Ahhhhh physical therapy

So I went to see Sharon today and confessed my sins. She was marvelous and did some trigger point release work on my hip. It helped tremendously!! In fact, Sharon was quite easy on me and said that I really didn't do anything all that bad. I definitely tightened up some muscles unnecessarily and she lectured me a bit on the downside to doing that. All things that I already knew but it was good to hear it from her. I am back on the straight and narrow tonite. I learned my lesson . .. that doesn't mean that I won't have to learn it again but for now, I am good and am committed to not doing more stupid stuff anytime soon.

I upped weights today on the leg press. Yippeee!!! I love to watch the muscles flex in my quads when I push the weights out. It thrills me! More hip machine and single leg lunges. Then I came home and did core work. Tomorrow will be a killer workout at NIFS and I am thinking that I will be ready for it. Again . . back on the straight and narrow. Even with the sore, overtaxed muscles from this weekend, I still have no hip pain and feel remarkably good.

I have just about a month before I see Dr. Philippon for my 3 month check. I absolutely cannot believe it's been 9 weeks already. I would say time flies when you are having fun but some of it wasn't so fun. What has been fun though is having no pain and getting strong again.

The other thing I will say is that I absolutely did the right thing in staying in CO for 6 weeks of therapy but I also feel very lucky to have found Sharon here. I have gotten stronger since I started working with her and she continues to challenge me. I will be sad when I have to stop seeing her too. I found out today that she lives pretty close to me and owns a canoe. It will be my personal challenge to get her on the reservoir with me before the season is over. :-)

Even though I was a bit sad to leave Colorado I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying spending my summer hanging out with my friends. Thursday night I am off to see The Fray with girlfriends and am looking forward to it. . . especially since Friday is a non-work day. My sister comes home from Germany next week and then will be here to spend most, if not all, of the month of July with me. I am looking forward to hanging out with her too!!

Here's to 2009, summer and turning 50. Woohooo!!

Ok . . . I'm not 100% yet

I overdid it yesterday. I don't know why I have to do it but I do. So, 45 minutes of biking as hard as I could and 4 solid hours of kayaking wasn't enough so I had to hop back on my bike and ride some hills. It was too much. I don't think there is any permanent damage, of course, but I am stiff and tender today and thoroughly disgusted with myself. I was doing great . . .no pain, little stiffness and certainly no tenderness and then I had to push it. I had surgery 9 weeks ago . . why can't I get that through my head? I see my pt tomorrow and am planning to confess my sins to her to see what she can do to fix me. That's the way I do things . . . I do things that I am told not to and then expect someone else to make it go away. :-)

Ok, so I am good but not perfect yet but it still feels darn good to say that I biked, kayaked and biked again. It has been years since I have been able to do that so the mere fact that I can do it and then complain about it is pretty amazing.

I had dinner with some amazing friends tonite. I am constantly thankful and a bit overwhelmed by my friends. They are supportive, caring and make me laugh more than one person should probably laugh in one evening.

So tonite I am reflecting on my life, where I have been, where I am and where I intend to go. And, the bottom line -- I still feel like I am one of the luckiest girls in the whole world!

Life is Good!!

So, we were notified yesterday that we made the final cut!! We are hosting a site visit at our home office on July 10. I was told that it will be Relationship Manager versus Relationship Manager . . . bring it on!! Are you kidding me . . after all I have been through in the past 8 weeks I can certainly face down another relationship manager with a competitor. And, add to that, I have the best team in the industry with me. We will be hard to beat!

Ok, so the hip -- if I haven't said it lately -- I love Dr. Philippon, Lindsay and Laurie . . not in the weird stalker way . . but in the . . you gave me my life back way. I saw my Indy pt yesterday. She has again amped up my exercises -- i am now using 135 lbs on the leg press, doing one leg lunges with my knee all the way to the floor and spending 3 grueling sets on the hip machine. My legs are shaky when I leave but I am strong, strong. No hip pain whatsoever. The tightness is really starting to abate . . even when I sit too long and first stand up, it is easier to unstiffen (is that a word). I know I wanted all of this within 2 weeks of surgery (ha!) but it seems to be coming blazingly fast now. And, the absolute best part --- NO PAIN! not a twinge, not a shooting pain, not an inkling of how my life used to be. The great staff at Howard Head checks in with me periodically to see how things are going. That feels so good since I really feel like they are part of my family now. I still miss them and look forward to seeing them again at the end of July. I hope I am in rockin shape by then so they will be proud of what they put in motion.

So, today is a killer workout at NIFS and since it is sunny and beautiful here how can I resist throwing my kayak on the water for a few hours. If you can't tell, I am loving my life right now!! The only down side -- work is crazy and I spent my Friday night working instead of playing. :-( It's temporary and since I love what I do, it doesn't feel that bad. And, since you all know that I am a tiny bit competitive, being up against another RM will certainly get my adrenaline jumping. Not as much as jumping out of a plane but it will do for now until I can get back to that.

Happy Saturday! I am off to refine these lovely new muscles!! Here's to turning 50 in possibly the best shape of my life.

Putting my hip to the test

I am sitting in the airport in Omaha, NE after doing a finalist presentation today. First of all, the presentation was beautiful!! I can't say enough good things about the people I work with . .. they are simply the best! Keeping our fingers crossed that we made a big impression and will be selected for a site visit next month.

So, my hip got to experience sitting in a small, cramped airplane seat, walking through O'Hare and changing terminals and up and down during a finalist presentation. I am pleased to report that I am well on the road to recovery. I am still stiff if I sit too long but it's not nearly as bad as it was. I have become a work out freak and took an hour last night to go work out before dinner. It definitely makes a huge difference in how my hip feels so I can't miss. I also have to say that I love the result of all the working out that I have been doing. I bought a new black suit to wear today and received comments from my team on how thin I am now. Yipppeee!!!

I don't get home until 1 am tonite and see my new pt tomorrow morning. I am anxious to see her and get my butt kicked as well as get stretched a bit. This Thursday will be 9 weeks for me. One more week and I can up my bike riding and get back to rowing. Amazing!!

I feel like I have a whole new lease on life . . . absolutely no pain and my muscles are all trained now on how to act so it's just a matter of continuing to build them. I feel like I will be pretty strong when I go back to see Dr. Philippon at the end of July. Can't wait to actually do some hiking and enjoying Vail this time.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog and left comments and best of luck on your own surgeries and recovery!!

It just gets better and better!

So, I bought a kayak and I am thrilled!! I love it and it's exactly what I needed to reward myself for all of my hard work over the last couple of months. Thank you Rusted Moon in Broad Ripple for all of your help! I spent the day at Eagle Creek Reservoir on Saturday and love it even more than I did when I paddled it before I bought it. The only bad thing is that sitting in a kayak requires externally rotating your hips and hooking your knees up under the cockpit. My left hip complained loudly after I got out so I will have to be careful of the amount of time that I am paddling for awhile. That's ok though. I am living my life again and it feels awesome!!

Have also worked up my bike time, gears and surface so I am no more riding like a grandma. :-) I went out for a nice ride tonite and was pleased with my strength and endurance. I haven't worked up to riding through the park yet on all the hills but hope to be there by the end of summer or early fall.

Continue to LOVE my new physical therapist. She asked what I wanted from her and I told her that I wanted my butt kicked every time I was in there. She is making good on her end of that bargain. She changed up more exercises last week and I can definitely feel the results. Again . . muscles in places that I really didn't know I have muscles.

And, I have gone back to my personal trainer to work on upper body and core strengthening. I am looking forward to being back in shape and on a maintenance regimen instead of a weight loss and muscle building regimen.

This hip surgery may have been the best thing that has happened to me in awhile. I am in better shape than I have been in for a long time and I feel great. That doesn't say anything about the fact that I have absolutely no hip pain in either hip anymore. . . . hallelujah!!

My life has returned to normal . . whatever normal actually is. Work is crazy (just the way I like it) and I did 4 hours of yard work today. I am flying out this week to do a finalist presentation and am pumped about that. Did I tell you I love competition?? :-)

Life is good!!

New physical therapist

Yesterday I had my first appointment with a physical therapist here in Indy. I was nervous and slightly apprehensive because I didn't think that anyone could really compare with Lindsay and Laurie. I can also be really picky about people. Ugh!! I am very happy and pleased to say that my new PT is AWESOME!! She totally gets it, is a stickler for details and is excited to learn about my surgery and what was done to get me where I am right now.

I am also pleased to report that she did some strength and flexibility assessment and thinks that I am pretty strong. Yipppeeee!!! I thought so too but it is really nice when a professional confirms it. She changed up some of the exercises that Lindsay sent me home with . . . definitely made them harder . . . and promises that I will be really strong when I go back to Colorado to see Dr. Philippon the end of July. I am seeing her twice a week for several weeks and then once a week since I am good about working out on my own.

My hip feels really good. Still some stiffness when I sit too long at work but otherwise I feel better than I have felt in a long, long time. No hip pain whatsoever, my adductor issue has finally calmed down and all of the muscles that need to be working are actually working. It's fabulous. And, I have to say, in the big scheme of things, this has happened really really fast. Tomorrow will be 8 weeks from surgery (seems like yesterday and years ago at the same time). My new pt was definitely impressed at my fitness level being 7 1/2 weeks out from surgery. I know I owe it all to the incredible staff at Howard Head. When I had my right hip done 6 years ago, I was still walking with a cane at my 6 week check up with Dr. Philippon. This time has been so different. I didn't lose nearly as much muscle after surgery and it has helped me in the recovery so much I can't even explain.

The other funny story from yesterday -- she asked me to lie on my stomach and lift my leg, one at a time, straight up. Of course, I have been well trained by Lindsay and Laurie to fire my glute first to lift my leg which is exactly what I did. She sort of half screamed that most people don't do that and she was giddy that I did it correctly. I, of course, had to explain that I have been trained like a Labrador Retriever for the past 8 weeks by Lindsay and Laurie. :-) She and I are going to get along fine.

So, here's to buns and abs of steel. Woohooo!!!!

Week 7

And I am officially approved to start riding my road bike. Yippeee!!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. So, on the day of week 7, I got on my road bike and rode for my prescribed 15 minutes on a flat surface in low gear. It was mildly satisfying. It would have been exhilarating if I could have ridden flat out for as long as the rain held off but I was warned by Lindsay and felt it best to follow her advice. That being said, I had no pain and it felt darn good to be out on my bike again. Apparently there's a little (ok a lot) work to be done on the quad muscles but I know they will come right back with some coaxing.

So, week 7 . . . the exercises that I left Vail with have become a little easier which tells me that I must be doing something right and I continue to see improvement in my muscle tone. Still a ways to go but it is definitely improving. I finally see my new physical therapist on Tuesday and am looking forward to having her work on range of motion as I just can't seem to do everything myself.

I am struggling a bit at work in sitting too long at a time. I stand up and realize that my hip is so stiff that I can barely walk. It's almost like I need to set a timer for myself to remind me to get up and move.

I can't row yet so am buying a new kayak so I can get on the water. I am not allowed to row until week 10 . . . 3 more weeks will kill me so I am doing the next best thing.

I continue to feel better and better! No hip pain, I am stronger and I am thrilled with the results of everything and look forward to my progress each and every day!