Today: slept ok..but felt not my best this morning…did PT before the swim and some after. The walk: same course as yesterday: 14 seconds slower but the Garmin recorded it as .01 miles shorter (1.68) so over 15 minute miles.
Weight: under 203..like that.
The PT: split; some before leaving to swim, some after. replaced leg swings with bosu ball stands, and did the dreaded one leg standing and tapping with the other foot.
Well, this morning started great. The evening..kind of sore..too much sitting, I think.
Swim: went well (1500 yards) 400 of 25 free, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free 400 of alternating side and free
500 of 100 swim, 100 fins kick drills (1:46, 1:47)
100 back then 50 drill/fins
50 in 49 seconds (yay!)
35 minutes of PT followed by a walk: 1.69 miles.
The walk was oh so close to being pain free..it fooled me. Walk to work was almost ok too..but the day and sitting wore me down and it was achy when I walked home (not much stretching first)
So, why would she say something so outrageously false? (no, it is nowhere near 365 a year)
If you are unfamiliar with academia: people are divided up into demographic groups (black women, white men, etc.) and are said to have a different degree of “privilege.” So, when it comes to “conversation” (or what passes for conversation) it is considered bad form for a “privileged” person to fact check, question or attempt to rebut the point made by a non-privileged person. Such acts are deemed “microagressions” or worse; you get accused of “tone policing”, “mansplaining”, “whitesplaining” or whatever.
But outside of the Academy…people “don’t play that.”
And, well, let’s face it: we learn and we grow when we correct our mistakes and become more careful in our speech.
Now, before you go “what about how they enabled Trump, etc.” Yes: there is a reason I won’t consider becoming a Republican in this era.
I want liberals and Democrats to do well…but I am afraid that the “don’t challenge anything that a member of a protected class says” is hurting us politically.
Back saga: see the surgeon on June 7. Basically: mild nerve root impingement at L5-S1; injections might work. Still..bummer. Hope more PT (on my own) and modification of my activities will do the trick, but we’ll see.
Baseball: I saw Bradley play Illinois. BU took a 3-1 lead but fell apart in the middle innings (lots of walks) and lost 9-6. It was fun being with Lynn though.
Workout notes:
Wednesday: swim, PT in the park, 1.28 walk.
Swim: 400 of 25 free, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free
200 side
200 swim/kick drills
8 x 50 on the 1:10 51-53 each
100 back
100 dolphin kick with fins
Then the PT, then the walk. The walk was “oh so close” to being pain free. Not quite.
Then today: indoor PT, outdoor PT with pull ups and push ups:
pull ups: 4 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5 wide, 6 and 5 chins
So, MRI on the lumbar, then a visit about potential prostate problems..not swollen. But coffee might have to go eventually…and Naproxen..too much on the kidneys?
I’ll have to take it all in.
This morning: 1400 yard swim; 1.27 mile walk.
Swim: 4 x (25 free, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free). Then 100 side. Then 200 with fins (100 drills, 100 drill/swim). Then 8 x 50 on the 1:10 (52-54 each) 100 dolphin kick with fins, 100 strokes
Walk: so close to being pain free..not quite..did feel it in the last .25 miles but only mildly. But later in the day: leg hurt..both slightly sore.
Then PT in the playground, then the walk. Weight: 207 (bloated)
I am trying not to be a drama queen, and trying not to live in the wreckage of the future, but it looks as if my sports era will come to an end very soon.
No, I am not going to sell my equipment; I plan on using it as long as it benefits my health and doesn’t harm it. And I will probably have to order a new set of bands as I broke my second one today. And I’ll be looking for new goggles and swim suits as swimming seems to be doing ok.
BUT: so much of my life, I wanted to either run faster, run longer, lift heavier, do more reps, etc. But now I need to focus on what is good for my health, and that means being risk adverse in my training and *always* leaving something in the tank.
I get my MRI tomorrow AND see my primary care doctor for my prostate and hopefully, finally some answers. What lies in store I do not know.
My guess: a benign enlarged prostate (which might contribute to the “swollen” feeling I sometimes get in my left pelvic/glute area) and some sort of bulging disk impinging on a nerve affecting my left side. (L-5?)
But it could be anything from piriformis/gluteus medius strain/tear, to broken pieces of disk, to prostate cancer, spinal tumor, etc.
The physical therapist says it isn’t spinal stenosis as my McKenzie press ups are way too high.
My symptoms: left leg, tingles down the side, full feeling when I do something like banded walks, some discomfort upon standing still for too long and walking: onset of glute pain after 15-20 minutes if I am stretched and warmed up, 5-10 minutes if I am not. Tingles in the left lower leg/foot at night if I don’t stretch first..knees bent is more comfortable.
Ok, there is still a lot I can do, and I can enjoy doing what I can. So what did I do today? I did all of my physical therapy along with:
pull ups: 10, 15, 10, 10, 10, 5 wide, 5 chins (strange I am 206-207..too heavy..but pull ups are going very well??? Improvement on my back?), push ups 30 sissy, 30 feet elevated, 30 sissy, 10 deficit
weights: 10 x 134, 5 x 156, 5 x 156, 10 x 134 (feet elevated)
4 sets of curls with 50
deadlifts: taking care to keep a flat back and use the glutes, hamstrings and quads:
10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 224 (these went well)
high handle (8 inch) 5 x 260, 5 x 280 (heavier belt) Rule: leave a lot in the tank. Can’t strain the lumbar.
The post lift McKenzie press ups had none of the warning left leg pain that I got when I did too much low handle or tried to arch when bench pressing.
Then a 1 mile walk; not my best as I got symptoms at .7-.8 miles but I got a mile.
Other tidbits: cutting back greatly on caffeine and spreading out my Naproxen dose (1 pill upon waking up, 1 after) and I have an oh-so-slight whine in my right shoulder.
I use an orthopedic cushion at games (watched Bradley softball split with Evansville yesterday with no ill effects)
Ok…MRI Monday. We’ll see. Then another doctor’s appointment.
Workout notes: some early AM stretching, drive to the Riverplex. 1200 yard swim: (zip out of the shoulder): 400 of 25 free, 25 back, 50 side 100 of kick with fins (arm extended) 100 drill swim (fins) 4 x 50 on the 1:10 (52-54) 100 breast 200 drill swim 100 in 1:48
Weight: 206
Then walk (after stretching); almost no pain at all until the Gateway..then slight to the end. I had about 1 pain free mile; that is a 25 percent from before and 1.25 “almost” pain free. Then home and PT.
Yesterday: had a 1.26 mile walk after swimming 1200 yards
200 free, 100 back, 100 side, 100 kick drill with fins, 4 x 50 on the 1:10 (52-54) 100 kick drill with fins, 2 x 100 on 2:30 (1:46, 1:50), 200 odd strokes.
Oh so slight “feel” to the shoulder so I was diligent with PT.
Today: did the mat PT inside, standing PT outside with pull ups (10 singles, 4 sets of 10, 5 chins, 5 wide), push ups 40 sissy, 30 feet elevated, 15 deficit, 15 flat
bench presses: 10 x 134, 10 x 145, 8 x 150 (feet up)
curls: 3 sets of 10 x 50
high incline: 3 sets of 10 x 103
Note: today was a low pain day. Changes:
deadflits: anything over 225 is now high handle.
bench: feet elevated, flat back
belt while lifting
limited caffeine (cut down on bladder stuff…not gone though)
swimming
walking: rarely more than 1.2 at a time, no pushing it to the limit reps.
Life of an old goat 