home and did a different seated upper body workout by the same person whose video I did yesterday.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 497.3 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 376 Days

[Harriet Vane]

52 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

@Harriet Vane, @Laura Corin - I'm a bit cynical about physical therapy, honestly. I mean, I suspect that is what's going to be prescribed once I get to the orthopedist, and I will absolutely follow instructions and do my exercises and so on. I'm actually a really good, obedient and cooperative patient. However, I did three full rounds of physical therapy (three separate prescriptions from two doctors at two different facilities) to rehab the broken arm, address knee pain caused by arthritis and sort of incidentally try to improve strength and range of motion in my left arm (the side on which they removed lymph nodes during the mastectomy). 

Almost two years post-break, despite the fact that I did everything I was told to do by both doctors and physical therapists and have continued to exercise multiple days a week every week in the intervening time, I have never regained full strength or range of motion in my right arm. (Example: I can't reliably remove a mug of coffee from the microwave mounted over the range.)

My left arm and chest are still tight and weaker than pre-mastectomy.

And, ultimately, the knee pain required medication to (temporarily) resolve. And, again despite my being careful and regularly doing the exercises I was taught to strengthen and maintain my knees . . . well, here we are.

To be clear: I don't "blame" any of this on the doctors or physical therapists. I'm certain I received great care from competent professionals who did their best. I just think that, at my age and with the variety of sort of low-level physical stuff bubbling under the surface, better-but-never-as-good-as-it-was is the best I can expect. And that's a downer given how big a role walking has played in my physical and mental health for the last few years.

I hear ya. I've had to accept those inconsistencies as well. Sometimes I cannot be "fixed" because I have a chronic condition (Ehler's Danlos and bone spurs on my spine). Sometimes I cannot be fixed because my body is aging. Almost anything can at least be improved, but it's terribly sad when it's not fixed. We literally mourn when our body just doesn't rise to full healing. Warm hugs for you.

Some thoughts: 

I looked up runner's knee. When I was at the start of my journey to put myself back together after sepsis, my joints were a complete mess both due to deconditioning from the illness and from the constant shifting related to Ehler's-Danlos. The only real helps for that shifting are strength training, manual adjustments, and bracing. (And my joints are still a mess because there is no cure for EDS, but strength training and adjustments have improved my lot considerably. I have also used braces, but I do so sparingly until I have achieved enough strength to ditch the brace.)

My knees always hurt, but at that time post-sepsis they hurt specifically. When I looked up runner's knee and the braces suggested for that, I am guessing that that or something similar was part of the mix for me. It's only a guess.

What helped me get through the exercises I needed to do at the time was to wrap a long Ace bandage immediately UNDER the patella (top of the shin/calf, right up against the patella). I did this in a specific way--first a layer of flat wrapping, then 2-3 twisty tubes (each about a finger's thickness) immediately under the patella, and then a just layer or two of flat wrapping on top of those tubes to stabilize the whole system. The thicker tubes must touch the bottom of the patella. The effect was to hold my patella UP where it needed to be. Movement was much, much less painful when I did this.

(Edited to add--when you twist the Ace bandage into tubes, it should be twisty in FRONT, under the patella, but then FLAT in the back of the knee. If you twist the bandage all the way around in a full circle, it's really uncomfortable on the back of the knee.)

There are braces that claim to do this. I had more luck with a long Ace bandage, but ymmv.

I don't know if that will help you, but thought I'd throw the suggestion out there just in case.

My last encouragement is to say that almost anything can be improved through physical therapy, even if it cannot be fixed. Your feelings are completely valid--they really are. But improvement is better than nothing. I have had a tough time finding PTs who would believe me about the amount of work I am willing to do. They see my dumpy, middle-aged body and go light. I have fired PTs who couldn't get their act together (no drama--just quietly switched to a different facility). I have also told PTs directly how much exercise I do and how hard I am willing to work. A treasured few rose to the occasion with creativity and rigor, and I made real progress with them. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Harriet Vane

[Jenny in Florida]

@Harriet Vane Thanks for the encouragement.

As I said, I'll definitely follow through with the orthopedist and, if recommended, physical therapy. And I will try to be pleased with whatever improvement I can gain. It's just that, based on my previous experience, I have every reason to assume I will not be able to go back to what I was doing, let alone to get back on track to be working up towards more/longer/faster walking, as I had hoped and planned. Walking has been the one thing I have found in the last few years that gave me the sense of being able to work towards goals (something that is absolutely integral to my mental health). 

So, yeah, not a tragedy, but still a bummer.

[MEmama]

Day 10 post-op: 5,147 steps.

Felt terrific today, took 3 walks outside. Might be paying for it now, though, so I’m taking a CBD gummy and calling it a night. 

[crazyforlatin]

Ran 2.25 miles up some hills and now my right knee is feeling it, so tomorrow I’m planning to do some upper body workouts using the Transform app. @soror that sounds like an intense upper body workout, that’s one of my goals this year, strength training. For now I’ll just settle for toning the arms so I can wear sleeveless shirts this summer. Surely that requires less work. Um right?

@Harriet Vane I have knee braces and didn’t find them that helpful, and I like your idea of tying Ace bandages. It’ll just be for my right knee. 

[Laura Corin]

14 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

@Harriet Vane Thanks for the encouragement.

As I said, I'll definitely follow through with the orthopedist and, if recommended, physical therapy. And I will try to be pleased with whatever improvement I can gain. It's just that, based on my previous experience, I have every reason to assume I will not be able to go back to what I was doing, let alone to get back on track to be working up towards more/longer/faster walking, as I had hoped and planned. Walking has been the one thing I have found in the last few years that gave me the sense of being able to work towards goals (something that is absolutely integral to my mental health). 

So, yeah, not a tragedy, but still a bummer.

It sounds really hard.  I've had to give up, finally after many tries, the idea of ever running again.  My knee just can't do it.  And any serious quantitative goals in other areas are often side-tracked by injury.  I'm not finding it easy to realise that, at almost 59, my goal in general has to be 'do what I can with what I have'.  My solace is that, if I hadn't started to try to get fitter about ten years ago, my 'what I have' would be at a much lower level and my 'do what I can' would also be much less. 

My current realisation is that the long-distance walk that I had planned for my 60th birthday may have to be much more set about with caveats.  Instead of point-to-point daily hikes, I think it will be a series of circular walks across the countryside, with location changes by car in the evenings, including the assumption that at least one of the days will have to be smaller walks or no walks at all.  I should have done it at 55, but I was knee-deep in young adult/aged mother crisis at the time.  Oh well.

[Jenny in Florida]

@Laura Corin - I can so relate. Ever since I got seriously into walking a few years ago, I have wanted to go on one of those educational walking tours with Road Scholar or a similar organization. I've been kind of waiting until the pandemic calmed down and I (and my husband, who might not come with me but would lose his mind with anxiety if I tried to push it) felt more comfortable with travel. I actually just sent out my passport renewal app a couple of weeks ago, to make sure I was ready whenever things aligned.

And now there is a very good possibility I've missed my chance.

(And now, Jenny attempts to dig herself out of the pit of self-pity . . .)

I ended up accidentally going for a longer walk and finishing my 500K challenge last night. My husband and I signed up a couple of months ago for a fund-raising event we've done in the past that involves a short stroll around a lake at a park in downtown Orlando. We discussed for the last couple of days whether I would be up to even that much, but I decided I really needed the break and the excuse to get outside. (We had already made our financial contributions, so it wouldn't have impacted the organization if we had bowed out.) I took a second pill, which I don't do on a normal day, put on my knee brace and hoped for the best. With occasional breaks to sit down, I managed the walk from the parking garage to the park and then the official walk around the lake, but I had to ask my husband to bring back the car and collect me from the park. While I was waiting on the corner, my tracking app lit up to celebrate me reaching my 500K goal. 

Then it was back home for some couch time with my friend the ice bag.

This morning was a carbon copy of yesterday: Walked a slow 1.5K, then came home and did a different seated upper body workout by the same person whose video I did yesterday.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 502.4 of 500K
Daily Walking Streak: 377 Days

[Harriet Vane]

I did some core work yesterday and the usual, never-ending PT.

We're in Colorado--I am working as per usual (aside from time with two friends who live in Colorado), but dh is skiing. We lost both his parents last year after intense dementia journeys (one long and slow, the other one much faster, and both terribly painful and intense). So much of our travel in recent years has been to help them or deal with their property. My dh sat at each parent's bedside almost constantly for a full week each when they passed on (February and early December). So much sadness. Now that that chapter is closed, it was time for dh to play. I asked only that we go to Colorado specifically (rather than Utah or Canada) because I have two very dear friends here. 

Here's the thing. I am terribly afraid of heights. I cannot ski due to my joints, though early in our marriage I did enjoy green or blue runs. Anything more challenging than that triggers my terrible fear--I freeze up and if it's prolonged or really high, I just cry. I cannot help it. I have driven multiple times through the Appalachian mountains and I actually do alright with that as long as I am on the highway. The highway is wide and there are guardrails, so it's okay. Here in southern Colorado, it is very, very rural on a scale I have never dealt with before. We drove hours one day seeing only grain elevators and no gas stations. We have driven hours without seeing fast food chains. (We don't mind that one bit, but it's just a new landscape for us.) We stayed in one place that was accessible only by a lengthy, high, dirt/gravel road--we drove in a full eleven miles on that, and then out another seventeen. 

I slept really, really badly last night. There was drama throughout the day because it was snowing. Ds is joining us for a few days, and the airport is 2+ hours west on the other side of a notoriously high and dangerous mountain pass that goes directly over the continental divide. I did not know this road was what would have to be traveled to fetch ds. Next week he has to be brought to the same airport, and then I will see the second of my dear Colorado friends because she lives an hour from that airport. So we weren't sure if ds' flight would be canceled or not due to snow, and whether it be safe to go over that mountain pass in the snow. My local friends said wait it out, but the local muscle said, "It's fine." Oy. (Men!) We ended up getting ds a hotel room by that airport, and dh ventured over the pass to get him this morning when the roads were better (not fully clear but less snow and the sun shining). I was so worried about him driving that snowy pass I just could not sleep.

So today's fitness goal is to nap, do PT stuff, and try to survive. All my muscles were so locked down yesterday and all night, I'm actually sore.  Looking at the route and reading about it online left me shaken and I feel fragile.  

And the question before me is what to do about getting ds to the airport next week. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, which helps. It will be warm enough next week that the road will likely be free of snow. But it's still a notoriously high, steep mountain pass with switchbacks and sheer drops and everything. Options:

--Suck it up, buttercup. The worst part should be just over an hour. (Total driving time is just over 2 hours, but traversing the pass takes a little more than an hour.)

--Rely on ds (almost 21yo) to drive the trip to the airport while I close my eyes. He's a really solid driver and an athlete with excellent instincts and reaction time. There have been times I have thought he's a better driver than his dad. I keep wavering between thinking I should drive as the more experienced driver versus wondering if the sheer drops will trigger the fear-of-heights tears. I am dead certain the road will be far more than anything the Appalachians has ever thrown at me. I believe I would stay engaged--of my entire family, I am the one who copes best in any crisis because my assessment and reaction speeds up (as opposed to others who freeze in a crisis). Then after dropping ds off at the airport I would hang out with my friend for a day and drive back in the morning. At that point I would have the choice of driving the dreaded pass one more time or driving around it an extra two hours. There are mountains everywhere, but there are roads that are lower and flatter.

--The option I think ds will be horrified to even suggest is that we both drive together around the pass, which means a four-hour drive to the airport, and then I do the same work-around to get home. 

Why isn't dh driving, you ask? Because half the point of choosing this location was for me to see my dear friend. She cannot come to me due to work schedule, and ds has to be at that airport anyway. 

 

[Laura Corin]

@Harriet Vane I'm the same about freezing up skiing. Baby slopes were my limit. I hope you have warm weather and easy driving. It doesn't look as if there are good choices, maybe just least worst.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Laura Corin