April 30th - Kettlebells and TRX

This morning was another good swim day.  I did 1700 yards today, which included 4 laps with the kickboard.  I also did some more of my sidesteps and "running" in the pool.  I wasn't able to walk at school today, but I did do a quick leg workout and I was able to increase the weight a bit. 

PT is never the same thing twice.  Dr. Karyn is really good about not only helping me rehab my knee, but also prepping my body for running again and having good form on the bike, all while working in some moves that will make it easier when I decide to return to the soccer field.  I am extremely happy with my choice for PT.  After some familiar moves modified to continue the strength building we moved on the the kettlebells and TRX equipment.  I didn't do too much with the kettlebells at this point but they will help me work on my back strength and I will eventually work up to kettlebell swings.

From there we moved to the TRX equipment.  Basically these are 2 straps suspended from the ceiling that allow you to work any part of your body you want using your body weight.  They were invented by a soldier that needed a way to work out in the desert on deployment.  He came up with a full body workout system that could be suspended from the turret of a tank. 
Most of the things we did today focused on total leg strength with some core strength thrown in to work on stabilizing my body.  I'm looking forward to what's coming up in the next few weeks.

As far as my knee feels, I may have done a bit too much yesterday.  I did workout three times so that might be little bit too much at this point.  Dr. Karyn doesn't think I did any damage, but she did notice that there is a bit more swelling than last time.  I'll be sure to dial it back a bit.

Here are the rest of today's workouts:

Legs
Extensions 3x15 (machine + 7.5lbs)
Curls 3x15 (machine + 5lbs)
Calf Raises 3x15

Core 14x25

April 28th & 29th - So I missed a day

Yesterday was a pretty normal day and I guess that I just ran out of time to post before I hit the hay.  I was able to get an hour or so walk in and covered 4.4 miles before the rains came.  Hank and I were able to make it back to the house before we got soaked.  Today I was back in the pool at 5am and swam 1600 yards, followed up by some pool jogging and sidesteps. 

My planning period was free so I walked for 52 minutes and covered 4 miles.  I didn't have time to go the full hour today.  I have noticed that my knee is pretty sore today and I still can't shake the cramp in my calf.  I rolled it out on the foam roller last night and that seemed to help a bit.

I missed the field events of the track meet today so when I got home I was also able to do an hour ride.  I covered 18 miles, and focused on strength building on the hills.  Tomorrow is another swim and that will probably be it because of tutoring and PT that evening.

April 27th - Early to rise

It's pretty amazing how much you can get done when you get up early.  We had a technician from Dish Network scheduled to come out today so I wanted to make sure that I got my walk in before he got here.  That meant getting up at 6am on a Saturday.  Good thing I was toast by 10pm last night.  My knee is a little sore and tired again today, but I think that is from the intense new exercises from yesterday's session.  Rosco and I went for an hour walk and covered 4.4 miles, and I followed that up with some core work. 

Once the Dish guy left Kelly and I did 22 miles on the bike.  We averaged about 17mph and had to deal with a little bit of wind.  The route had some rolling hills so I think we did pretty well considering the conditions.  I made sure to do some climbing in a bigger gear out of the saddle to see how my knee would respond and I was pretty pleased.  No pain at all.  Except for my second set of PT exercises I am done for the day.  Also, as suspected the numbers on the scale this morning moved a bit in the wrong direction.  I am blaming it on my birthday week and all the great food that Kelly made for me as well as being so busy with Grade Repair tutoring and track meets.  I'll work to get back on track this week.

Weigh in:
Weight - 157 (up 1lb)
Body fat - 17% (up .5%)

Today's workout:
Core 14x25
Planks 4x1min

April 26th - Jump around

Today was a rest and recovery day, so not much to report on the workout front.  I did do a little bit of leg work in the weight room and added some calf raises to my extensions and curls.  My knee felt better today than it did over the past couple of days.  At today's PT session Dr. Karyn told me that was to be expected because we did some pretty intense work on Tuesday. 

Today was another day of hard PT work.  She had me do some work on the "jump board."  Basically I was jumping while laying on my back.  The springs of the Reformer machine act as gravity and the stress on the knee is minimized while still working on strength.  It didn't seem like it but today's session was quite a bit of work.  I have noticed that the sessions are getting tougher and tougher, but I am also seeing results. 

Tomorrow I am planning on doing a morning walk with Rosco and a ride with Kelly.  If there is time I will follow that up with a core workout. 

Today's leg workout:
Extensions 3x15 (rack + 5lbs)
Curls 3x15 (rack only)
Calf raises 3x15

April 25th - Go me, it's my birthday..

No seriously, it's my birthday. 

I definitely have some soreness in my knee after my PT session on Tuesday.  We did some pretty intense work so that was to be expected I guess.  My swim this morning was really good, especially after the crappy swim I had on Tuesday.  I did 1500 yards today and also worked in some new pool exercises.  Dr. Karyn has me treading water and doing side-steps in the pool along with some modified pool running. 

During planning today I walked for an hour.  I was moving at a "blistering" pace...13:30/mile.  I made it 4.5 miles in an hour.  We had another track meet today which made for a late night, so I didn't get any other workouts in.  Fridays are usually my days off, but I may go for a ride after PT since it has been a while since I have been out on the bike. 

Kelly made me a great dinner and an angel food cake with chocolate whipped cream for my birthday so we will have to see what that does when I weigh in on Saturday.

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!

April 24th - It's starting to seem real

When I opened up my email this morning this was in the first email that I saw, with the subject: Hi Justin, Welcome to the 2013 IRONMAN Lake Placid.

This is a portion of the bike course through the Adirondack Mountains, and I can't wait to be there riding that course.

Things went pretty well today, but I am noticing some soreness from my PT session yesterday.  Dr. Karyn worked me over pretty good I guess.  I was only able to get one training session in today, a walk in the morning with Hank.  We were out for an hour and covered 4.3 miles.  We were moving pretty quickly this morning.  I wasn't able to do anything during planning because of a scheduled meeting and this afternoon was a wash because of the Grade Repair Program I am leading at school for kids that are in danger of failing for the year.  It will be a busy couple of weeks as this program ramps up and track season winds down.  I will have to work to squeeze in my training workouts.  Things should loosen up in a couple of weeks and I still have 3 full months before the event.

Yesterday, Dr. Karyn gave me some new things to work on in the pool.  I will need to start treading water and doing some modified pool running, along with some side steps to utilize the resistance of the water.  I plan to swim tomorrow morning and figure out how to work that in to the limited amount of time I have to swim.  I will also try to work in a ride, even if it is just a short one after the track meet tomorrow.

I also did a combined core and upper body workout today:
Core 8x25
Push-ups 4x25
Pull-ups 4x18

April 23rd - More progress

Today was a day where the good out weighed the bad.  I went to the Y for my swim this morning, even though I wasn't feeling all that great.  My allergies have finally caught up with me I guess.  I tried to push through it and get through a full swim workout, but I was only able to make it 600 yards.  I couldn't shake the headache and for some reason I was feeling a little nauseated while I was swimming.  I decided to pack it in early and chalk it up to a bad day. 

Because to the mini Relay for Life at our school today I wasn't able to walk during planning.  I was able to get my heart rate up by volunteering for the dunk tank though.  Yes, it was extremely cold. 

I had a PT session this afternoon as well.  They are getting more intense and longer in duration as I continue to gain strength.  I am doing more moves that are specific to running and to soccer to help me get ready for Lake Placid and my return to the field.  Dr. Karyn has told me that I don't have to do my at home exercises on the nights I have a PT session, which is nice because it's usually pretty late when I do make it home and I will have to start working in an evening ride or walk.  It seems like almost overnight the pain behind my knee has gone away.  It's a little sore after the PT work, but it is feeling much better than it has in the past few weeks.  We also took another measurement of the flexion and I'm up to 135 degrees.  That was the preliminary goal when we started.  Now as the rest of the swelling goes away we will try to get closer to 140 degrees. 

It was late when I got home today so I did not do any other workouts.  I plan to walk tomorrow morning with Hank, and hopefully get in an evening ride.  I may have to break out the trainer (ugh) again.  If that doesn't happen I will be sure to work in an upper body and core workout, even if I have to shorten and modify them for time.

April 22nd - Trying to fit it all in

I will be happy when track season is over.  Just two more weeks.  It's tough to get all my workouts an PT work in when I get home from meets so late.

This morning's swim was another pretty good one, although I had a headache when I got out of the pool and I felt a bit more winded than usual.  I have switched my breathing pattern and I am still trying to get used to it so that may have contributed.  I did another 1200 yards this morning, which is only 1/4th of the distance I will need to cover in Lake Placid.  I will be asking Dr. Karyn if I can start to increase my yardage and work on some swim speed.

Because of the meet, I knew that I wouldn't be able to walk or ride after school so I got in an hour walk at school.  I covered another 4.5 miles.  My knee is feeling really good this evening after my PT work, but it was a little uncomfortable during the day today.  I have noticed that the cramping in my upper calf is back, but that may be from sitting a lot today. 

I also did some core work today:
Core 14x25

April 21st - Early to bed, early to rise

We had a full day yesterday with all the running around for Kelly's race so it was nice to be in bed by 10pm.  An added benefit was that I was able to get up early enough before church to go for a hour walk.  I was a little bit slower today than usual, but I am going to blame Rosco's frequent pee stops for that.  Is it really necessary to leave your mark on EVERY mailbox we pass?  The weather was great today so I was also able to ride for 70 minutes after church.  I was able to get some bike strength work in because it felt like I was pedaling into a headwind the whole ride.  I also made sure to do a few hills in a big gear at the end of my ride.  Because of the conditions my speed was about 17mph and I covered 20 miles total. 

My knee has been feeling pretty good.  I am not seeing the rapid improvement that I was over the course of the first month, but I feel that little by little things are getting better.  I do still have some pain and discomfort at times, and my knee is a achy at the end of the day.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am only 7 weeks past my surgery and that the healing that I have experienced so far is pretty extraordinary.  I am continuing to do all my PT exercises and strength building work and making sure not to do any more than what Dr. Karyn has told me I can do.

Since I have decided to scale back my upper body work I did not do any extra workouts today.  Tomorrow I will swim in the morning, and try to get in a walk or a ride in the afternoon, along with some core work. 

I did weigh in this morning:
Weight: 156lbs (down 2 lbs)
Body Fat: 16.5% (no change)

April 20th - The other side of the fence

Today was Kelly's race, the Chattahoochee Challenge Half-Iron Triathlon.  It was my turn to play race sherpa and support her and she did awesome.  She had a great race and if it wasn't for a strong headwind on the return part of the bike leg she would've met her time goal of under 6 hours.  She did finish in 6:02:32 which was good enough to take first place in her age group!

Because of the race, I had to modify my schedule a bit.  Since we had to leave by 5am I had to skip my morning PT work.  I was able to get in an hour walk and go 4.1 miles while Kelly was out on the bike.  I guess I can also count all the walking I did at the race as a work out as well.  When we got home I made sure to do my PT exercises.

I forgot to weigh in this morning, so I will try to do that tomorrow when I wake up.  Doing it right now would be a bad idea because we just got back from my early birthday dinner at Green Ginger.

April 19th - A (kind of) recovery day

Today was the kind of day that makes working out tough.  Cold, rainy and dreary days make you just want to stay on the couch.  Thankfully today is a scheduled recovery day for me so rest was on the agenda today.  Of course, I did all my PT work and I decided to get some extra leg work done in the weight room during my planning period.  The leg extensions and hamstring curls are getting easier and I was able to add 5 pounds to the machine for the extensions.  Dr. Karyn wants me to try to keep a 3:2 ratio on weight for my leg work.  I do more weight for the extensions than the curls and I am still doing them one leg at a time. 

Kelly's race is tomorrow in Columbus.  She will be doing the Chattahoochee Challenge Half-Iron distance triathlon.  Because of this I will probably be taking another unscheduled rest day tomorrow, although I will be doing A LOT of walking while I support her in the race.  I will have to resist the urge to run from place to place to see her along the course. 

I hope to be back to my workout routine on Sunday with a walk and possibly a ride after church. 

April 18th - Life happens

This morning went as planned with another 1200 yard swim, but after that not so much.  I think this is actually a good thing and some forced rest might be what I need.  My knee felt good today, just a little tight from sitting down a lot during CRCT testing.  I had planned to ride another 20 or so miles this afternoon after track practice but that didn't happen.  Kelly's AC compressor went out last week and since it is getting warmer it is time to get it fixed.  We had to drop the car off today so that trumped my ride.  I do think my knee will respond well to the rest today and possibly tomorrow depending on how I feel.  When I put together my training plans I usually set Friday as a rest and recovery day. 

Kelly's half-iron race in Columbus is Saturday so I probably won't get a formal workout in, but I will be walking a lot so I guess I can count that. 

I did squeeze in some upper body work today:
Push-ups 4x25
Pull-ups 4x18

April 17th - Doesn't seem like progress

My knee has been uncomfortable for a couple of days, but there isn't any real pain at this point (unless I move to quickly or try something too ambitious).  It was 6 weeks since surgery yesterday and had hoped that all the swelling would be gone by now, but it seems that its a bit more swollen today than it was yesterday.  Dr. Karyn assured me that its part of the healing process and its normal so I'm OK with it.  I have been doing quite a bit lately and even though my 20 mile return to the road yesterday felt good, I'm sure that is somewhat to blame.

Today I was only able to do one workout because of the timing of my PT and track practice so I walked this morning.  I did 4.1 miles in an hour which is a bit slower than usual.  I'm blaming Hank because he felt it necessary to pee on everything during our walk.

PT went well once again and even though it doesn't feel like it, I know that progress is being made.  I still have the same exercises with a few modifications to make them more challenging.  The goal is to have equal strength and movement in both legs and to make them both stronger for the bike portion of the race.  She also said that it's time to start working in recovery days because I am actually starting to train as opposed to just staying mobile.

I was able to get in a core workout today as well:
Core 13x25
Planks 4x1min

April 16th - Hit the road Jack

I started the day with another 1200 yard swim that went pretty well.  I'm still using the pull buoy and kickboard to help build strength.  I did notice that my knee was bothering me for most of the day today.  It may have been because I spent a lot of the day sitting down during CRCT testing at school.  It also could be that I have been doing quite a bit over the last few days.  I will mention that to Dr. Karyn tomorrow at PT.

It's about time for me start putting together a focused plan for Lake Placid.  We discussed it a little bit at yesterday's session, but it looks like I will need to start putting in 3 days of swimming, and 3 - 4 days of biking and walking (running when the surgeon clears me).  Two-a-day workouts are going to be the norm for the foreseeable future.  Once the schedule at school is back to normal I may be able to get my walking workout in during my planning period. 

In other good news today, I did my first ride outside on the roads.  It was definitely strange being back on the bike outside, and it took me a few miles to get used to it again.  My knee held up very well, aside from the soreness that I felt all day and I was able to ride for 75 minutes and covered 21 miles.  I averaged about 17mph which is decent.  It would be nice to get faster if possible to leave myself a nice big time cushion for the run in Lake Placid.

I also did an upper body workout after my ride:
Pull-ups 4x18
Push-ups 4x25

April 15th - Sad day in Boston

Because I am trying to chronicle my journey to the starting line of Ironman Lake Placid, I feel like I need to mention the senseless act of violence unleashed on my fellow runners in Boston.  Although information is still coming out its pretty clear this was a terrorist event designed to hurt, kill and draw attention.  I pray for those directly and indirectly affected and that justice is delivered swiftly and convincingly.

Today was another swim day.  I am holding steady at 1200 yards with a combination of pull buoy, kickboard work and straight swim work.  My knee felt good throughout the swim.  I wasn't able to get my walk in during school because of our modified testing schedule, but I did do some leg work in the weight room.  The hamstring curls and leg extensions are getting a bit easier.  My PT session was scheduled for 6:30 tonight so I had time to walk after school.  I got in 4.7 miles in 66 minutes.

I have decided to scale back the upper body work now that I am beginning to focus on triathlon training.  From now on I'll be doing upper body on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and core work on Monday, Wednesday and possibly one other day (Friday or Saturday) depending on what the rest of the workouts look like for the rest of the week.  With tri training, in studio PT sessions and at home PT work it's getting tough to fit it all in and still have time for a semi-regular life.  Since I did some core work yesterday and had to squeeze in my walk before PT I didn't do any other workouts today.  

April 14th - Raindrops keep (almost) falling on my head

It felt good to sleep in a little bit today since I had to get up early to ride yesterday because of Saturday School.  I had another good 60 minute ride this morning with some 1 minute big gear intervals thrown in at the end.  It was my second ride clipped in and again it felt good.  I have really started to notice the strength in my legs coming back and even increasing.  Once the rest of the swelling is out of my knee I think I will notice an even bigger difference.  I still have some discomfort especially at full extension.  I did have a bit of a scare today.  I was working on Kelly's bike to get it cleaned and tuned up for her half-Iron distance race next weekend and I bumped into the couch.  It caused me to hyper-extend a bit and it caught me off guard.  It did hurt a bit but everything seems to be ok.

We have been getting some rain today, which we need to wash away the yellow pollen haze that is covering everything so I thought I was going to have to pass on my walk today.  The rain did finally clear out after dinner time so I went out and did 4.6 miles in 68 minutes.

I also got in a core workout this morning after church:
Core 14x25

April 13th - Now this one is early

I wanted to post this one early so I don't forget again.  Also, I finished up all my workouts and PT exercises early so I need something to do while I ice.  Today was my first time riding clipped in since the surgery.  Like I said before, I want to so some rides on the trainer while clipped in to see how my knee reacts and if I can clip out.  I loosened the retention on the right pedal as much as I could and clipping out is pretty easy.  When I am out on the road I will try to make a conscious effort to clip out on the left side if I need to come off the pedals because it's a little uncomfortable to make the twisting motion that is needed.  I thought that I would need to adjust the angle of my cleats to ease any stress on the knee, but thankfully the 60 minute ride this morning felt just fine, so that won't be necessary.

I took Rosco on my walk today (it was Hank's turn yesterday) and we went a little farther than usual.  I started out a bit slow but picked up the pace and walked 4.6 miles in 66 minutes.  There were a few stops in there to watch the neighbor kid pitch a couple of innings at the high school along the way.

Since I doubled up on strength workouts yesterday, I didn't do anything today.  I will pick up with core work tomorrow.

Almost forgot...I did weigh in this morning but it might be a bit off because I forgot do it before my morning ride.
Weight: 158lbs (down 1lb)
Body fat: 16.5% (down 1%)

April 12th - A day late again

I was pretty busy yesterday with the track meet, PT and trying to fit in my workouts so I missed last night's post.  PT went very well again.  All of the exercises keep progressing in difficulty but I can definitely see results.  She told me to keep swimming, but not to increase my yardage just yet.  Also, she gave me the green light to switch back to my cycling shoes and start riding outside.  I loosened up the right pedal and I will do a couple of trainer rides to make sure that I am able to clip out if necessary.

I was able to get another 4.25 mile walk in with Hank in an hour.  It's a little hilly in my neighborhood so I didn't make it 4.5 miles this time.

I had to modify my workout a little bit and do upper body and core on the same day:
Pull-ups 4x18
Push-ups 4x25
Core 8x25

April 11th - Leg Day

Today was the second day in the pool and it went great.  I now realize why people use the kickboard for kicking sets.  As easy as it looks, it really does work the legs and I think that it will help build even more swim strength.  I have also changed my breathing pattern from every right hand pull to every other right hand pull.  Its' going to take a little getting used to but it will build my lung capacity as I increase my distance and make me faster in the water.  I have already noticed an increase in speed.  I added another 2 laps today for a total of 1100 yards.

I still have some of the pain at full extension and the single leg wall sits are still pretty uncomfortable.  I'm hoping that will start to go away soon.  One of the new things that Dr. Karyn wants me to do is to start using the leg extension and curl bench with just a little weight every few days.  Today I used just the weight of the bench itself which actually seemed pretty heavy.  The extensions were much easier than the curls so I had to do single leg extension and use both legs on the curls.  The curls caused quite a bit of pain at the back of my knee so I will ask her about that tomorrow as well.

I wasn't able to walk today because of another meeting but I did get a hard training ride in when I got home from school.  Since I got home a bit late I opted not to do any additional workout today.  I may not be able to walk at school tomorrow because of yet another meeting, but I may try to get one in after my PT session and the track meet.  I'll also try to find some time tomorrow to work in a modified core/push-up/pull-up workout if possible.

April 10th - Back in the Swim of Things

The pool finally worked out this morning.  It has been over 2 months since I have been swimming and I have to admit I was a little nervous to get back in the water.  I really had no idea how my knee would react.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about, other than the fact that I am no longer in swimming shape.  My knee felt great in the water and I think the cool water and no impact movement was therapeutic.  I started with 5 laps using the pull buoy to make sure that I didn't kick at all.  From there, I did 5 laps using a kickboard, which was only kicking.  I was surprised that there was no pain at all with the kickboard.  Since both of those went well I did a straight swim for the last 10 laps.  That gave me a total of 1000 yards for the workout.  I have a long way to go until I am ready for an Ironman swim, but now that I am back in the pool I can start to get my swim fitness back.  I am going to try to swim 3 times a week, probably Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. 

I was able to get another hour long walk in today during planning too.  My speed is still increasing.  I walked 4.5 miles today in an hour and 2 minutes.  I had no pain while walking, but I did notice some soreness towards the end of the day.  I was also having a little pain while I was doing my PT work.  The single leg wall sits are the ones that hurt the most especially at the bottom of the kneecap.  I will ask Dr. Karyn about that on Friday.  I also thought that I had taken care of the cramping at the back of my knee, but it seems to have come back a bit.  Looks like more stretching is in order.

After the track meet today I was able to get in a short workout.
Core 13x25
Planks 4x1minute

April 9th - Change of Plans

So I was supposed to swim this morning.  I got up at 4:05am to make sure that I had time to do my PT work before I left for the pool and saw less than informative Facebook post from the Y.  They were letting members know that there was an "issue" with the utilities that was causing problems with the water temperature and pool heater.  Of course they didn't say that the pool was closed, but I have had bad luck with showing up at the pool at 5am only to find out that it was closed for cleaning or the lifeguard didn't show or some other reason.  And I couldn't call at 4am because there is no one there until five.  So I opted to do an hour ride and try to swim in the afternoon.  I already knew that I couldn't do my mid-day walk because we had a meeting scheduled. 

After track I decided to go to the Y for my swim.  Nice try.  Apparently swimming lessons started this week and the pool was loaded with kids (and, I'm sure their urine).  Considering that the last time I swam in the afternoon I nearly lost an eye to a 10 year old girl that landed a lucky punch I opted to leave and make my re-debut in the morning. What had happened was, she was swimming towards me in my lane and somehow got her pinky behind my goggles and cut my eyeball.  Yes it was as gross and painful as it sounds.  Another reason I left is that I am just not ready to get kicked in the knee yet while swimming. 

I have been noticing a few cracks, pops and other noises coming from my knee during my exercises.  The surgeon said it's most likely scar tissue breaking up and nothing to worry about.  I have been noticing some soreness but I think that is because I have been using it a lot.  I still get a very small amount of pain every once in a while and full extension / full flexion hurts a bit.  There is still some swelling behind the kneecap but little by little it's subsiding. 

Tomorrow's plan is to swim in the morning (for real this time) and walk during planning.  I might miss a few workouts this week because of track meets Wednesday and Thursday.

Today's workout:
Pull-ups 5x15, 6 negatives
Push-ups 5x22, 6 negatives

April 8th - Short and sweet

This will be quick because I need to go to sleep so I can get up to swim tomorrow.  I will be swimming mostly with a pull buoy and I will gauge how it feels and go from there.  I'm hoping to start with at least 20 laps. 

I had a good 60 minute ride this morning and another 60 minute walk in which I covered 4.25 miles on the track at school.  PT went well and I got a couple of new exercises, one of which is single leg wall sits.  Not my favorite.  She said we are starting lunges on Friday.  Should be interesting.

Today was a rest day so no upper body work today. 

April 7th - Last Day of Spring Break

Today is the last day of spring break...boo.  I was really able to focus on my rehab exercises and make sure that I got all of my workouts done.  The next challenge will be to figure out how do keep that momentum up when I head back to work and try to add swimming into the mix.  I won't actually start swimming until Tuesday of this coming week because I want to talk with Dr. Karyn about it one more time to see exactly what she wants me to do. 

I was able to get another good ride in this morning.  It started off kind of rough but got better as time went on.  I am going to increase to a full hour starting tomorrow morning which means I will have to start getting up around 4:15am so I can start riding by 4:30.  I'll have to do the same thing on days that I swim so I can get to the pool by 5 and still have time to do my PT exercises.  I am hoping that I will also still be able to walk at school during my planning period. 

Today's walk was a full hour.  I started using the Map My Run app on my phone to track my time, distance and pace.  I covered just over 4 miles today which surprised me a bit.  If I was able to hold that pace I could actually walk the full marathon in about 6 and half hours.  I know that I will be walking a large portion of the marathon, but I hope its not that much. 

Today's workout was core work:
Core 12x25
Planks 4x1min

Back to work tomorrow...whoopee.  At least it will be a rest day (except for walking and riding).

April 6th - Picking Up the Pace

As my knee continues to feel better and better each day, I'm trying to increase my cadence on the bike and my walking pace.  I'm not a great bike rider so I am focusing on improving my bike while I am unable to run.  I'm pretty confident that once I can run again, that will come back quickly.  I have noticed that my walking pace is increasing, as I am covering more ground in the same amount of time.  I mapped my walking route around the subdivision and I was really surprised at how far I went in 50 minutes.  At this point I am able to cover about 3.25 miles.  That's a pretty good sign that I should have more than enough time to complete IMLP even with the amount of walking that I will have to do.  When the event gets closer I will figure out how much I am going to be able to run, how much I will have to walk and what my paces will be.  From there I can figure out what my pace will need to be on the bike and what my finish time will be.  At this point I would be OK with 16 hours and 59 minutes if that's what it takes. 

As always, I am making sure to complete all of my rehab exercises twice a day, and I did another 50 minute ride this morning.  After my appointment yesterday, I am trying to be a bit more conscious of bending my leg too far during my rehab work. 

As promised, I weighed in this morning when I woke up.  I did lose a pound this week in spite of Easter Sunday and the trip to the BBQ place.  I'm still not sure about the accuracy of the body fat reading though because it did increase a percent even though I lost a pound.

Weight: 159 (down 1lb)
Body fat: 17.7% (up 1+%)

Today's workout was pretty tough because I didn't eat enough prior:
Pull-ups 6x15
Push-ups 6x22

April 5th - One Month Follow Up

Today was my one month follow up with the surgeon.  It was a pretty quick visit...all he really did was talk to me a bit about my PT, check to see how the incision was healing, check the tightness of the knee joint and schedule me for another check up in 2 more months.  He made sure to remind me that I CANNOT run until I see him again the first week of June.  He did say that I can begin swimming next week although he was a bit hesitant.  After I told him that the PT was the one asking about the swimming he was OK with it.  He did make sure to tell me to go easy on the kicking though, and I can only use the crawl stroke.  Good thing too, because that's the only one I know.  He mentioned that things are progressing well and that I'll be ready for Ironman Florida in the fall.  I didn't mention that I'm working towards IM Lake Placid in July because I know that he is NOT on board with that.  Even though I am very happy with the work that he did, Dr. Karyn works more closely with me and if she thinks its possible then that is what I am going with.  Of course, I won't be doing much running during the event anyway.  One thing I do need to be a bit more careful of is the amount flexion that I am achieving because of the stitches in my meniscus.  I'll make sure to talk to Dr. Karyn about that at my PT session on Monday.

The rest of today went well.  I did another 50 minute ride this morning, but I used the other trainer that we have which seemed to have more constant resistance then the one I have been using.  I am hoping that this will help me build strength on the bike.  My 50 minute walk was good as well.  I will probably be increasing both next week.

Tomorrow I'll weigh in and see what the scale says.  Here is today's workout:
Core 12x25
Planks 4x1min

April 4th - 130 degrees

Over the last few days I have been able to see incremental healing.  I am able to move my leg in many of the same ways that I used to, but some side to side motions are still uncomfortable and there is still some weakness.  I had a short PT session today but as I left I realized that I was tired and that we did a lot of work in a short period of time.  Dr. Karyn measured my flexion, and with a little pushing and more than a little pain I was able to get to 130 degrees. Just a week ago I was at 120 degrees, and I had started at 91 degrees.  For reference, I can bend my left leg to 135 degrees. 

We worked on some new exercises in the studio and modified some older ones to make them a bit harder.  She has been impressed with the amount of strength that has returned as well as with my overall progress.  My at home exercises remain essentially the same with a couple of modifications.  My wall sits have now become full-on Roman chairs.  I'm doing 15 and holding them for a 10 count.  I have also increased my reps for each of the other exercises as well. I did 50 minutes on the bike this morning with 6x2minute big gear intervals.  This afternoon I did another 50 minute walk with almost no discomfort on the downhill portions.

Here's the rest of the workout - I added some reps today:
Pull-ups 6x15
Push-ups 6x22

Tomorrow I have my one month follow up at the Hughston Clinic.  Dr. Karyn wants me to make sure that I get the OK to start swimming and update him on my progress.

April 3rd - Walk it off

Due to the mass quantities consumed at Easter dinner and some of the best BBQ in Atlanta today, I don't foresee the scale moving in the right direction this week.  Today we went with some friends to Fox Brothers BBQ in Atlanta which is supposed to be some of the highest rated BBQ in Atlanta.  They did not disappoint.  It was one of those places that doesn't look like much but is always jam packed full of people.  I made sure to do my 45 minute ride and core work before we went, but the fried pickles, Carolina pulled pork, mac undt cheese and jalapeno cornbread gave new purpose to my walk this afternoon.  I did increase my walking time to 50 minutes.

I can feel (and see) the strength coming back to my quad and calf, but I am still having a serious issue with tightness behind my knee.  It doesn't bother me while I'm riding but as soon as I stop it starts to tighten up.  It does hurt when I extend my leg when walking, but the more I walk the better it feels.  The stretches Dr. Karyn gave me work well, but the tightness keeps coming back pretty quickly.  I'll ask her more about it tomorrow and see what she thinks. Overall I am happy with the progress.  The only time I have a limp is when I get out of bed or when I get up from sitting for a while.  After a couple of steps it loosens up and my gait is normal.

My new brace came today.  I tried it on and it seems like it will work well for running and soccer.  I am hoping that I will not need it at all for running since there is no side to side motion, but I will have to see how things work out. 

Today's workout:
Core - 12x25
Planks - 2x60sec, 2x45sec

April 2nd - Moving along

PT was pretty great today.  She started me on some new exercises for the in-studio sessions, but I still have the same exercises for my at-home work.  They are still helping to build the strength back into my quad and calf.  I am still having a problem with cramping behind my knee, especially when I get off the bike and when I fully extend my leg while walking.  Dr. Karyn gave me 3 stretches to help deal with that.  That pain actually hurts more than anything at the front of my knee.  She also said that the remaining swelling is an indication of continued healing.  The only other addition to my work at home is to do some weighted leg extensions and leg curls.  I'll either have to use the equipment at school or at the Y for those exercises.

I decided to go watch my over-30 soccer team play tonight since I don't have to wake up for school.  I thought it might be a little disappointing but it really wasn't.  As I watched the action up close (as opposed to on a TV screen like I have been doing for the last 2 months) I realized that soccer is a long way off for me.  I'm thinking that I won't be ready until November or December.  That will also give me time to focus on Ironman Florida. 

I had another good ride this morning, and Rosco and I did a pretty fast walk.  I'm covering more ground in the same amount of time which is good practice for Lake Placid since I will definitely be using a run/walk strategy for the marathon.

I did some upper body stuff today as well:
Push-ups 6x20
Pull-ups 6x15

April 1st - No Foolin'

I ate way too much yesterday at Easter dinner.  It's hard to turn down ham, potatoes, squash and rolls.  Oh, and Rice Krispie Treats with Reese's Pieces.  Even so, today was a day off from push-ups, pull-ups and core work.  I did do a moderately hard trainer ride this morning for 45 minutes with a pretty good variation in gearing.  Kelly and I also did a lot of walking today.  Before our 45 minute walk I went with her to run a couple of errands which kept us walking around.  Up until today all of my walks have been on the pavement or treadmill.  Today we took it off-road for a little bit and walked around the school yard with Hank.

The at home PT exercises are pretty easy now and I am seeing quite a bit of the strength and muscle tone coming back to my quad and calf.  I still have some tightness and cramping in my calf that I will ask Dr. Karyn about tomorrow.  Flexibility is really no longer an issue and I have most of my range of motion back.  I know that I have not made it to 135 degrees of flexion but I am getting close.  There is still some pain when I walk downhill, but today my gait seemed more even than yesterday. 

Like I said, today is a rest day, but soon I will need to start laying out my training plan to prepare for Lake Placid.  I think that I will get comfortable in the pool again and riding outside before I put together my plan.