Week 12: Getting Closer

One of these is getting tuned up.

The last few weeks have consisted of three things: Rehab, Rest, and Repeat. Each week I would improve, and each week the rehab would get just a little bit tougher. In that way, this schedule resembles a training schedule. It is carefully structured to increase difficulty each week, and shoots for gradual rather than immediate gains.

This also means that each week I have been hurting at relatively the same level. Even though I could see improvement, the discomfort has been somewhat discouraging. I had hoped that by 12-weeks, I would be pain-free and riding up mountains again. Among other things, this whole process has taught me patience.

And then something good happened. I got sick. It was a rough virus, maybe or maybe not the flu, but it left me incapacitated for about a week.

Rarely would I consider getting sick to be a good thing. I certainly didn’t feel that way while I was laying on the couch, wiping my nose and coughing my lungs out. It was good because it gave me a week off to recover from my rehab. It gave me a sense of where my hip was at.

One key difference between a training and rehab schedule is that with training, you will occasionally need a rest week. That’s one thing that Coach Bobby insists on keeping in his training schedules. I’ve found that with a rest week around the corner, I will push harder on my tougher weeks, knowing that a break is near. There are both physical and psychological benefits. With rehab, there are no rest weeks. You have to keep momentum and keep healing.

I got sick on a Monday immediately after physical therapy, and it lasted most of the week. On Wednesday, I found that I was little sore from therapy, but my focus was more on the frustrating illness I was enduring. At one point, my wife asked how my hip was. For the first time in awhile, I had to pause and think before answering. The sickness gave me some psychological relief because it shifted the focus from my hip to my sinuses.

The sickness forced me to cancel my PT later in the week, and I found that I was feeling less sore and walking a little better. Previously I’ve had to concentrate on my walking to avoid limping. That hasn’t been the case as much this week. After some rest, I have walked faster with a normal gait.

Even though injuries can linger, colds usually pass quickly. By Friday, the worst was behind me and I was able to resume normal living. I went to work and walked around mostly pain free. There would be occasional soreness, but nothing compared to what I’ve experienced over the last several weeks.

Next week is the big doctor appointment. I expect him to clear me to do a little bit of riding. At least I hope. If so, as I previously blogged, I’m going to do my first charity ride of the year in Charlotte at The Good Ride. My first regular ride will probably be next weekend, and that one will be pretty good too.

Today, I am taking my bike in to get tuned up. That’s another good feeling. I haven’t been to my local bike shop in months.

I’m getting close physically, and psychologically, I am more than ready to get outside.