Baby steps ...

It's been almost 10 weeks since I broke my shoulder and about four weeks since I was allowed to remove my sling. My shoulder STILL hurts! I'm doing heavy duty physio these days, going twice a week and doing 1.5-2 hours/day of exercises at home. I still need to take painkillers from time to time and am anxious to finish healing.

My physiotherapist has purposely given me double the number of exercises as he would the average person because he knows I have an Ironman coming up. He also realizes that I am healing/progressing at double the speed :-) This is probably due to a combination of being in good shape previous to the accident as well as my stubborness/mental resolve. What got me through all my long distance races will also get me through this long and painful healing process!.

I've got another few weeks for the bone to get harder but was sure happy to get rid of that sling! Besides the obvious possibility of regaining mobility, I was THRILLED to say good-bye to the horrible rash caused by wearing the sling. It was constantly itchy and irritated, making it difficult to fall asleep and waking me often during the night, even bleeding and weeping from time to time because of all the scratching. It took a full two weeks to heal even after the sling came off.

Having one arm is no fun.

I couldn't do simple things easily, like preparing food, washing myself, getting dressed and undressed, putting my hair up in a ponytail, tying a garbage bag ... I relied on my friends to help me and even once on a stranger ,"Oh, please, could you put my hair up in a ponytail?" My hair was full of static electricity because of my winter hat, annoying as all heck, and I was waiting to get an x-ray done at the hospital. I knew she'd understand, as she herself had her hair in a ponytail :-)

I learned to do things creatively, like roll my hair up and put it into a clip with the help of the edge of the table and also to hang clothes with one hand. Not the smartest thing to do though, as this required balancing myself precariously on the edge of the bathtub. Try doing that when your centre of gravity is displaced because you've got an arm pinned up against your chest.

I quickly realised the first time I washed my hair after the accident that pouring shampoo directly on my head was not a good idea, as I poured out half the bottle. I learned that I had to put some shampoo on my leg, put down the bottle then scoop the shampoo quickly into my right hand. I also gave up on washing certain parts of my right arm and upper torso but I did learn to apply body lotion on certain parts of my body with my right thigh.

I even learned to wash my right armpit with my right hand. And then I learned to SHAVE my armpit too ... mind you, the first time was a little scary.

Good thing I have helpful friends. Good thing I have friends who cook. Good thing I have a freezer.

So, now that I'm finally doing strength exercises with light weights (2 & 3 lb. weights, and two different resistance bands), I've started training again, but ever so gently.

Running

I started running again about 2 1/2 weeks ago with my arm pinned against the front of my chest as any shoulder movement was painful, and since the jarring motion also hurt the fracture, I had to run very slowly and smoothly. I started out carefully and built up ... 15 min, then 20, then 25, then 30! Then 5k!!

And now, because the physio exercises have increased the range of motion of my shoulder, I am able to run with my arm slightly away from my body. My present goal is to get back to my regular arm swing and increase my weekly mileage slowly. My shoulder's still quite sore so I haven't attempted more than 5k at a time.

Swimming

Yay! I was thrilled when my physiotherapist gave me the go-ahead to swim two weeks ago. So this is what I've done since ... mind you, I have to be very careful since I can't yet extend to the end of my stroke because of the pain. But check out the progression of these workouts ... slow and steady!

1) 200yds = 8 x 25yds breaststroke

2) 400yds = 8 x 50yds breaststroke

3) 400m = 2 x 50m breaststroke + 1 x 100m breaststroke + 8 x 25m front crawl

4) 600m = 2 x 100m breaststroke + 4 x 50m front/back kick + 4 x 50m front crawl

5) 800m = 200m breaststroke + 6 x 100m front crawl

6) 700yds = 200yds breaststroke + 2 x 250yds front crawl

* I swam in two different pools, one measures 25yds, the other 25m.

Cycling

Well, I've been cycling little bits since about two weeks after the accident, but I found it quite difficult at first sitting up completely straight on my racing bike and propping myself up with the aid of a chair beside me. I've been cycling anywhere from 20-40 min. each time, about twice a week, a real pain when I was in the sling 'cause my arm got hot and made me itch worse. And once out of the sling, the first few times were painful since I had nothing supporting my arm and shoulder.

Riding has recently gotten much better. My butt has now developed callouses and my left shoulder isn't as sore as it used to be. I've adapted to holding the chair and often ride holding nothing. I'm now slowly progressing to cycling in a bent-over position and holding my handlebars on the tops, but only a minute or two at a time. I can't yet put my full weight on my shoulder and don't want to risk it until the bone is 100% hard. Sure eels good to get stronger on my bike!

Today's weather was absolutely gorgeous with lots of sun and warm Spring-like temperatures ... a perfect time to ride outdoors. I was tempted to give my mountain bike a mini-tuneup to take her for a spin, but what would I do if I got a flat tire? Montreal is just starting to clean its streets and there's lots of glass and mean bits lying around that will slash bike tires. I know this from experience when I got a flat my first outdoor ride in 2008. With the lack of strength in my left arm and shoulder, I wouldn't stand a chance of being able to change a tire!

In fact, when my racing bike was set up on my trainer after my accident, the front tire valve tip snapped off when I removed the pump. I haven't pumped that tire up since because I know it'll go flat once I depress the valve, and I'll be unable to change my tire!

I still have a long road ahead of me to get my full strength and mobility back but it's nice to know I'm on my way.

It's almost ironic that a friend last year told me, "Oh, you should be able to do a really good Ironman next year. You've had enough bad things happen to impede your training, nothing can happen now!"

Yeah right ...

Car accident before Ironman Canada 2006.

Bike accident before Ironman Louisville 2008.

And now, broken shoulder before Ironman Canada 2010. Good thing that at least in my mind, I'll be able to finish it ;-)

SPLAT!

Today, I should have been on Day #10 of the training system P90X, but unfortunately, I am only on strong pain meds and anti-inflammatories ...

WHY?

Fracture of the greater tuberosity of the left humerus. Can you see it?

If not, let me help you out a bit ...

HOW?

Innocuous fall forward while on my snowboard onto my outstretched left arm that *tried* to catch me.

SPLAT!

Pretty embarrassing that I was only coming down off the chair lift. I didn't want to hit the "loiterers" straight ahead of me so had to stop quickly but I must have hit a rut. Wish I had a better story to tell you all, like ... "I wiped out on a Double Black run and did a triple somersault before striking the ground!"

The pain was so intense, I couldn't breathe, so the Ski Patrol had to give me oxygen during the transport. Pretty incredible how they manouvered me on that stretcher from the top of the mountain all the way down, considering all the moguls they had to go around!

I only WISH I'd passed out from the pain, it was horrible. Thank God I was not alone!

RB and my son TMH rushed me to the closest hospital 20 min. away, Granby Hospital, where it took less than five minutes to get treated ... I guess the loud crying helped. The triage nurse sent me into the examination room right away. My loud scream in pain when she tried to take the glove off my injured limb prompted her quick decision.

Nurse: "Go straight through to the back and they will undress you there."

(RB told me later she rated my pain 10/10 when he went to give her my medical info.)

Two injections of phentanyl, lots of shivering from shock, x-rays, another injection of a longer-acting pain-killer, extreme nausea and dizziness ...

Doctor: "Well, I've got good news ... It's NOT dislocated!"

My mind raced ... if it wasn't dislocated, then what the hell was causing all this f*cking pain?!?! Why couldn't my shoulder just be popped back into place and then the pain go away? I felt desperate.

Doctor: "It's broken but non-displaced. If the bone doesn't move, the healing will be straight-forward and you'll have no future problems. With dislocations, one will always have problems."

SS: "How long will it take to heal?"

Doctor: "Your snowboarding season is over."

I broke my shoulder ... I can't believe I broke my shoulder!!

RB brought my son and I home and I promptly vomited but at least I finally got rid of the nausea.

***********************************************

So now, post-accident 10 days, I am still immobilized and still in great pain. As explained to me, the rotator cuff muscles attach onto that piece of broken bone. My pharmacist told me that the pain-killers that I was taking were between morphine and heroin ... crap, I can still feel the pain.

Had another set of x-rays done in Montreal and saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. I'm healing well and the bone fragment remains non-displaced. YAY!

SS: "When will the intense pain go away?"

Doctor: (looking me right in the eyes) "YOU BROKE A BONE!"

(Dang, the ER doctor at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital said the exact same thing in the exact same way two days after my accident ... yes, I unfortunately had to pass though Emergency again to get a consult appointment with the specialist.)

I then explained my predicament (Ironman and my need to return to training) and the doc said he'd release me early from my sling if all went well ...

March 1 will hopefully be my "release date"! Cross your fingers for me!

It's simple.

I haven't blogged 'cause I'm barely training. Call it Sloth Mode but it happens every year during the holiday season. In general, I'm not one for keeping schedules and routines since I lack dedication and discipline, but recently, I've had some good reasons to be running, cycling and swimming less.

REASON #1

I've never gone far away for Christmas but finally did recently to the French Alps. A little intimidating for this snowboarder who hasn't visited many ski hills but quite the experience ...

REASON #2

Friggin' 2nd degree burn.


My forearm touched the oven door as I was turning roast potatoes. What you see here in the pic is Day Four, and it's looking "good" having just been freshly washed. Damned tape gave me contact dermatitis though!

My burn wept and bled for almost two weeks and hurt like the dickens even when covered. Boo hoo. I couldn't sleep properly at night, not knowing where to put my arm and having to take pain-killers. Needless to say, this burn didn't bolster my training mood. Obviously no swimming as water made it sting horribly but I did manage a few short runs, even though it did hurt to move my arm.

This week, I'm now back to almost daily short runs of 25-35 min. and tomorrow, I'm going to the pool! My skin is much better and I no longer need a gauze covering. Yay!

REASON #3

Do I really want to put my bike on my trainer? I haven't cycled since autumn ... Let's approach this daunting task after I manage to incorporate the swim ...

NEXT ... the P90X!!!

I remember when ...

The other day, I ran 7.7 km, the most I've run since resuming my running only a few weeks ago. I'd been off running since late April, almost three months, because of a sore hip. I felt slow and heavy ...

Where did my fitness go?

I've been swimming and cycling and trying to keep some sort of fitness base but I realise that I'm in my best shape, emotionally and physically, when I can RUN! This is likely due to the fact that I don't push myself the same way with swimming or cycling as I do with endurance running, where I don't have a choice. I can't take a little break by gliding or letting the wheels spin ...

I miss my marathoning training days of 5-6 days of running, when I used to be thinner, and when I used to fit all my sexy tailored clothes ... Waah!

Hip was a little sore, more so after the run than during, but what worries me is the *twinge* in my left knee, which hurt during my 30k ride the day afterwards too ... I think I'm compensating for my hip. Sigh.

Half Ironman Triathlon ... we'll see if this race even happens. I'll give myself until August 22 to register ... Otherwise, it'll just be a Sprint.

OUCH !!!

I got kicked in the pool today ... UBER-HARD!

You'd think that if you're doing a furious breast-stroke, you'd be careful about your wide kick. Nope. Some man sharing my lane swimming in the opposite direction to me was totally oblivious to my passing him. I am sure he could see me as I approached and it would have been considerate to take care not to kick me. I, on the other hand, was watching the bottom of the pool when suddenly ...

OOF! P-A-I-N!!!

Geez, even getting hoofed in the face during Ironman was less painful. His kick had me stopped in the middle of the lane, standing in the pool, clutching my calf. I swam precariously to the lane end and waited for a reaction from the guilty party while I massaged my leg and grimaced in pain. The oblivious breast-stroker swam back to the end of the lane where I was standing, touched the wall, turned around and continued on.

You'd think I'd get at least a "Sorry, are you alright?" Nope. What ever happened to good old courtesy? If I had been in less pain, I could have put some effort into chasing him down to tell him to be more careful about other swimmers in the pool ...

Now I've got a huge muscle cramp in my calf that won't go away, making it difficult to walk ... boo hoo hoo!

On a more positive note ... though my hip's not yet healed, I've managed three short 4.5-5k runs in the past 10 days. A wee bit sore afterwards but manageable and no longer the lingering sometimes sharp pain I used to get after a run. I think I'm finally on the mend ...

This actually makes me think I might still be able to get in a race or two this season. Ideally, I'd do a Half Ironman come early September (idea of an IM is completely out) and a marathon in October but I might be getting ahead of myself. It's hard to think that the only race I might end up doing is a Sprint Triathlon ... not that I have anything against that distance, but with my bum hip, I'm sure I won't be able to do any effective speed training without reinjuring myself. Besides, I totally suck at transitions ... Sigh.

Let's see how training goes in the next little while ... cross your fingers for me!

Celebrating little victories!

So, the other day, I went to the pool and it was closed. I had already cycled that day and really wanted to do a second workout, even it was going to be short. In fact, it had to be short as I had bread baking and had to be back in time to take it out of the bread machine.

So ...

I decided to go for it.

Yes, after seven weeks off running due to a hip injury, I decided to go for the GOLD. I slipped on my running shorts and a sassy singlet, then put my socks and shoes on.

I ran and ran and ran ... and I was so happy to have been able to run ...

One and a half kilometres!!!

Alright, it wasn't very far, and in fact it was only 1.42 km (I rounded up, I can do what I want), but I wasn't in agony ... I wasn't IN PAIN!! Mind you, my hip was a little sore afterwards, like it is these days even when I get up from a sitting position or after a long cycle ...

But you know, I'm happy just to have been able to run that little bit ... gives me hope that my hip injury will go away/heal itself. Heck, it's got lots of time to do that before my MRI gives me any conclusive results ... I've got a 9-10 month wait for the appointment alone. Yup, medical care in Canada. Sigh.

I'm gonna go for a two kilometre run next time!!

Bag Balm, I love you!!

I've been off running since mid-April due to a hip injury, I think caused when I had my last bike accident. Probably something to do with not being able to unclip manually before being thrown off my bike. I'm thinking that the same force that threw me into the back of the mini-van might have also torn a tendon slightly as my leg extended backwards before my pedals unclipped ... thus the hip injury. Sigh ... stupid mini-van driver. I've had pain every time I've ran since then, and it would be gone in a day, but only when I upped my mileage recently in anticipation for the Ottawa Marathon did the pain not go away.

So ...

That leaves me with cycling and swimming.

Meet my "new" pal, Kate. She's gonna allow me to train in the city ... Tri-bikes are way too dangerous to ride in Montreal traffic ... I'd hate to injure my neck a third time!


And since I've put new pedals on her and also a new seat that doesn't shred my private soft bits, we've been able to start a beautiful love affair.


Admittedly, we had a few squabbles at first, even with the change of seat, but with the introduction of the new mediator, things have since been hunky dory.

Hello BAG BALM! Good-bye BodyGlide!



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Wow, I never thought cycling could be so "pain-free" :-D