15 weeks to Marathon (lost track of hip surgery numerals)

Well we are on the flip side - the first leg of my recovery was, well, recovering and the second side - over the brow of the hill with only one goal in sight is the training up part for the Connemarathon.

Went out for a snowy run round a reservoir on Christmas morning, nice and gentle - beautiful! and thoroughly enjoyable - will post a pic. Especially of my friend Adelle's snow angel which had big wings and a pea head.





Went out again on Sunday to run and ran for a good hour through uneven ground, slidey slush and mud and we had chosen a good route which didn't have any ice. Again round a reservoir, the snow was starting to melt away but it was still beautiful.
I adore running round the reservoirs and now that marathon training IS A GO! we will be spending most weekends up there builing up to 3-4 hours of run time pre-taper.

I had a bit of an enforced break the couple of weeks leading up to christmas as we were moving house and I got extraordinarily involved in closing the deal so that we could move before christmas. We moved on the 21st Dec and I feel like I have been living here forever. Our new home is beautiful. We are going to start some builing works in Jan/Feb and convert the large garage into a gym and therapy room. I'm soooo excited. I just want to jump up and down every day :)

Getting stronger :)

Have done 3 runs now and built up to 30mins - 4mins run, 1min walk on Sunday. Next run planned for Wed and going to do 30mins without walking. Can't believe how quickly its building up again. I'd planned to run/walk for 2 weeks but my hip is not reacting at all to the running, althoug my leg muscles are feeling well worked.
Had a personal training session today with a chap from the gym - I traded with him cos his lovely lovely girlfriend needed her shoulder sorting out.

I really enjoyed the training it was so cool being the client and being tweaked and corrected and pushed! I did 1 leg squats, 1 leg lunges, 1 leg kettlebell deadlifts and my balance was pretty good (especially since I'd done 7 clients already myself by 3.30pm and was pretty fatigued) I was so surprised that I could do all the exercises. With each one I tested it out carefully but it was all great. I'll just have to see how I am when I wake up tomorrow morning! :)

Up & Running! 9 weeks post op

I ran for the first time yesterday. Just 20mins of 1min run, 1 min walk. Then today I did 20mins 2min run, 1min walk. It felt amazing, I am ecstatic!! I felt much more even than I did before and I have a whole new quadrant that my leg moves in now that I can put it into extension properly.
19 weeks on Sunday until Marathon Day :)

Bring it on

Yay! Sleep caught back up now - fatigue levels down and back to normal progress again. That will learn me. Top priorities for optimum recovery are definitely quality sleep and quality nutrition. Have started to reduce my starchy carbs and increase heavy proteins in line with the cold winter setting in, in line with my seasonal change in my metabolic type and feeling the benefit.

Went swimming this morning and had a great session. I felt much better that the previous week which was my first time back. Its amazing how much more even I am in the water now.
I can really feel the difference from before the op. I can actually kick properly with my right leg, without it unbalancing me. Hoping its gonna be the same with my running :)

Also started to include some short adductor strength work on the machine in the gym, low weight and combined with some contract relax work to get progressively more range of motion. That has really made a difference too.

Going to take my bike out this weekend for the first time (if the weather is kind) and then see Mr Schilders on Wed next week. And all plans are to start my run/walk program from the following weekend if he gives me the nod. - So excited!!! Will have 18 weeks to train for my marathon.

Back on track

Finally had enough rest to go back into the gym and get some stretching done.
I was so tightened up. I stretched my adductor and psoas from the hip end, but the most effective stretch was to do a series of backbends to release my upper abs, upper psoas attachments and across my chest.
Have been feeling lots of pain and pinching and catching in the groin and these stretches really helped.
My resolution to ensure I do a stationary cycle plus some rehab and stretching every single day is full on!

7weeks post op and feeling the pinch :(

My rehab was going brilliantly and I was dedicating quality time to it everyday. Then I was on a week long course last week with homework and and hours drive either way. Rehab took a backseat and my hip really stiffened up.

This past week I did presentation on Wednesday on Adrenal Fatigue and chronic stress. I'd squeezed in some clients on the Saturday and then worked the whole rest of the weekend on the presentation. I did make the time to train/rehab on Sunday but by Monday I was feeling pretty tired from having no time off. This week at work has been totally full on (it always is after having a week off) There are people queuing up for massages from me and I had just lost all moderation when I'd been booking folks in.

The result - a very tired, grumpy, crisp craving mess. Whose hip is complaining about all the standing up and lifing of people's heavy legs of missing out on my proper rehab routine and of generally being very fatigued. The irony was not lost on me as I delivered my presentation on Wednesday wondering if anyone would mind if I had a lie down at the end :)

So I am under self-imposed orders to chill out tonight and tomorrow and rest rest rest with a touch of gentle rehab for good measure. Lesson learned - less working - say NO I'm sorry I can't fit in another 10 appointments this week, or even 1, and more rest and rehab.

Pretty sure I'm not going to hit my target of starting running at 8weeks post op. Heres to having 2 quality weeks of all the right things and making my first run the weekend of week 9. Fingers - toes and all that matters crossed :)

30 days post op

Apart from my energy being quite low and having a flickering eyelid for nearly a week (the stress of preparing my accounts for the accountant I think) I am doing well. I did my rehab yesterday and felt good although I had a go on the cross trainer and today my hip is slightly irritated so I think its probably too early and I need to leave that for a while.

Other than that I did lots of hip opening work and lower ab stabilisation. I can more fully extend my leg now while lying on my back without it pulling on the hip flexor so its nice to feel the improvement. Stabilisation wise its a bit easy for me though so I lay on foam roller length wise, crossed my arms over my chest and did the same exercise which was much better.

Looking forward as always to a hydrotherapy session today. My favourite exercise is doing like an arabesque in the water with opposite arm and leg extended and holding for 2 mins. It just feels brilliant.

27days post op

Had a great day today. Worked a full day, albeit sat down on a fitball to massage but a full day nonetheless. I will definitely be using the fitball more when I've recovered too as it is much less tiring and my clients don't even notice the difference. Hurray!

Have found the hip twist exercise (lying in a bridge start position, then lowering one leg out like opening a book then bringing it back, and opening the other side) absolutely fantastic and easing the adductor tightness so I've been doing that one periodically.

Also feeling good from the hydrotherapy yesterday. Not been to the gym yet today, I've got 1 personal training session left to do tonight and then I'm going to head off and just do 45mins on the bike and a few rehab and core exercises with a stretch. Then bike and hydrotherapy tomorrow. Only 4 clients in tomorrow so should get through to the weekend without damaging myself.

I'm four weeks post op tomorrow and wondering if I can ditch the crutches all together. Quite happy to but don't want to do any damage. Maybe I'll give Prof Schilders a call. Gah its his surgery day tomorrow. Maybe I will call Louise - physio instead.

Must remember not to bound about - I keep almost skipping down the stairs at work when I go wash my hands between clients and having to stop myself. Roll on impact activities :)

26 days post op

Mobility in the hip is getting better and better. So I'm much more aware of the aches and niggles and tightnesses. If only I could have a massage everyday. Its worlds better than it was thanks to Toni's massage but my adductor certainly tightens up again quickly. Can't wait to be walking normally.

Its 4 weeks on Fri from operation date so I should be able to do away with the crutches 'officially' - Hurray!! I can't wait, but I keep forgetting I'm slightly damaged goods at the moment and only just stop myself from bounding up the stairs and instead take them one by one, good leg leads on the way up, bad leg leads on the way down. So slowly........ If I forget one more thing that is upstairs when I'm in a rush I think I may go mad. step, step, step.

Cannot wait to run. According to the schedule I'm looking at another 3 weeks then having a go at some multidirectional jogging! Woo hoo! Wonder when I can get on my road bike? I can start adding resistance to the stationary bike after Friday.

I can definitely say that 4 weeks in my frustrations at not being able to train are at an all time high and in response I have huge cravings for cake and crap food. I generally don't eat crap food so I'm trying to keep my nutrition really good to keep my recovery optimal. But it is challenging.

Did 45mins on the stationary bike today, some adductor exercises, glute exercises, and half an hour in the pool on the hydrotherapy exercises. Thought that the hydrotherapy would be dull but I love it. I feel a bit 'special' as the swimmers stare at me, but the improvement in how my hip feels afterwards is fantastic.

For and against of massages

'For' receiving them, and 'against' giving them. ha ha! So I cancelled half my day today. - Weep. I also made sure I was sitting on a fitball for the majority of the clients I kept, so feeling very proud of myself.

I also made sure I was booked in with one of my Angels - Toni. Guardian Angel Fitness Ltd is my company and Toni certainly is an Angel. My adductor and rectus fem and glute attachment into ITB were pretty tonic and she worked her magic and settled and stretched them all out! Hurray! Feels like a new leg. Whereas yesterday I could have willingly pulled my own leg off in the middle of the night cos its was so annoyingly achey, it feels amazing now.

Much of the discomfort in fact seems to come from my muscles rather than the joint. I would recommend to anyone to get regular massages post op (from someone who has a clue and is careful). I'm definitely feeling back on track.

24days post op and a little tired

One of the drawbacks of having the surgery at such short notice was that I already had a full diary of treatments and training sessions for the next couple of months. It took me until well after my operation just to cancel every single session for the following week.

I hate letting people down so I selectively cut down and tried to hold on to as many appointments as I could, figuring that if I didn't feel up to it that I could always forewarn clients of my situation and cancel nearer the time if I needed to. Which of course wouldn't happen.

The result was that I did a fair few hours standing last week and even though it felt completely fine, I'm wondering if I should have. Hoping that if I've put my poor healing hip through the mill that its not too late to back off and give it some time now.

I was just not designed for taking it easy. But I've got to think of the long term health of my hip - and remember what I would say if I was one of my own clients. Have decided to take the action of cancelling much of my treatment schedule for this week, although it kills me to even think about it.

22 days post op

OK so I'm a little late getting started with a post operative recovery blog but its not normally something I would do. Who on earth would be interested?
But after reading some of the other fai blogs I thought how much I would be able to record my progress. Even if just for my own benefit, in the future I will be able to reflect on what things I did right and worked, and what things didn't. In addition there seems to be a great deal of comfort that I get from reading what experiences other people are going through as I go through it myself.
Best case scenario: If I can keep progressing the way I want to and complete my goal of running the Connemarra Marathon in Ireland on April 11th 2010, I hope that will help to inspire and motivate those who are in my current situation just after the op.

I had my surgery on 2nd October 2009 at The Yorkshire Clinic in Bingley. My consultant is Prof Ernest Schilders who of the Northern Hip and Groin Institute. I was really lucky that my physio knew of him as he is one of the more experienced Doctors in the UK with hip artroscopies, furthermore he is lovely and I feel in excellent hands.

I must say that reading other people's experiences my pre-diagnosis pain was nowhere near as bad. I have been able to train and compete in Olympic and Half Ironman Distance Triathlon events and my symptoms were a nagging groin ache and a feeling of not being able to control my right leg as well as I wanted.

I entered the Connemmara Marathon 2010 some time before my diagnosis and it is on my path to completing my first Ironman distance event which I have earmarked as Lanzarote (2011 or even 2012)

When I went to meet Prof Schilders and get my arthrogram results I was expecting him to say that there was nothing to be found and to send me on my way. It was a surprise when he said that I had a labral tear and a paralabral cyst in the right hip joint. Although x-rays had not shown any CAM deformity, it was evident that this was the cause of the tear during surgery.
He asked me when I would like to do the surgery and I said "hmmm, well I'd still like to do the marathon in April so asap please" He chuckled (I took this as a good sign, that this might still be possible) and I got 6th Nov as my surgery date. The following Monday his secretary called my and said that he could do it on that coming Friday (2nd Oct) So just like that in a whirlwind of cancelling weeks and weeks of people's appointments who were booked in with me, here I am.