Pretty solid 4-week block in the books--backing off this next week....

 Yesterday completed a pretty solid 4-week building block, considering that I'm still in my 4th month post-Total Knee Replacement.  Here are the volume stats:

Swim: 4,500 yards

Bike: 224 miles

Walk: 13 miles

PT Time: 5:10

Total Time: 24:40

At first blush, with 24:40 of training time, this almost looks like a legit Long-Course Triathlon training week.  However, with over 5 hours of dedicated PT/rehab time for my knee, my SBR time was sub-20 hours, so a relatively light week by my historical standards.  You can see that reflected in my SBR volumes which are all below where I would normally expect to be this time of year (10,000+ yards/300+ miles/25+ miles).  These reduced totals are also a reflection of the very modest levels of intensity/effort I currently have in my SBR training.  Here is a graphic showing the last few weeks (other is PT):

You see the general rise in effort and the consistency of my training in the above.  I even went over 4 hours on back-to-back days last week.  You can also see the prevalence of my PT efforts--I did sone form of PT in 26 of these 35 days--about 3/4ths of the days I do PT.

I'm also now able to easily tolerate biking most days and will begin to increase the length of my longer rides beyond 2 hours.  You can also see I'm getting my feet wet again and getting ready to build up my swim volume in April.

My recovery continues a pace.  Still making progress but also still quite a ways to go.  I underwent dry-needling this week to try to trigger my calf and hammy on my left-side to loosen and lengthen a bit so I can get the last 5-10 degrees of extension that I'm lacking.  Also, I feel my walks (in the knee) once I get up around 5 miles or so.  I'm definitely still a ways away from being ready to head out on my more substantial (5+ hour) treks/hikes/climbs.  

For the upcoming month of April, in addition to getting to the point where I might be able to do legitimate long-distance hiking again, I plan to bring my swim up into the 30,000+ yard range and add a lot of intensity, especially to my bike and swim.  I'll keep doing the PT as long as necessary but hope that I can eventually get it down to a more maintenance like schedule--say 2 hours/week, vs. the 4-5+ I'm doing now.

I'm heading to Florida today to help my Mom out a bit and will use this trip as an excuse to ease back on my volume a bit this week to consolidate the last 4-week block and to get ready for the greater volume/intensity I envision for April.

Onwards and upwards!

Last week volume

 More of the same--so 3 pretty similar weeks over the last 3--my knee feels a bit better so I seem to be adjusting to the volume....will try to do more of the same this week:

Swim: 4,500 yards

Bike: 210 miles

Walk: 14 miles

PT: 4:15

Total time: 23:07

At my rehab this week we are going to try dry needling to see if I can get the last 5-10% of leg extension.  My flexion is pretty close to normal.  pain continues to diminish!

Last two weeks--volume wise almost returning to normal....

 Here are my last two weeks of total training volume:

2/27-3/5

Swim: 0 yards

Bike: 185 miles

Walk: 12 miles

PT time : 4:10

Training time: 19:49

3/6-3/12

Swim: 3,000 yards

Bike: 194 miles

Walk: 13 miles

PT time: 4:20

Training time: 21:30

Objectively, from a volume perspective, these last two weeks haven't been that far off.  Just starting to ramp back up the swim.  Solid bike mileage and lots of PT emphasis leading to 20ish hours/week, which is pretty solid 3.5 months after my knee replacement.

Still, it's all very low intensity and my knee definitely feels it.  I hoping to stay near this volume for a couple of more weeks and see if my knee fully adapts or if I have to back it down again.  If I can hold this volume then I'll look to begin adding intensity in April.

The PT has shifted from being focused on mobility/flexibility to that plus strength.  Both legs, but especially my left are still very weak--lots of rehab to go!

New Knee: 3 Months

 Well, I had the TKR on November 30th so I recently clicked over 3 months post surgery.  Everyone tells me my recovery is going great....but I really don't know what that means.

From my perspective four things are true:

1. I can do a whole more today than I could even just 1 month ago and I've made huge progress from those days immediately post surgery

2. I can't do nearly as much as I want to do and still have my painful moments, although for the most part I can almost always get a good night's sleep now, so thankful for that!

3. I don't know if I should feel good or bad about this cause no one has ever been able to articulate a specific set of quantifiable measures that establish the expected or normal recovery time table.

4. I still don't know when I'll get to the point that I consider "fully recovered" except that it doesn't seem to be very imminent.

I am pretty much able to bike and walk (more briskly) every day if I want and I'm working hard 4-5 days/week on my PT.  I have a one-hour PT session with Hash each week and then 3-4 on my own where I'm generally working on my knee for 45-60 minutes.  I do notice progress from these efforts on a week-to-week basis--especially if I look back over 10/15 days to where I was.  Individual days can be up and down however.

My schedule has been crazy with a trip down to Naples, FL to help my 86-yo mom, who is struggling a bit after her bike fall and fracture.  We also had Kara's wedding down in Mexico City, which was basically a week-long affair (and out of this world fun!).  I did however contract a pesky cold (no CoVid) that has been bugging me for the last 10 days.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that Anders, Alex and I did a last minute trip out to Phoenix to see the Super Bowl.

A couple of highlights along the way was the 10 miles I walked on Super Bowl Sunday and a couple of everyday 5-milers.  At the wedding I found that I could jump up and down again (not a lot of vertical of-course) on the dance floor, which is something that I haven't been able to do for 10+ years.  Also, the other day I was late to catch a train and actually ran about a quarter-mile, with a backpack, reasonably quickly and PAIN-FREE (!!!!) and was able to make the train--I can't remember the last time I was able to run pain free!

So the net of this is I've come a long way from the beginning of this New Knee journey but I still have a significant ways to go and I'm not sure how long it will take to get there.  Nothing to do but continue the journey!!

Training wise, February saw more productive physical work in vs. January but still a very long way from my "normal" February.  Notably, I decided to skip the pool work for most of February to concentrate on my rehab and scaling up the walking/biking.  I'm anxious to start a full swim program this month that I expect to continue for the balance of the year, but am off to a slow start so far in March with this pesky cold.  I'll probably give it the weekend and then start my swimming in earnest next week:

January Totals:

Swim: 17,000 yards.  Bike: 142 miles.  Walk: 27 miles.  PT: 6:30.  Total Time: 31:48

February Totals:

Swim: 6,000 yards.  Bike: 329 miles.  Walk: 52 miles.  PT: 10:20.  Total Time: 49:01

Onwards and Upwards!

New Knee--10 weeks in...

 Looks like I'm starting to turn the corner a bit now.  I've been going to PT and this has helped (or at least not hurt) my recovery a bit.  I'm getting a lot more m ability in the knee and for a fair amount of time each day I can actually walk around fairly normally--no limp!  The pain is far more manageable and I'm off of all pain killers including Tylenol and am now able to sleep close to 8 hours a night--I still wake up 3-4 times a night but shift around a bit and the pain subsides....much easier to deal with now!

The big news is I am now able to tolerate riding on my Wahoo Kickr/Zwift set-up and after driving home from Kansas last Monday and Tuesday morning, I was able to ride for 6 consecutive days starting Tuesday afternoon.  My last 4 weeks my bike mileage was: 19 miles; 60 miles; 36 miles and 128 miles this past week!  I'm not putting out very impressive power (100-140 watts generally) but Its definitely heading in the right direction.  I'm a little surprised at how challenging it is for my left quad, but I guess the inactivity has really detrained my left leg (and right for that matter).

I'm still just walking about 10 miles/week but I actually did a 2.2-miler yesterday, which was the longest of my post surgery and I plan to do more on it this week.

I'm just swimming 1-3X week right now mostly because of my schedule but I plan to ramp that up after Kara's wedding in a couple of weeks......

Onward and Upward!

Me and my new knee, Day 40

 Lot’s going on post holidays on many fronts, including with my post surgery rehab.

I began to log up to 3 miles a day in 4-5 walks towards the end of December and into January.  I began to spin on first my Wahoo Kickr/Zwift trainer and then on my recumbent.  I started a regular swim block (did 4th swim of year today) which my plan would be to build on.

I suppose, not surprisingly, my knee started complaining louder.  Sleep was a real challenge (never more than 5 hours a night).  Hard to walk first thing.  My Docs had an intervention and I just went through a 6-day stretch of minimal stress on the knee.  To be sure, I’m still doing a lot of PT (more on that in a second) and as I mentioned above, hitting the pool every other day.

I also started working with James Hashimoto “Hash”.  He has given me some pt exercises that are not so much focused on stretching as they are on recruiting and properly sequencing muscle activation so I can regain normal knee mechanics.  It’s been so long since I could straighten my knee when walking that some of my muscles deactivated due to limited use.  Because of this my tibia doesn’t glide relative to my femur in a way that allows me to strike the ground with my heel and a 180% extension of my leg.  So I have to retrain them to fire and in the right sequence.  Turns out you can do this by walking backwards.  Reach back with your toe and then roll your weight back to your heel and presto, your tibia glides and you have a straight leg.  So I walk backwards and then slowly forward to try replicate the activation sequence but in reverse.

Anyways, after sprinting out of the gates, my rehab progress has slowed quite a bit. I’m still progressing but slower than I’d like.  I think patience is required and I’m optimistic that it will be rewarded.  Just going to take a while.

My main near-term fitness goal is to walk my daughter down the aisle, without a limp, in the middle of February. 

Onwards and Upwards!

Day 25

 Merry Christmas!

Day 25 of my Total Knee Replacement recovery. Progress is not particularly quick and there is a fair amount of tedious work that I process through each day, but progress is happening.

On day 13, I had my staples removed which led to being able to add baths and swimming back to the menu. I did my first post surgery swim….just 1,000 yards but it was my first aerobic activity in 2+ weeks.

On Day 22 and yesterday, Day 24, I was able to do very easy spins on my Wahoo Kickr bike. The first ride was just 1-mile and that took 6:35 to complete with a whopping avg power of 41 watts. Yesterday, I spun for 10 minutes and managed to cover 2.6 miles (15.6 mph) with an average power of 84 watts.

The key thing each day is to keep upping the stress on my knee and pushing my range of motion, without causing excessive swelling. In addition to the above, I’m going on 5-8 walks a day and while I haven’t gone as far as a mile yet, most walks now are 10+ minutes and near or over a half-mile. I also have 3 sets of range of motion exercises that I’ve been able to do 3-5 X/day. Lots of elevation and icing as well….

The biggest struggle is sleep. I can generally get 3-4 hours in but then my knee has enough discomfort in it that it wakes me up. This is usually around 2-3am. I usually struggle to get back to sleep and most days (like today), I just get up and start the day (it’s 7:45am as I write this and I’ve already been out for 3 walks in the single digit outside). I take a nap or two later, but the sleep challenge is probably the hardest part of the recovery so far.

Onward and upward!