I'm Comfortably Uncomfortable

So I've been transitioning out of the walking boot for the past six days.  My foot has been released from prison but is still on parole for a few more days.  All of the nerve endings, muscles, ligaments and tendons have come back to life and it feels a little uncomfortable.  Pins and needles, weird sensations when walking in different parts of my foot, etc. But it feels great to be free.

The rebuilding process is going to be very slow...and probably painful.  On Saturday I got a little too excited and rode my bike outside for 80 minutes.  I kept the effort very easy but still that added time likely contributed to some of the discomfort I felt later in the day.  I'll ratchet back the rides to 60' for the next few weeks.

On a good note, kicking while swimming is pretty much a non-issue.  I've done two swim workouts where I've kicked for some shorter sets and it's been fine.  And it feels great to kick and not have that pull buoy between my legs. 

The next big thing is to start walking regularly.  Beginning with 5 minutes and progressively working up every other day to a longer duration.  Dr. Van Boerum says he wants me to insert a 4 minute run when I am at the 12 week mark - that's in two weeks and then progressively increase the run.  I can't fathom running right now.  One day at a time...

"No Boot Burning Party Yet"...

That's exactly what the doctor said...unsolicited and without knowing I had plans to douse the boot with gas and set it ablaze.  This isn't really bad news...I kind of expected it.  The fracture is healing on schedule. The line or crack in the bone is still visible but it's closed in and kind of hazy.  I am cleared to start "weaning" out of the boot over a 7-10 day period.  Remove it for a few hours in the morning, put the boot back on in the afternoon and then take it off for a while in the evening.  I'm supposed to gradually increase the time I have it off until I don't need it anymore.  We had a long talk about rebuilding strength, walking a lot and then eventually returning to running.  He wants me to run after the 12 week mark which I found surprising.  I told him I wanted to wait until 16 weeks to start running and he said no.  He wants me to start building more strength and he says a good way to do that is run a little during a walk session.

We had a lot of debate about returning to riding a bike on the road...this is the one area we don't agree on.  The doctor told me that I should still take caution and not road bike more than 15-20 minutes in these first few transition weeks.  I think he doesn't understand cycling really and the mechanics of the pedal stroke.  I've gone 60' on the stationary bike without any issue.  The only risk with a road bike is having to make a quick move or stop fast.  I can mimic the same effort and cadence out on the road.  So, I pumped up my tires this morning and rode for 60 minutes @ 155 watts out on the road!  To put 155 watts into perspective, that's 40+ watts below Ironman race pace and 56% of my previous Functional Threshold Power.  In other words, even for the maimed and out of shape sloth that I am it's WAY EASY.  Didn't feel real easy though on my heart...I was up in the mid-140's for most of the ride.

Honestly, I'm more worried about swimming than anything.  He said I don't have to use a pull buoy and I can just start kicking freestyle.  That thought scares me.  The kicking action really activates the tendon that's attached to the broken piece of bone.  I will give it a very small and easy try tomorrow morning.

So I walked to my car from the doctor's office yesterday!  It felt weird.  Strange feeling throughout my foot and ankle.  Muscles and soft tissue that's not used to being moved or used.  I walk with a pretty significant limp right now.  But I'm able to get around without much trouble.  And suddenly I'm excited to go on walks around the neighborhood.  It will be something good for me and Jenny to do together.

Progress is being made.

Big Day Tomorrow

Going to Dr. Van Boerum tomorrow for another round of x-rays - it's been nearly 9 weeks since I broke my foot.  It is expected (hoped) that he will tell me to stop wearing the boot and start walking on it.  If this does in fact happen, we will be holding a boot burning ceremony tomorrow night.  Gas and matches, my favorite combination.  All of this is highly dependent upon what the x-rays show - but based on how I feel it should be positive news.  Fingers crossed.

Yesterday's stationary bike workout was legit - 60 minutes at around 170-180 watts.

Here's the New Ride...

2011 Cervelo P2 56cm, Shimano Dura-Ace, Custom Zipp 808s with Aerojacket disc cover by Wheelbuilder and PowerTap, Zipp cockpit, Cane Creek 200TT carbon brake levers, Adamo TT saddle, Vittoria Open Corsa tires with Latex tubes, DarkSpeedWorks aero box, SpeedPlay pedals and DT Swiss Ti ratcheting skewers.

Should be a half-decent aero setup for next year...

Workout Summary:

8/17 - Swim ~1,600 meters

8/18 - Bike (stationary) - ~40' @ 130 watts

8/19 - Swim ~1,600 meters

8/20 - Bike (stationary) - 45' @ 130-150 watts

That wraps up a solid six days of what I would call "exercise" not really training.  It's progress.  Pain and discomfort comes and goes.  I feel pretty good though.

Almost 8 Weeks

We're back from Oceanside.  We had a great time at the beach with my family.  My foot enjoyed doing pretty much nothing the entire time.  Any pain or discomfort was minimal.

I go back to Dr. Van Boerum next Wednesday, August 24th for another round of x-rays and hopefully the green light to give the boot "the boot".  Not so fast...I've learned from other people who have had an avulsion fracture that I'll likely be "weaned" out of the boot over time, perhaps with a walking shoe or brace.  Not set free, but on parole for a while.  The 8 week mark is kind of the minimum for ditching the boot and starting to do real activities such as riding a road bike outside.  The real milestone is 12 weeks because at that point the bone should be about 90% healed - enough to pretty much do anything on it.  However, I plan to hold out on running until at least the 16 week mark.  I really have no idea what to expect at this point.

Workout Summary:
8/6 thru 8/14 - OFF
8/15 - Swim 1,700 meters - form, power, resistence
8/16 - Bike (stationary) easy spin 40' @ 100 watts.  No pain, no discomfort.

This week's workout goal is to hit 6 out of 7 days of doing swimming or biking.  On Saturday I'm going to try to do a swim and bike workout back to back - not long, just an easy hour of swimming and then biking.  Trying to keep weight gain to a minimum.

Here's what it looks like to do Disneyland with the kids in a wheelchair.  Not much fun.

 

Nothing Much To Say

There's not a ton of new news to report.  This week I went swimming 2X and rode the stationary bike 2X.  I have some discomfort when riding the bike.  It feels like I have to get my foot kind of warmed up and then in a position where it doesn't cause any pain.  It's hard to pin down what I'm feeling.  The boot kind of desensitizes normal feeling. 

I'm finding that late in the day, from 4-5pm my foot starts to ache - especially on days where I have done a workout.  I'm managing this with lots of ice. 

Don't know if I would categorize these activities as real "workouts".  I'm getting my heart rate up and sweating, but not that much.  While spinning yesterday on the bike I was holding 150 watts which is about 55% of my threshold power.  The limiter here is pain - if I feel it coming on, I back off. 

We're heading to Oceanside to the beach for a a week so I'll be effectively out of commission without any workouts for 10 days.  Should provide some significant healing time for my foot.