Surgeon Visit

Monday, May 14, 2012:

I ran on the grass trails for the first time this month. The trails were perfect - green and dry, not even dew on the grass. Furthermore, the temperature rose from 60 to 68 during the run, excellent T-shirt weather, even a bit warm. We ran in the morning and avoided temperatures in the 80's later in the day.

 I ran 15 seconds of each minute, and went 6.3 miles in 1:17:15, for a pace of 12:12.   I held one hand or the other against the area of the hernia surgery whenever I ran, and that worked perfectly in holding off the pain from the surgery.

Whining: Not only was there no pain from the surgical repair, but the left hamstring that I thought I strained last Wednesday and Thursday is getting better fast. It’s not a hamstring pull at all - I think it’s the left hip joint, which has bothered off and on for ten years. That hip just wasn’t ready for 90 flights of stairs, but will get over it. All is well.

Doctor Visit: Sunshine and I met this afternoon with the hernia surgeon, Dr BR:

• I expressed disappointment at the slow progress of the healing, but he emphatically assured me that it was on schedule.
• He asked if it was better than before the surgery yet, but I don’t think it is yet and said so.
• I mentioned that the ache from running is less if I hold my hand against the surgical repair while I run, and he suggested compression shorts. I’m not sold on that yet, but looking online for the right kind. Most of the ones I see are designed to compress the upper thighs, and I need the compression at the abdomen. Maybe I should make some out of a pair of tight polyester athletic undershorts. I have three pairs - maybe just put on all three at once?
• I asked when I would be able to just let fly and sprint, and he didn’t really have a response to that. I’ll have to be guided by how it feels I guess.
• He would like to see me once again two months after the Anchorage marathon. Huh. Definitely if the surgery hasn’t solved the problem (sports hernia pain) by that time.

Saturday, May 12:

St Croix Valley Runners, 7:00 am every Saturday at Stillwater’s Northland Tennis Courts.  Now we seem to have a regular group of walkers, as well as the usual group of runners.  I’m in between, so I took the walkers’ route but went out ahead for 24 minutes and turned around.  No problems, no pains.  I did hold a hand against the surgical area, which is slightly awkward but which seems to make a big difference.  I think I went almost four miles in about 47 minutes.

In a nearby woods, the little three-leafed plants in the middle are poison ivy. Surrounding those are jack-in-the-pulpit plants: