Cautious Optimism

It's possible my physical therapist sensed my restlessness shortly after my last post. I went to PT on Tuesday a couple weeks ago and I didn't get cleared to run that day exactly, but it pretty much would have been except I forgot to bring shoes.

I say that so you'll understand why I then booked a class at Mile High Run Club the day after. I was PRETTY MUCH CLEARED. Basically cleared. Plus, I had run up and down the hall of the office under Caroline's (the PT) supervision.

I was nervous about the class, but my plan was to walk/run (this is basically what happens anyway because it's intervals) and to stop immediately if anything felt bad or wrong. But...it didn't! The fastest I ran was 5mph (12 minute miles) and that was for one two-minute interval. That Friday, I was officially cleared.

Fast forward to Saturday, when I did my first post-surgery outdoor run. Again, I tried to just run comfortably and pay attention to how my body was feeling. This was the result:

!!!

I do not exaggerate when I say that, next to helping pace Elana to a 5:00 marathon in 2017, I am most proud of this running achievement in the last 2-3 years. I still can't go crazy with running, but this is a better start than I imagined was possible, so let's see how it goes.

I still can't run so I'm reading a lot about antitrust legislation and trying to walk 20k steps a day and starting a new raspberry pi project is that bad

For reference pay attention to Kristen Wiig's last line.

It's pretty much all in the title. I still can't run or do cardio related exercise. Could I do upper body strength? Yes. Do I want to and/or have I been doing that? No.

Even though I've been trying to fill the holes with other hobbies I enjoy, I am going mildly stir-crazy. My next follow up appointment is on July 12, though the physical therapist has given a tentative go-ahead for me to try the bike or elliptical pending the surgeon's approval.

My surgeon hasn't given a whole lot in the way of guidance, so I've been looking online for documentation that various hospitals publish. This has been helpful and also indicates I should be able to resume several activities soon.

On the bright side, I did walk the Queens 10K a few weeks ago. It was more fun than I expected, and I did meet and walk the last few miles with a man who has walked the entire New York City Marathon a couple of times. I was heartened by that.

Creepin