Back into a new routine

It's so nice to be settled. And by settled, I mean in a house with boxes and stuff all over the basement, and a dryer in the middle of my master bedroom and nothing hanging on the walls, except for a few things I just threw up there and will probably take down and hang somewhere else in a few weeks. By settled, I mean, I have a mile long list of things to do in the house, not to mention furniture to eventually buy and so much more. 

But, it's mine. The house is mine. The neighborhood is mine. The commute to work is mine. The new community center membership is mine. The physical therapy appointments are mine. It's a new routine and, damn, it feels good to be back into one. 

Over the weekend, friends and family got me moved into the new house. We got it all done in two hours. Literally, we started at 10 and were sitting down shortly after noon. And that included about a 20 minute drive from the old place to the new. It. Was. Fantastic. 

With all the moving and lifting of boxes, all I did for PT was foam roll, take the stick to my legs and work the lacrosse ball all over my butt while I watched multiple episodes of Leverage and unpacked the occasional box here and there.

I took a kettlebell conditioning class at my old crossfit gym on Monday. It was odd, walking back into that gym, with it's familiar smells (a combination of sweat, chalk and garage), music, and chatter. But, as soon as the workout started, it no longer felt odd, it just felt right. My old coach was all, "You didn't forget how to do this correctly," and I was all, "Heck no, I didn't!". I was exhausted and tired by the end of the 20 minute workout, and completely happy. Because it was so good, I have to share it:

20 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)
-20 swings
-5 abmat situps
-20 cleans (10 left, 10 right)
-5 pushups
-20 snatches (10 left, 10 right)
-5 abmat situps
-10 squats (5 w/bell cleaned left, 5 w/bell cleaned right)
-5 pushups

I got in 4 rounds exactly. Then, coach invited me to stay for the crossfit workout, but I decided to stop while I was ahead. 

To be honest, I don't even remember Tuesday. 

Yesterday, I had my second PT appointment. I like this new routine as well - it's different from the routine in Denver, but equally as good. I warmed up on the upright ex bike, was honest that I didn't do my exercises because I moved and then took a kettlebell class and that is pretty much a hip and butt workout so I didn't see the need to do anything Tuesday. 

Then I did more of the semi-squat position-touch out with one leg thing. This time, he switched it up by having me touch forward and behind, like a curtsy, but a very athletic-looking one. Always keeping me on my toes, that new PT.

We also did reverse lunges, which I haven't done since before surgery and I was a little wobbly when standing on my surgical leg. PT said "aha!" and I just knew he was looking for every muscle weakness possible, and in my head I thought, "damnnit." Those small muscle weaknesses are more annoying than the big ones, in my opinion. 

I have one more appointment scheduled next week and that may be the end of weekly appointments. Hopefully that also means starting running soon, although I've resigned myself to waiting until May until that happens. It's a little disappointing, but I have to remember those two months where I didn't make any progress because I wasn't seeing anyone. And at least I am making progress. And moving forward. And have gym homework again. 

Newness really does renew

http://community.runnersworld.com/blog/newness-really-does-renew

I don't know about you, but I am one who can either get really excited about change or really grumpy about change. Before it happens, I get really nervous. After it happens, the excitement or grumpiness is completely dependent on whether or not I like it. 

I know. You are shocked at this revelation. 

The new PT, thankfully, has me really excited. I have already made the commitment to be completely honest with him, so when he asked me how my hip had been since I last saw him, I was honest: it was at a 5 for most of the week and I not-so-smartingly tried new things anyway, like TRX Pilates. Then, I got smart, took some anti-inflammatories, foam rolled, really focused on my PT exercises and this morning, it was a 2. Imagine that. 

The excitement of this morning's session was a new piece of equipment (for me): a machine that helped take some of the lumbar pressure off for squats. So, I was able to do a full squat easily as well as single leg squats. It was amazing! I want to do squats all the time on that thing. 

We also did directional touches, where I get into a partial squat position and extend one leg out to the side, then 45* behind me and then directly behind me. PT said I had great form and was able to hold that position, which can be difficult for hip arthroscopy patients, perfectly. He kept asking if I was having any pain in the actual hip while doing all of this and I said no, but I could feel it in my quads and glutes. He said, " Good. That's where you should feel it." 

Afterwards, I got to relax in the game ready sleeve - ice and compression all in one. I haven't had that since week 3 post op. It was amazing. 

So, new PT has me both excited and motivated. New job has me excited. And the other new thing that has me excited? 

I closed on the house yesterday. And my lender got me a rose to celebrate. No more holding pattern. 

#constantforwardprogress

#constantforwardprogress

http://community.runnersworld.com/blog/constantforwardprogress

My first PT appointment since the end of last year was last week - as I had expressed earlier, I was nervous, scared and just plain freaked out. 

What if I hadn't been doing as well as I thought I was?
What if I have to take steps backwards?
What if I really don't like my PT?

All kinds of "what ifs" were going through my brain. And, I was just plain over the holding pattern that has been a big chunk of my life (between this and finally moving into my house, I always just wanted to be at work, because I was at least making progress on something!). 

So, when I met new PT, I was sort of relieved that we seemed to hit it off and that he completely and fully praised that I had very specific information for him, like the protocol my previous PT had been following, the exact exercises I was doing, how many reps, with what weights and how often I was doing them, and that I seemed to be honest and thoughtful with how my hip felt day-to-day: 

"Well, I feel like a zero would mean I don't think about it, and I'm not quite there yet, but I do have really good days where I barely think about it, so I'm going to say a 1."

He said, yes, he would agree, a zero means it's not on your mind at all. Then I told him about how so many of you can't remember which limb you had a major surgery or break on and how it made my neurons misfire. He thought that was pretty funny, and apparently, par for the course. 

Anyway, he did a complete reassessment and found that my range of motion is only 3-5* smaller on the surgical side as compared to the healthy side, which is pretty darn good. We also found that the surgical side is generally weaker but I also have some weakness on the left, which is not surprising to me and good reason for me to be all "I MUST BE BALANCED!" when doing exercises on both sides. 

As for running .... not yet. There are a few more progressions he'd like me to take first: jumping on a trampoline (take some of the weight off), then regular jumping/plyometrics and then running. I didn't ask for a specific time frame, but it sound like we could ramp up fairly quickly, assuming I tolerate it. 

I also got some progressions on modifications:

Adding an abduction to my side planks (SO HARD at the end of a workout, when I usually do core) and single weight lunges. I like visual aids, so here they are: 

Except in the lunge, I just hold the weight at my side. I guess I could hold it above and work dem shoulders.... 

After that appointment, I was relieved. Relieved to be making some progress again, relieved I felt like I was going to get along really well with my PT and relieved that what I had been doing was the right thing. 

In other news, I won a free month of class pass and have enjoyed trying things out of my comfort zone. This has included Jazzercise (much better than zumba for us uncoordinated folks), MMA-style kickboxing (great workout, but too soon for the hip) and TRX pilates (TRX portion=great, pilates=too soon for the hip). I also have gotten back into yoga, which has been great for the hip and this week, I'm taking a strictly stretching and foam rolling class. Fun, eh? 

It's Scary

I postponed my physical therapy appointment, the one where I was supposed to find out if I could start running again. 

The real (and valid) reason I had to postpone was a very important work meeting, one I simply couldn't miss. So, the new appointment is on the 9th. It's close. 

But there is another reason. I'm scared. It's been 6 months of working back towards this, all this time and money invested in what is supposed to mean that I can run pain free and not even have to run/walk in order to be pain free. I realized last night that I'm scared it will have all been for nothing. I'm scared that I will still be in pain, that I will still be run/walking because I have to, not because I believe that Jeff Galloway's method will actually lead to more PRs. All I want is to run and to run as fast as I am able, to do speed work and tempo runs and be completely sweaty and ungodly stinky and utterly exhausted at the end of a work out. 

But what if I'm not? What if .... Ugh, that is the worst question in the world to ask and I know it, but that's all I can think right now. Because not everything works out the way we plan. Not everything comes together so perfectly. And so I'm scared. I'm scared the answer will be "not yet", I'm scared the answer will be "yes, BUT ...." and I'm scared that 6 months from now, I'll be no better off than I was a year ago. 

I know I have to try and I know the only way I'll know is when I start a return to running program. It just doesn't quelch any fears I have right now. 

And I'm a little gassy, but that's probably the Brussels sprouts I ate last night.

By my weird, odd numbers

http://community.runnersworld.com/blog/by-my-weird-odd-numbers

Days since I last ran at all: 160

Days since I last ran any mileage without a walk break: ~426

Days until I get to find out if I can start running again: 13

I like that last number very much. Keep your fingers crossed! Only hip pain is when I wear heels, so naturally, I've just started wearing running shoes at work. No one even blinks an eye (and is just another reason why I love public health). 

Currently ...

http://community.runnersworld.com/blog/currently

Hi. So, I moved and started a new job and have been spending most of my internet time looking at houses so sorry for being absent. 

Anyway, I thought the best way to catch you all up on my life is with a "currently" post. So, here are some topics and what currently is happening:

Time & place: I started this at work at 8 AM on my phone, who knows what time it will be when I finish! It's already 9:15.

Awaiting: The results of a phone call my realtor is making on a house the isn't even on the market yet. 

Experiencing: A mixture of complete happiness, a little anxiety, and boredom. Happiness because I really love my new job, anxiety because I really love the aforementioned house and boredom because I just want to start running already, but I have to wait until March, when my health insurance kicks back in and I can see a PT again.

Working on: Research for the different reimbursement rates for types of providers and care. It's a complicated mess. And I love every second of it 

Reading: Switch, a book about how to create change when it's the hardest thing to do.

Listening to: construction on the other side of the wall in my office it sounds like a hard core root canal.

Craving: a long, exhausting and yet completely satisfying run.

Hating: that I have champagne taste on a slightly-higher-than-beer budget. It's making house buying difficult, lol.

Loving: my new job. It's so completely amazing. 

Watching: nothing exciting. I admit, I am watching The Bachelor again this season, but the new guy isn't nearly as fun to watch as the old one and it's so clear that he's already picked his final woman, so ... Meh. But I'll watch it because I do love watching those two together. It's the hopeless romantic in me.

Avoiding: Nothing! I am sticking with my PT exercises, getting to the gym, eating 80% healthy and enjoying all the good karma that has been surrounding me. You know how sometimes when things get really wonderful, you start to anticipate something bad? Well, I'm not. I'm just welcoming the good with an open heart, letting it wash over me and enjoying it. All that is left is to start running  and that will happen in about 6 weeks. Yay! 

PS  - Photo dump

Arthur Bryant's BBQ:

MY city:

Jeffery Douglas:

GNO with MTF: