Check-ups

 

JOE: Dr. Vetter  is very happy with Joe’s progress. He can chuck the sling in 2 weeks, begins “active assisted PT” next week and can send the CPM chair back. Yay! Once Joe is 6 weeks out (this equates to being done with the sling) he can do longer distance driving because he will be able to use both hands on the wheel. By the time our vacation arrives (at the 10 week point), Dr. Vetter feels Joe will be fine to carry a 20# backpack. Joe returns in one month for his next follow up, at which time we may be able to plot the timing for the next surgery.

THE BOYS: Chaco and Denali recently had their annual exam, which included blood work and stool examination. Both are super healthy, normal 3-year olds. Chaco weighs 12.5# and Denali is 10.5# - healthy weights for each of them. Chaco’s allergies have not been figured out, so he remains on steroids to quell the itching and scratching that can lead to open wounds and infection.

At the vet -
Denali is nearly hidden and Chaco is trying to be invisible too



Crashed for hours after the vet visit



Three Down, Two To Go

Jen, Joy, Ellen, Rosanna

Today I hit many milestones. I completed my 13th Half Marathon, my 3rd of 5 for this calendar year, reached 550 miles run so far in 2014, AND was congratulated by FitBit for hitting 750 miles (walked/run) since March 1st. The only milestone missing is a new Personal Record (PR). More on that in a moment.

All week long my friends and I watched the weather forecast with single minded dedication. Will it be too hot? Too sunny? Rain was in and out of the forecast, but never became a contender in the game until last night. With bedroom windows open, I could hear rain trickling down the gutter and distant thunder reverberating through the bed. Maybe it will pass... Up at 4:30 a.m., I can hear it pounding the roof as I force my race-day oatmeal down the hatch. 58° and rain leads to this question: Should I take a jacket? (would I get too hot in it? if I don't take one and it rains non-stop and a breeze kicks up, will I get too cold?) It felt like a major life decision, so I deferred to Joe's judgement when he advised I take my paper thin jacket, the one that could easily be stuffed into my Camelbak. Oh, BTW. Last week Joe and I got to talking about his plan to come support me. Knowing he would have a 3-hour long wait (while I went to my corral assignment, while I ran), and would be vulnerable in a crowd to having his slinged shoulder bumped, we agreed it would be smarter for him to stay home. He still showed his support by getting up at the crack o' dawn to see me off☺

Rosanna picked me up at 5:30a.m. in a steady drizzle. By the time we reached the lakefront it was a medium rain. As we exited the freeway and joined the streaming lines of cars headed for the best parking lots, we saw a large fox running in circles in a large unused parking lot. Poor thing. Eventually it darted behind us, headed for the lake 2 blocks away. We felt this was a good omen. We strategically parked in the corner of a lot that was less than a block from the finish line, and made our wet way to the race village. There, we bumped into my friend Bobbi and her husband, Dan, which was an astounding twist of fate - with 9,000 runners the odds of finding your friends without a plan are slim.

After a couple bathroom stops we headed to our corrals. Due to the bombings in Boston, our race had new security protocols, including a checkpoint where I had to prove nothing nefarious was in my Camelbak by taking a sip. There are 15 corrals ranging from A-O. You are assigned to your corral based on what you guesstimated your finishing time would be when you registered. Rosanna was in G, I was in J. The rules allow for friends to move to corrals further back, but no skipping forward. Rosanna, who was running the 10K route, joined me in J so we could run the first 5 miles together.

By the time our corral crossed the start line, the race was more than 7 minutes underway. As we began the near-immediate ascent of the Hoan Bridge, the rain stopped and the humidity pressed down. Though it wasn't too warm, the humidity was oppressive - almost felt like running in a cloud. I think even the insides of my ears were wet! A few minutes in, I looked at my Garmin to clock my pace, and saw the satellite connection was lost and nothing had been recording. Oh no! Good thing Rosanna's was working right. Once I re-fired mine, she let me know we'd traveled .35 miles and were 3:45 into the race. The rest of the race my mind would be busy doing the math of where I was actually at with time and distance. A few minutes later, uphill, uphill, uphill, I was generating lots of body heat. I was regretting wearing my jacket. It was sticking to me like skin. I was hot. This lead to a spastic form wherein I tired to remove the jacket and my Camelbak while still running. It wasn't pretty, but I succeeded. The next problem to arise was a general feeling of malaise. My upper back felt tight, and I had a vague slight burning feeling in my stomach, but just barely. My bladder bounced about and became a focal point of suffering as well.

We were clocking good miles (under 10-minutes) despite the unrelenting uphills of the Hoan. When our paths diverged, Rosanna graciously took my coat to the finish line, while I would carry on for another 8 miles. I was running strong, but did not feel 100%. I was uncomfortable too. My wet shorts clung to my right inner thigh, slowly creeping up until I would yank them down. My Garmin kept spinning around my slick wrist. The waist of my shorts slowly slid downwards. My Camelbak straps began chafing/burning my right shoulder. And I had to pee. I never have to pee during a race. WTH? Despite these annoyances and subtle feelings of not being well, I was in line with the pace group that would lead me to a PR and then ... a bank of Port-O-Potties near the 6 mile mark beckoned me. I had to pee so bad (and I wanted to mitigate lost time on the course), that when I saw a uniformly wet toilet seat (sweat? urine? both?) I didn't even care and plunked my derriere right down. I was out the door while still tying my shorts, but the pace group was long gone. Never did see them again.

By Mile 7 my right pinky toe began to blister (I am now hobbled up). With upper back and GI discomfort, I eased up, allowing myself to walk through the aid stations, further slowing my finishing time. A PR would have been a time of 2:14 or better. Per my watch (NOTE: this course was actually 13.25 miles instead of 13.1, so I go by my watch, not theirs), my finishing time was 2:17:14. Ironically, this is what I finished my WI Cheezy race in last month. A 10:28 pace. The Differences: The Rock-n-Sole is hilly. The Cheezy is flat. I ran non-stop in the Cheezy and did not have a bathroom break. So, to run the same pace on a harder course, with all of my walk and potty delays, leaves me feeling pleased. My improvements in training still paid off. If I had felt 100%, if I didn't have the bathroom break, I would have smoked this course with a huge PR. But I didn't, and that's okay. I'll PR in my November Half Marathon. Mark my words☺

What lies ahead? Two weeks of recovery (less mileage), then I start hitting WI trails to prep for my September trail half marathon. Training will remain full throttle through November. And lastly, a big shout out to Jen & Bobbi who ran today, rocking their first half marathons, and Ellen who killed her 4th (or was this the 5th?)!!!

Q & A With Joe

As Joe recovers from rotator cuff surgery, many of you have additional questions that have not been directly touched upon in the blog. Since it's a major hassle for Joe to type more than a few words with his left hand, I will try to answer lingering questions.

First of all, I would like to stress and reiterate that Joe is not in pain, nor was he ever in much pain - that goes for his shoulder before surgery, as well as after surgery. He stopped using pain meds after 3 days because they didn't seem necessary. He continues to take acetaminophen twice per day (a.m. and p.m.) to keep any swelling that arises from physical therapy (PT) under control, but is not taking it for pain.

Joe returned to the office last week. The week immediately after surgery he did some limited work from home on the computer or with conference calls. Since Joe still needs to use the CPM chair and do his PT, his hours in the office are limited at this time (6-8 hours vs. his typical 9-11 hours). A typical day looks like this: Get up and sit in the CPM chair for 1 hour (note: Joe is now at the maximum degree of movement in the chair), do home PT, go to work. On Tuesday's & Thursday's, he goes to work after going in for formal PT. He leaves the office around 3p.m. to avoid heavier traffic, comes home and gets back into the chair. Does more PT. I come home, we have dinner. I go to bed, Joe does one more round in the chair, and then he comes to bed. Sitting in the chair an hour at a time has given Joe the time to read The Hunger Games trilogy☺

Joe gave up on the recliner chair after the first week and has been sleeping in bed with extra pillows to prop him up. He sleeps on his back and his sleep is poor. Luckily, as a chronic insomniac, he is familiar with little quality sleep.

The sling has been a source of interest for many of you. How long does he need to wear it? That's up to Joe. He typically does not wear it around the house. When he's relaxing at home, he puts a pillow under his arm to brace his arm from his body. The sling is mainly a reminder not to use his arm, and in public it's both protection and a cue for others to keep their distance.

Joe has not returned to the gym yet because there isn't a lot he can do yet. To work his legs, either with body weight (i.e, lunges, squats, etc.) or on machines, would require added balance without his right arm, which puts him at risk of falling or torquing his arm. As far as cardio goes, he has another 10 weeks before he can run, an elliptical is a no go for obvious reasons, a treadmill could be a hazard, which leaves a recumbent bike, which only raises the heart rate of a 90 year old. Though he's not working out Joe is not gaining weight.

Joe's guitar lessons continue, which keeps him in a good routine with his teacher, Danny. Instead of playing the guitar, they are studying music theory.

In a previous post I mentioned how handy Joe is with his left side. He can still make us bread by hand (no need for a bread machine, Jane), and one night even made dinner himself, peeling and cutting onions, carrots and potatoes with just his left hand. He shaves, showers, dresses and does most things you can do. And no, his left hand and left side are not feeling overly taxed or fatigued.


Joe has 3 more weeks of passive PT. His therapist, Scott, is impressed with Joe's progress in range of motion. He is also shocked (and impressed) that Joe could lift his arm overhead when he had a full-thickens tear to the supraspinatus. This is apparently unheard of, and speaks to the fitness and strength Joe had in the remaining 3 shoulder muscles. In PT Scott does a lot of deep tissue massage to break up scar tissue, passive movements of Joe's arm and electrical stimulation. In 3 weeks, Joe will begin active PT, which means he will have exercises allowing him to engage and strengthen his shoulder muscles.

June 20th is our next follow up with the surgeon. At that time, we'll talk to her about timing the second surgery. Joe would like to have it done in September if possible to get it over with before winter and to be able to start 2014 off fresh with a return to running and fitness.

6/8/13 Amanda's 30th B-Day Party



Thirteenth 13.1

My 13^th half marathon is 8 days away. I’m keen on the idea that a half marathon is 13 miles (let’s not forget the .1!) and that I’ll be running 13 miles for the 13^th time. I like the symmetry in that. Since my race last month, I have had a massive breakthrough in my running game. Following nearly 10 months of running injury-free and slowly rebuilding my running base, my VO2 Max has taken off. How did this happen and what does this mean? VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense or maximal exercise, and is generally considered the best indicator of an athlete's cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. It increases through hard training that produces extra networks of capillaries. The more capillaries you have to distribute red oxygen-carrying blood cells to your muscles and organs, the more oxygen you have to play with. Carrying more oxygen allows your body to work more efficiently, meaning you can run further and faster without bonking.

In the past month, my runs have been consistently 20-30 seconds per mile faster while my heart rates remains the same as they were when I was running 20-30 seconds slower. This enables me to run the same distances I ran a month ago considerably faster without feeling fatigued. For you non-runners, I should clarify that in the running world, running a mile even 2 seconds faster than usual is a big deal. This is a sport where seconds count. I am set up well for a PR, BUT am hesitant to even put that out there. So many factors contribute to a PR on race day. The effort you put into training is a huge chunk of it, but weather, how your body feels race day and unexpected events on the course can thwart PR dreams. A week out, the weather forecast sounds supportive of my PR efforts – not too hot or humid - but what do the weather folk know?☺ What I am projecting is that I could have a PR if conditions work in conjunction with my training. If I PR, fantastic, and if I don’t, I’ll likely clock one of my best races. Stay tuned to see what unfolds at the Summerfest Rock-n-Sole Half Marathon on 6/15/13!

Summerfest has graciously allowed Joe to defer his registration to the 2014 race (many races don’t care what your reason is for backing out, and will not offer a refund or a deferment). Joe offered to be a volunteer at the race, but it seems they don’t need a 1-armed helper, so instead he’ll be a 1-armed cheer-er for me and my friends.