Never gone through a surgery before, so it’s really hard to know what’s ahead. So while all the butterflies flutter away in my stomach, I also look at this as an opportunity to make things as productive and fun as I possibly can. I mean, what’s the alternative? Sulking’s not going to help. Besides I have to put those 8+ years of endurance running to use, which if I don’t vent out, I know is going to be a disaster. I’ve already gotten a taste of that in the last few months with not running as much as I used to. Sweat, summit and sunrise. Few of my (ex-)favorite things. Might as well get ready for some deeper blues and cabin fever.

Post-surgery recovery

First things first, I got myself a chin-up bar and installed it in one of the nearest door frames. Immediately after surgery, I’m going to be in a cast for 2 weeks and it’s the perfect way to strengthen the upper-body and work those cores. I’m already up to ~18 consecutive chin-ups, though my son says I cheat by using the legs for the last few. Sshhh! Plus, love those leg lifts and crunches. That said, this stretch is going to be toughest, I think, what with the pain an’ all.

Next two weeks following that, I’m going to be in a boot. Depending on how well the recovery goes, stationary bike is apparently possible. Well, I already have a road bike, so the
Sportneer Bike Trainer is totally awesome. Took me just minutes to setup (just had to swap out the rear axle with the one included in the package), has enough resistance to simulate an uphill and should be hours of “fun” while I push through the recovery. I definitely don’t want to lose all that hard-trained cardio.

Four weeks in, I’m guessing I should probably be able to drive. Maybe. So I’ve been practicing (slowly) driving my car with my left foot. I’d say, I’m getting pretty good at this. Though I wouldn’t recommend for longer distances, since you have to twist your torso to get to the accelerator with your left foot and that’s probably not good for your posture. It also took a while to adjust to the lane positioning because of the skewed view/perspective.

Lastly, been working on my Español (Duolingo) for the past 200 odd days. I’ll definitely have a bit more time to work on this over the next few weeks. The friendly owl should keep me good company and hopefully mask the pain as I earn my gems knocking out one lesson after the other. 🙂 Though, every time I see the lesson “Me gusta correr con mis amigos, porque es divertido” (I like running with my friends because it’s fun) that just pisses me off, ‘cos hello?

Oh, one more thing, just in case, as a remote possibility, you know, in case I do get back to this thing I love called running. I’ve registered for California International Marathon, in December. Should give me plenty of time to bounce back, right? RIGHT? If all goes well, the plan is to BQ, that’s a 3:20 time for my age group. Maybe I should really obsess over running a 5K first, or just being able to run at all. But, hmm, moderation. What’s that?

Just a few more days until humpty-dumpty gets put back together!