New Blog

Just a heads up that I've moved to a new blog, with a slightly new twist. You can find it at: http://onedugonedog.blogspot.com

Who's this guy?

And what is he doing writing a blog? He doesn't do that. Ever. Will the post every six months trend continue? Who knows. Time will tell.

This last semester was a rough one with surgery, PT, and what not so I'm looking at one more fairly easy semester to wrap things up in grad school; not the end of the world by any means, so I'm making the best of it.

I've been running and biking again lately. Nothing major, but running 2-3 miles a couple times a week, and biking upwards of 20 miles in a go, also a few times a week. I tried out yoga, although my schedule hasn't been letting me fit it in the past two weeks. Maybe I'll get back into it.

For now the game plan is to workout to enjoy it. No races. No immaculately laid out spreadsheets of my weekly mileage. No major short term goals other than enjoying the fact that I'm moving again. Although, I will admit, running another marathon at some point in the future would be amazing.

Also, I have a new friend. His name is Comet. He's my 8 week old border collie that I brought home this Tuesday. And he is the cutest damn puppy in the entire world, hands down. Next spring, when he's old enough, he'll be my running partner. For now, I just put all my effort into tiring him out. Take a look!

Playing outside

Being handsome

All tuckered out

Building a Super Knee

I've been a bad blogger the past few weeks, no joke. But I thought I'd throw in a quick update.

Physical therapy is going really well. Since I last posted, I've made a lot of progress; I've definitely crossed the line and am better now than I was before surgery. My physical therapist is constantly butting up against the limits of what he's "allowed" to have me do at 2-3 weeks out, so a lot of the exercises are getting pretty damn easy.

Friday I got to jump on the elliptical, and got my HR up over 150 without a peep from my knee. I've also been working on walking increasingly longer distances so I can start walking to campus again, and today I made it pretty comfortably.

This next week we're supposed to toy with some "light impact exercises", and see how it reacts.

Thats all for now. Catch you guys later.

"Poster Child"

That's what the physical therapist said.

Apparently a combination of the surgery going well and me doing what I was told lead to my knee looking damn good just five days after surgery. The PT couldn't remember seeing a knee with absolutely no swelling this quick before. He actually measured it vs. my other knee, and they were exactly the same.

That said, I like my new PT and the whole atmosphere at his place. At most PT's I've been to (and I've seen my fair share), it's always been the majority old folks who broke because they stopped using stuff or they fell. Every patient here was an athlete, and the therapists were high energy and motivational too. Bingo.

Today he started me out easy. We're working on basic range of motion and some simple exercises to wake things up a bit. From when I walked in, I went from bending my knee about 30 degrees to 85-90 when I left. We also did some exercises to make my quad more responsive, and I could flex it a whole lot more when I left than when I went in. I'm also supposed to drop the crutches unless I'm going a long distance.

Now I just have to go through this routine 2-3 times a day, and the progress should stay pretty steady. The plan is about 4 weeks of this fairly easy stuff while my knee heals, then we'll start working towards more fun stuff. Right now he said the goal is to be running in 3 months, but he thinks it could go quicker if this fast recovery keeps doing what it's doing.

Eww, knee pictures

I'll start with a "close up." Maybe you can see it, maybe you can't. The quality on my camera wasn't quite good enough to get the details that great. The bottom bone is my femur, the top one is my knee cap. If you look carefully, you can see a nice groove that my femur has been working in my knee cap. After surgery, that groove is still there, but the rubbing shouldn't happen anymore.


The rest of these pretty much go without explanation, so they just get captions.

The sleeve after getting the bandage off.

View of both incisions

Side shot?

Further away

Front shot. And my crotch (croppings for losers)

Days Four & Five

Everything is going well the past few days. I'm just taking it easy, keeping it elevated, etc. I can get around my apartment without the crutches, but I still try to use them the majority of the time.

Also, my hat's off to potheads, because I don't know how they can stand being stoned all the damn time. After three days, I had enough of it and just stopped taking the vicodin. I'm taking tylenol now; I've been through worse in the past. I'd rather have a little pain if it means I get to have a short term memory.

Yesterday the swelling in my knee was going down, so the bandage on my leg slipped way down. We rewrapped it, although I think there was some intricacy to how they had it wrapped initially because it definitely feels different. Damn thing is getting itchy too, but I should be getting it off tomorrow. I'll be surprised (and disappointed) if I don't.

Thats all for now. I'll probably have more after I see the doctor in, uh, 7 hours.

Day Three

Whoops, forgot to post an update yesterday so I'll just do a double today. Or perpetually be a day behind.

Yesterday I think I started to make a turn for the better. I'm still walking on crutches and all that, but getting around just seems a little easier. I was even able to take a shower yesterday, after wrapping my leg in a garbage bag and doing whatever possible to seal it shut. Ever since then, the gauss/ace wrap on my leg has been wanting to slip down; I guess it got a little saturated.

Nothing else big going on. Just doing what the doctor says to do and sleeping a lot.

Day Two

Well, today I'm definitely feeling yesterday's surgery, but that's to be expected since the local anesthetics have worn off. I've spent the majority of the day laying around watching TV and sleeping with ice on my knee, and my leg propped up on a pair of pillows.

Bending my knee hurts pretty bad today, even with the Vicodin, but I've been through worse pain in the past. I can't complain too much given the circumstances.

I also have some pictures of the inside of my knee that were taken with the scope during the surgery. It shows exactly what they expected to see. You can clearly see where my knee cap was rubbing on my femur. You can really see the inflammation. Once I get a good explanation of what each is a picture of, I might post a few just to share.

And to end on a good note, my mom made cake! :)

Post-op

Evening all, just giving a brief heads up about how surgery went.

First of all: damn, what a week for surgery. We got an ice storm from hell in Kentucky this week and it has shut down the town for two days for the most part. We got over an inch of ice, and needless to say it is freaking nasty outside. The hospital remained open, and so did the pharmacy I got my pain pills from (a friend of mine who got his wisdom teeth out yesterday wasn't so lucky).

As predicted, I couldn't sleep worth a damn last night. I think I tried to go to bed at 1, got up around 2:30, tried at 3, got up, tried at 4... eventually fell asleep and got about an hour of sleep, woohoo?

At the hospital, everything went very very well. Everyone was very nice, I even got in early since I showed up a little bit early. The pre-op physical showed I'm still healthy as a horse, although I'm not sure how that's possible with how much I've been eating like shit lately, haha.

Today was the first time I had ever had an IV for any reason, and I have to say I'm surprised at how fast medicine works when you get it that way, damn! First time they gave me something they said "We're giving you a drug to help you relax. It's like Valium but better." I said, "so I'll start feeling good pretty so --- ooohhhh." Then when I got to the OR shortly thereafter, I got to watch them setup briefly, then heard "You're going to sleep now" and woke up two hours later. I wish I could have fallen asleep like that last night.

Today I've just been bumming around all day. I'm drugged up on vicodin, but I sure can't feel a thing so long as I use my crutches. I got really light headed / nausiated when I got up a bit earlier, but the medicine they gave me for that worked like a charm too.

Thats all for now. Expect frequent updates, I'm hoping to use this as a recovery log for at least the next week or two. Thanks for all the support, too :)

Night before

It's the night before surgery, or as I like to call it "getting my knee stabbed."

Nervous? Yeah.
Ready to get it over with? Uh huh.
Not wanting to wake up at the ass crack of dawn? You bet.

Not much to say, really. I have family down here to help me get around, although I'm hoping I don't need help for too long. Really not sure what to expect during or afterwards so we'll just see how things go tomorrow.

Wish me luck guys. I'll be around.

Fail and get up and win

It's no joke the last several months have been shitty on my end. Can't run, can't bike, can't swim, can't do shit. Walking to class hurts my knee. Hell, driving hurts my knee.

I dug myself into a hole.

I fell back into my old ways of rotting in front of the computer. No working out. Not much going anywhere. Eating like shit. Absolutely no motivation.

Driving back to Kentucky yesterday I got to thinking about all the stuff I've accomplished. All the people supporting me. All the things that have changed in the past year, all the things I need to work to change back, and the few people encouraging me to do so (Thanks Joe).

I'm digging myself out of this rut.

Sure, I still can't run, bike, or swim. But even with my knee, I'm still capable of pushups/situps and the like, so I'm getting back to it. I started today with what was my first workout since, well, probably July. I did some pushups and a minor ab workout. Over the next few weeks I hope to build it up more so I'm in some sort of shape / state of mind to tackle the physical therapy.

My knee surgery is two weeks from Wednesday, and I'm going to hit it with some momentum.

“A winner is a loser who was willing to fail and get up,
fail and get up,
fail and get up,
fail and get up and win.”

Nine month anniverrsary

This will be brief, but something worth sharing with those who still check this blog for some strange reason.

It's been 9 months since that fateful day in March that my knee let out a big "F*CK YOU". And after my most recent relapse caused by shopping with my cousin for a few hours, and having to miss class because I dare not walk to campus, I decided it's time to finally do what I really didn't want to do.

Knee surgery is scheduled for 01/28/09. It's part exploratory, but he's planning to cut some tissue on the outside of my right knee, which will hopefully cause part of my knee cap to stop rubbing so badly. Afterwards I should be completely off my knee for a week, on crutches for a 1-2 weeks, and possibly running again after 8 weeks. I'll have to go through therapy yet again so my knee can learn to track properly, but if it will get me active again I'll say it's easily worth it.

If someone else's surgery gets canceled mine might move up. I'll keep you all posted.

Where'd Doug go?

Who the heck is this guy? Where'd he go? Does anybody ever check this anymore? What's he doing posting on his blog? How dare he.

Well, I'll tell you where I went. A few months ago I told myself I wasn't going to post about anything pessimistic. Maybe I'm breaking that rule now, but a few people caught me on Facebook so I thought I'd let you all know how I'm doing. Here goes.

Around the 4th of July, my knee had a pretty huge relapse. The cause could be from a slight increase of mileage while running with my brace, or walking a mile or two without my brace. Regardless, it flared up bad. I started seeing an orthopedic surgeon and got an MRI. The diagnosis a combination of runners knee (chronomalasia - something like that) and quad tendonosis (which is like tendonitis' evil sister). I've done my research and recovery time can take anywhere from months to years to something I'd rather not think about. Hopefully the former rather than the later two.

Since then I've started yet another round of physical therapy, under the guidance of my orthopedic surgeon. We're trying various things from stretching and strengthening, to taping my knee, injections, and ionto. Some of it helps.

Last Friday I was feeling great and decided to try walking to class without my brace (a little under a mile), and have been regretting it since. That sorta puts this situation in perspective, I think.

Well, that's where I've been. I didn't want to post too much pessimistic lately so I just didn't post, but there's the update a few people decided to drag out of me.

Regardless of how poorly the running front has been, the Zafra quote to the right are still words to live by.

So, how are you guys doing?

Weekly Recap 06/23/08 - 06/29/08

Monday: Rest.

Tuesday: Ran 3 miles. New post-injury distance. Went well.

Wednesday: Rest.

Thursday: Ran 3 miles again, just to make sure the distance is safe.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Ran 4 miles. It felt freaking hot outside, but I was also dumb and didn't bring anything to drink. Four miles is definitely the threshold of when I need to worry about hydration. Knee felt fine, but this run kicked my butt.

Sunday: Okay, it's not Sunday yet, but it'll be a rest day.

Total: 10.4 miles

Resting HR: 66 bpm


-----------------------

Okay, Bill. You're right. I'm back. I've run every other day for the past two weeks with very little noise from my knee. I'm still being --very-- cautious about stretching, icing, and what not. I don't even dare run without my knee brace, either. In a week or two I might try a mile or two without it, but no promises there.

Next week I'm going to try and go swimming some time, although I'm going to avoid any TNT or Master's practice because I really don't want the "Holy crap! Doug's back!" response when I'm just jumping in to swim (read: thrash around for) a couple laps.

I still don't trust my bike. I just have a gut feeling biking would be a bad idea. If I find out swimming works again, I'll try giving the bike a shot. Until then, though, the bike will have to simply do it's job leaning against the wall in the other room.

I hope all is well in your worlds, mine is definitely starting to shape up again.

Weekly Recap 06/16/08 - 06/22/08

Prelude, Sunday night: I called home and was talking to my old man. He suggested going for a run since everything seemed to stop changing with my knee. His philosophy: If it hurts and you run, or it hurts if you don't run, you might as well run! So... I cautiously gave it a shot!

Monday: One mile. It was raining, but I still kept it to one mile. Pace: 7:58, heart rate: 174

Tuesday: Rest, duh!

Wednesday: One mile again. Still feeling pretty good! Pace: 8:03, heart rate: 172

Thursday: Takin' it easy

Friday: Two miles. Hooooeyyyy, progress! Pace: 7:48, heart rate: 177

Saturday: Being a bum.

Sunday: Two miles and change. Pace: 7:47, heart rate 176

Total: 6.4 miles

-------------------------------------

Hey, look at that! Doug's running!

So as usual (is it bad I have a "usual" for coming off of injuries?), my speed sorta stuck around while I was getting out of shape, but I have ZERO endurance. At the end of two miles on Friday, my quads were already starting to ache. Also, my heart rate is simply out of control. I guess thats what I get for doing nothing at all for a couple months, huh?

Regardless of what shape I'm in, it's GREAT to be running again.

By the way, the triathlon I was supposed to do with TNT is today. Good luck to everybody out there!

Hawaii Pictures

Hey look, its me again! As promised, here are Hawaii pictures. The jet ski story will wait until next time, whenever that is. Sorry Nic, there wasn't a monster crash, but the story might be on par with one.

Without further delay, here are some pictures in no particular order.

Not pictured: our luggage.

View from our balcony

Perty.Sister, Dad, & Me

TURTLE! Know why he's tired? He just freaking swam thousands of miles.

They're very strict at Pearl Harbor

Admit it, you're jealous of our SWEET hats!

Hungry?

From the top of diamondhead. Fog is from the volcano on a neighboring island.

For the ladies.

The Beach (Featuring: pasty tourists)

We're a special bunch.

Leaving to go jet skiing. Look carefully and you'll notice I shaved my beard; that didn't last long because I looked like I was 14.

Now, I'm not going to tell the jetskiing story today. I gotta keep you in suspense. Sorry, thems the rules, people. But, I will give you one hint, in picture form of course. It involved waves like these, but bigger:

Update

Oh, hello there. I didn't see you.

I've been a bad blogger, but that's probably not going to change for the next month or two. But I thought I at least owed a few people an update as to what's been up, and show you all that I am still alive.

The semester ended. I got my A's and headed to Hawaii after a week off. Hawaii was amazing. We went on tours, to a luau, went jet skiing, and ate a couple truck loads of amazing food. My only complaint is the 12 hours of flying both ways, and our luggage getting lost both ways!

Training? Ha. Whats that? I've swam once since my last post, and it was the worst swim ever. Calf cramp => knee started hurting again => shoulder started hurting again. As a result, I haven't done any training in about a month.

I have, however, started physical therapy. My PT thinks he has my issue figured out, so here's whats up with the piece of junk. If you bend your knee, towards the outside theres a bone that sticks out a little bit, its at the end of the femur. Mine sticks out a lot and is sorta sharp (translation: I have boney knees). Normally, not a problem. However, my IT band is tight too, so its pulling my knee cap over the sharp part. Pain!

He gave me a bunch of exercises which hopefully get me on the right track. So far I can't tell much difference but its been less than a week.

There you have it. My life the past month in a nutshell.

If anybody still reads this, let me know and I'll post up some pictures from Hawaii and I'll tell you a super-fun jet skiing story.

Endorphins!

I finally got my fix. Oh yes, I got my fix!

After about two weeks off (not counting last Sunday's 1/4 mile swim), going back at it felt AMAZING! After being pretty much shut down for that long, nothing can quite describe how pumped up I am right now, so I'm not even going to try.

Since I've been a bad blogger lately, here's a summary:

• Finals are DONE!
• Exercises for my knee are a go
  
• Swimming works again
• I don't have a care in the world
• I'M GOING TO HAWAII IN SIX DAYS!

I thought I could make a full post about how pumped I am right now, but nope, not quite. Just know that I am. This thing is turning around.

Life is good.

Weekly Recap 04/21/08-04/27/08

Monday: Bike 10 miles, water run, swim 0.25 miles
Tuesday: Bike 10 miles. Chased by dog. Relapse. Swim 0.25
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Swim 0.25 miles

Total bike: 20 miles
Total swim: 0.75 miles

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Knee hurts worse today than it has in the past two months. Anything else I say would not fit the theme for this blog so we'll just leave it at that.

Okay, now that I'm less sour about being injured I want to update again. This morning was frustrating. My knee was killing me just walking from my car to the pool; this is the first time my knee has interrupted me from every day activities and it really got under my skin.

Swimming went okay. I busted out the pull buoy again and swam maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile. I wasn't counting. I didn't go any further for fear of hurting my shoulder again from pulling an obscene amount.

After looking at the situation from more of a non-pissed-off point of view, I can see my mistake. A month or so I got some exercises to do from my friend Tracy. I started doing them and after a week or two I could bike & swim again. For some crazy reason, I didn't put the two events together. I stopped doing the exercises.

WHAMO! Relapse!

So the goal for this week is to do those exercises a few times a day to strengthen my knee again. Gotta break out the foam roller again too. No more moping. No more feeling bad for my lame self. I'm getting on top of this NOW! With all these people behind me for Team in Training, I can't afford to screw around and let them all down; people are counting on me this time.

To recap:

• Foam roller my IT band like crazy
  
• Strengthen my knee
• Ace my finals
• Then... go brain dead for a week
• Then... GO TO HAWAII!

Relapse

Tuesday it was 70 degrees, sunny, class got canceled, and I just got my Garmin back. A million reasons to go ride 10 miles, so I did, just like several times before.

Got out there, kept it easy.

An unfriendly dog started chasing me.

Sprinted to get away.

Now my knee hurts.

See you homies in a while...