Mike’s bilateral hip resurfacing with Dr. Ball 2011
February 11, 2011 So, today is my big day. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. to get showered and dressed for my 5:30 check-in at Thornton Hospital at UC San Diego.
Most everything has gone very smoothly and I can’t say enough good things about the doctors, nurses, and staff here. I was fully prepped and in the OR by 7:30 a.m. A few minutes of bantering with the surgical team is all I remember before waking up in recovery at 10:30 a.m. with a new left hip. At this point I am truly amazed at how easy this has been. When I woke up I had some fairly strong pain at the incision site and my lower back was also in great pain. This had me a little worried, but the back pain was primarily from lying down flat for too long. After raising the head and knee area of the bed the back pain resolved in 10 or 15 minutes.
I had a general anesthesia for the surgery, as well as an epidural, which is still in my back. There’s a PCA attached to the epidural, and a few shots from that pretty much took care of the hip pain. There’s still obviously some tenderness and stiffness there, but much less than I expected. I haven’t had to max out the PCA (30 minute intevals) since the first hour.
The PT was in about an hour ago and got me sitting up on the side of the bed, with no dizziness at all. I was able to raise my knee and my foot against her pressure with no problems at all. Really, I feel like I could get up and walk right now, but we are going to wait until tomorrow. I seriously don’t think that could possibly be more happy than I am right now with the way things are going..
February 14, 2011 Had two walking sessions yesterday (with two crutches). Early afternoon I went once around the ward with Dr. Ball (a triangle with maybe 3 or 4 rooms on a side). Found also that I could do fine with one crutch, but will keep the two for now. Later with the nurse I did one lap and then out to the 3rd floor mezzanine all the way to the end and back, about 4 times the length of the first walk.
Everybody seems amazed at how well I’m moving. It seems sincere, but could also be encouragement. Also getting up and going to the bathroom with no problem. Dr. Ball says there’s no weight bearing limit, just whatever I can handle. Flexion limit is 120 degrees, but I don’t expect to be approaching that for quite a while. No crossing of legs, and avoid moving left hip toward right shoulder.
Pain last night was worse than the night before, probably because the epidural is gone. Unable to sleep without the oxycontin, but at least I’m able to roll over on my right side for awhile and read my Kindle. Still hoping for discharge today. February 15, 2011 I had my first home PT appointment yesterday. The therapist mostly just took some baseline information and reinforced the exercise instructions, both lying down and standing, sent home from the hospital.
I hit several milestones this morning, day 4 after surgery:
1) An almost normal “morning constitutional.” With this accomplishment the sun just seems to shine a little more brightly, and the birds sing a little more sweetly.
2) Walked down the driveway with two crutches and picked up the newspaper. This involves three steps down, outside the front door, and probably 150 feet of a fairly steep driveway. This was my first outdoor stroll since coming home on Sunday, though I’ve been walking a lot up and down the hallway. Unfortunately we are expecting rain tonight through the weekend.
3) I was actually able to put both socks on this morning with no assistance and no sock puller (didn’t bring one home from the hospital). My doctor said that it was OK to rotate my left knee outward while sitting and put my left foot on my right knee, once I have sufficient flexibility. I’m not quite able to get the foot up that high but was able to get close enough to hook the sock opening over by big toe. I find it amazing that I already seem to have better ROM on this side than I did before the surgery.
February 16, 2011 I’m now at day 5 post surgery and seeing great improvement every day. The most challenging thing for me is to have patience. I want to get up and walk more outside. I don’t want to be so careful in how I move my leg. I want the pain and stiffness to go away. I want to go back to work (my colleagues want me back too). These things will come but it takes time.
February 20, 2011 Surgery + 9, one week after discharge.
Went on an extended outing with my wife yesterday. First to a local pharmacy to pick up a cane, then to the grocery store and then to Costco, which is about a 30 minute drive each way. I was still on one crutch at the time but used the cart at Costco like a walker. I’ve always gotten tired walking around Costco because of the concrete floors and so much space, but everything went fine yesterday. The store was really crowded, and Patricia had to park at the far end of the lot, so I waited by the entrance while she got the car and pulled up in front to load the fruits of our pillage.
As of yesterday afternoon I’ve discarded the crutches completely and am only using the cane around the house. I actually seem to walk better with the cane because there’s less to lean on. I really can put most of the weight on my new hip and the cane makes me do it. I’ll be going out shortly for a 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk and will see how I do with the cane only. I’m still planning on going into the office tomorrow morning. That will be interesting.
I’ve pretty much weaned myself from the painkillers (oxycodone), except at night time. I still have significant soreness in my thigh and under the incision, which I can handle during the day but which also makes it very hard to get comfortable enough to sleep. Sitting or laying in any one position for an extended period eventually becomes somewhat uncomfortable. Strangely enough the most comfortable position for me seems to be when I’m up and walking around.
And now, I’m starting to count down to my second surgery…19 days. It’ll probably seem like deja vu all over again.
UPDATE:
I just got back from a 1 mile walk in our very hilly neighborhood, using the cane only. By the end of the walk my operated hip felt better than my unoperated hip, and no ill effects at all.
February 23, 2011 Day 11…
I went to the office yesterday. Felt fine until about 2:00 p.m. when I just got really tired. The wife and I went home a little early, around 3:00. Decided to work from home today and go back to the office tomorrow. Took a 1/2 mile walk at lunchtime today and got a nice nap after eating. Worked about 6 hours and feel really good. Had my 3rd home PT appointment this evening and the therapist said it would be OK to walk around without my cane, except if I’m out or walking long distances.
Dr. Ball called today to answer any questions I might have. He cleared me to start outpatient PT, and I have an appointment next Monday. I’m really looking forward to getting some more intense stretching and strengthening. I’m also cleared to drive during the daytime (my BHR is on the left) as long as I’m not taking painkillers. I’m now down to a couple of vicodins at nigh time to help me get to sleep. Most of the remaining pain seems to be around the IT band and around the hip flexor, and only really bothers me at night. Have to keep shifting positions.
February 28, 2011 Day 17 –
I went to my first outpatient PT appointment this morning. First we went over my history, and then she checked ROM on both legs. I’m very tight in my hamstrings and quads on both sides. Pretty much because I haven’t been able to use those muscles much for the past few years anyway.
15 minutes on the treadmill, in front of a full length mirror, at normal walking pace to warm up and also to work on my gait. Once that was done she stretched my operated leg for a while and then used the foam roller on my painful PT band. The stretching was pretty painful but the PT band thing was excruciating. I’m feeling pretty good now, though. Got some new exercises to do as well.
Important milestone this past weekend: I can put my left foot on my right knee without causing a painful cramp. This is great because it turns putting on socks and shoes into an almost normal activity. Actually it’s easier now to put them on my left foot than on my right.
On Wednesday I have my post-op appointment with Dr. Ball. Normally it’s a 4 week check-up but since my second operation is exactly 4 weeks after my first, we pushed it up a bit. Right after my post-op meeting I have my pre-op anesthesiology meeting for my RBHR.
March 2, 2011 I had my four week post-op appointment this afternoon. It’s actually been only 19 days, but my second surgery is scheduled for exactly four weeks after my first, so we moved it up a little. I then had my pre-op meetings with anesthesiology for next Friday. The doctor seemed very pleased with the results, including placement, and my progress. I can put my left foot on my right knee while sitting to put sock and shoe on, also walk a mile on hilly roads with no problem. I take my cane but don’t use it all the time. ROM on my operated leg is already much better than on the other one.
I asked the doc what size components I have, and he said 52 mm for the ball (I’m sure of that) and either 56 or 58 for the socket. I don’t think that the inside diameter of the socket would be 4 mm or more larger than the ball, so that must be the outside measurement. Does anybody know about this? Also, I’m under the impression that 52 mm is pretty large. He said that I have large bones, which is good because generally a larger ball and socket reduces chance of dislocation.
March 4, 2011 3 week anniversary today!!
Had my first post-op followup on Wednesday, followed immediately by my pre-op meetings for next week’s RBHR. I’m set up for a 9:00 a.m check-in on Friday (a little more convenient than the 5:30 check-in three weeks ago). The doc seemed very pleased with results and rehab progress
I’m now walking 100% without the cane, except on long walks where I take it along for support if needed. Walked over 1/2 mile uphill on Wednesday (followed by 1/2 mile downhill, of course) after my appointments with no problems. I had my second outpatient PT appointment yesterday and am continuing to increase the stretching and strengthening exercises. The stretching done during physio can be quite painful but I think also very effective. The IT pain is almost gone and the groin/hip flexor pain is getting much better. I’m still very tight in the quads and hamstring, but getting better with stretching.
I went to the office Monday – Thursday this week and am working my usual Friday at home.
I just hope I don’t lose all the progress I’ve made on the left side while waiting for the right side to catch up.
March 9, 2011 25 days since my first BHR (left side) and now 3 days until the second. I’ll report to Thornton Hospital in La Jolla at 9:00 a.m. on Friday for my RBHR. A lot of things are going through my mind right now. Here’s a random sample.
I’ve been through this before…I shouldn’t be nervous but I am. The first surgery and recovery (so far) have been textbook. Out of the hospital on day 3, off of crutches after a week. No more cane, except on long walks, after two and a half weeks. I’m obviously not at 100% after 25 days, but there are a lot of times when I don’t even think about it. The second one could go just as smoothly, or it might not. I’ve been very aggressive in building strength through exercise and PT but I will now be depending on this leg to be the “strong” one, at least for a while.
Textbook recovery doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a lot of pain, a lot of stiffness and occasional depression. Now I’m going back to square one. What a “pain in the a$$” this will be, but worth it in the end.
I hope I get the same nurses I had back in February. They were all great.
I already have crutches and a grabber. Two things the hospital won’t need to supply this time.
I was able to sleep on my right side immediately after the first procedure. Will I need to learn to sleep on my back this time?
I was driving after a week and a half with my LBHR. How long will it take to drive with my RBHR?
I ordered my temporary handicap permit over two weeks ago. Where is it?
How long before I can go back to outpatient PT? Will I lose all the progress I’ve made? How confusing will it be to have two legs in different stages of recovery?
Have to remember to charge my Kindle, put new batteries in the book light.
I already know which shorts to pack and which sweats. Remember to pack at least two changes of shirts.
My friend got tickets for opening day April 5 at Petco Park. Will I be ready?
March Madness starts next Tuesday!!
March 11, 2011 I’m now officially a bi-lat!!
The surgery took a little longer this time, apparently I have very hard bones, but according to Dr. Ball everything went well and the placement is perfect. Pain is under control, but I’m getting really tired.
March 12, 2011 Epidural is out, foley catheter is out (thank God). I’ve done three walks around the floor with the therapists. I’m wearing human-style clothes and watching hoops on TV.
I had some mildly disappointing news today. On my first procedure the weight bearing instruction was “as tolerated”. This time there was some trouble getting the acetabular cup seated. Though it ended up perfectly placed he gave me some restricted weight bearing for 4 weeks. I’m supposed to use two crutches and keep most of my weight off the operated leg until then. All other restrictions are unchanged. It just means that I can’t be quite as aggressive in my recovery this time. A little disappointing but all in all I’m still quite happy with the results. It just means a couple of extra weeks before full recovery.
March 18, 2011 Seven days after my second BHR the pain and stiffness have improved immensely. It’s been a little more difficult than my first one, but the doctor warned me that he had to work harder to get the acetabular cup seated correctly.
I had very little swelling after my first procedure, but my biggest problem now is swelling. If I sit at my desk for more than an hour or so my lower thigh starts swelling. I haven’t measured it or anything but it’s obvious by the way it feels when I stand or bend my knee. I have a 6″ bed wedge and if I go lie down with my cold pack and my foot elevated it always goes away after a while. There must be some fluid in there that just migrates down to that location if I’m at all vertical.
March 22, 2011 I’m 39 days after my first BHR and 11 days after my second. As of yesterday I’m back to working full time. I’m working from my home office for now, mostly due to weight bearing restrictions given me on my second hip. I have “toe touch only” (two crutches) for four weeks. My wife works in the same office so I don’t need to drive, though I feel like I will probably be able to by next week. I still get a little swelling behind my knee if I sit in my chair for too long, but getting up and crutching around once in a while helps a lot.
At this point, after 39 days, I hardly notice my first (left) surgery. It’s now my stronger leg. It’s definitely not at 100% but is strong enough to support me while the other one catches up.
March 24, 2011 I’m back in the office today, 13 days after RBHR and 41 days after LBHR. I actually started working full time from my home office on Monday.
I had a posterior approach, but the incision is on the side. Most of the pain due to surgery has resolved, but still a sort of painful knot under the incision. Muscle pain increasing in the quads and IT band after a week and a half or so, similar to my first procedure, but this may be due to PT exercises for strength and ROM(?). And my whole leg gets sore if I keep it in one position for too long and then try to move it.
The thing that’s different from my first procedure it this. After sitting in my desk chair for half the day or so (I do get up and walk around occasionally) my butt (gluteus maximus?) gets really sore like I’ve been sitting on a cement bench for a couple of days. This started at home yesterday, and putting a soft pillow on the chair sort of helped, but what I really had to do is lie down on the bed for a while. Can’t do that here at the office.
April 1, 2011 Three weeks post BHR #2, and still on crutches due to docotor’s orders. I know I could walk well if I just threw them out, but I’m going to stick it out until my follow-up next Wednesday.
Anyway, like I’m sure most people here do after surgery, I tend to notice little milestones – putting socks on unassisted, etc.
This morning I dropped a section of the newspaper on the floor. I had put my crutches aside in the kitchen and so wasn’t leaning on them. Without thinking about it, I partially bent at the waist and partially squatted to pick up the paper without leaning on the counter or steadying myself in any way with my hand. I haven’t actually been able to do that in at least 3 or 4 years due to the OA and then my surgeries.
April 6, 2011 At my four week follow-up the pictures looked good, incision looked good and doc was happy with my progress.
Bottom line…I can ditch the f#*&ing crutches. One crutch, cane, no assistance — whatever feels right to me. Walked about 1/3 mile, down the driveway, to the end of the street and back, up the driveway with my cane and my wife with no problems. Walking around the house with no assistance. I figure I’ll keep the cane with me for at least the next week to help out if I get tired but, otherwise, it’s freewheeling from now on!! Outpatient PT will start next week.
I feel so liberated now. He even said I could start swinging a golf club…
April 13, 2011 I’m 32 days post-op on my right side and was able to sleep through the night last night on my right side. I think that’s probably the first time. I’m a little over 8 weeks on my left side and can sleep on that side now with no discomfort at all. I prefer the right side though, so things are looking better and better.
April 23, 2011 I got the rowing machine out yesterday and did three 5 minute sets at a low setting (2 out of 10) and a fairly slow pace, with about a minute between each. The first set was very slow and felt really good – no pain, no stiffness and my knees actually did not stick out to the sides . So good that I unintentionally started speeding up in the second set and had to consciously slow down. Third set was at a pretty even pace.
I actually got my HR up to about 138, which isn’t particularly high but considering my lack of cardio work in the past couple of years was pretty good, and it felt great. It also gave me a good warm up for my other regular PT exercises. I really was very happy just so see that I could get my feet strapped in and grab the bar with no trouble, and work the thing at all.
This would be barely a warm-up for the workouts I used to do but it’s been such a long time, and this was really pretty much of a trial run, I didn’t want to push it. Plus, I don’t have any callouses on my hands and I didn’t want to cause any blisters. I think I’ll try again tomorrow before our big Easter dinner, maybe a little longer and maybe a little harder.
April 27, 2011 My PT is only a 5 minute drive from my office, so I’m lucky to be able to schedule 3:30 p.m. appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Monday and Wednesday this week) on my way home from work. This is my third week and the routine though pretty consistent has changed gradually adding some things and subtracting others. On Monday it was something like this:
15 minutes walking on the treadmill to warm up. I’m up to a 3 mph pace, I’ve been trying to hit .75 miles at the 15 minute mark. As an dumb engineer nerd I keep watching the numbers and have to have some kind of goal. Today I’ll try for .8 or .85.
After the treadmill I go to the table and get stretched. This is the really painful, but probably the most important, part for me. My hammies, quads and hip flexors are extremely tight. The PT stretches all of those for about 10 or 15 minutes total in a number of different ways and it’s definitely painful, but it feels very good when finished. She also keeps telling me that I need to stretch more at home.
While still lying on the table, 30 “clams” on each side, 30 side leg raises with each leg, 30 leg raises on my back with 2 lb weights, 30 bridges.
30 leg presses and 30 ankle presses on the universal gym, a sliding table that’s at about a 45 degree angle.
3 laps back and forth across the room doing the “monster walk”, where you walk sideways with an elastic band around your ankles
30 “step ups” and 30 “step downs” with each leg
30 standing toe raises on each foot
30 “water skier” squats – holding onto a bar
30 “wall squats” where you put a big ball between your back and the wall. Last time the new twist was to hold every 10th squat for 15 seconds (they time it – felt like 15 minutes). That was really hard.
30 leg presses on a weight machine – another new one
30 hamstring curls on a weight machine
Ice on both sides for 10 minutes
On Monday I went home and walked 1.5 miles with my wife afterwards.
May 20, 2011 I’m up to 2 or 3 times per week on the rower now, 25 to 30 minutes per session. Feeling a lot stronger and more confident, though still going very light on resistance. For some reason my therapist is still not too sure about me doing this, though she has me doing leg presses on the weight machine during my sessions there. A lot more resistance with the weights than on the erg.
June 13, 2011 I had my four month follow-up last week with Dr. Ball (four months for the left hip, three months for the right). The right hip’s recovery is obviously a little bit behind the left, especially since I had the four week “toe touch only” restriction on that one, but the strength and flexibility have come back amazingly quickly on both sides as far as I’m concerned.
It’s hard, at this point, even to remember how I was back in January and before, but I believe that my strength is better on both sides than it was, thanks in large part to the regular PT I’ve had, and the flexibility is amazing. I can hardly remember the pain I was in, and there’s no pain at all now, even from the surgery. No problem now tying my shoes in the middle, and I can sit comfortably cross-legged on the floor – two things I couldn’t even come close to doing before. I can stand with my feet together pointing straight forward. I can stand up from a low seated position without pushing off with my hands. Before, I couldn’t even sit with my knees together, I had to cross my feet when sitting in a chair – pretty hard to stand up gracefully from that position. I can step up on a 24″ block wall in the back yard almost like I’m just walking over it. I still have some residual flexibility issues in my quads and flexors, which I’m trying to work out with stretching.
My doctor removed all movement restrictions. Still no heavy contact activities, like running or playing basketball, but everything else is cool. Recovery is not complete but going extremely well. All in all, I’m extremely happy with the results of this surgery, and feel about 20 years younger.
June 19, 2011 The wife and I went for a four mile hike this morning to the top of a local mountain and back down – a vertical rise of about 1200 feet. This is a pretty strenous hike, but we took it very slowly mainly because the wife was getting out of breath. Truthfully the hardest part for me was coming down the hill — my knees and quads get pretty tired but my hips gave me no problems at all.
After the hike I went shopping at the farmers market, Costco and the grocery store. When I got home I took a nice hot spa and then jumped in the pool to cool off. As I was climbing the steps to get out of the pool my left hip squeaked like a rusty hinge. I could feel it vibrate, and I heard it squeak. My wife, who was sitting next to the pool also heard it. At first it really freaked me out because it had never happened before. But then I climbed up and down the steps a few times to see if I could get it to squeak again. It worked a few times but not always. I hear that this can happen if you get dehydrated and the synovial fluid fails to properly lubricate the joint, but I didn’t feel at all dehydrated today. Maybe it also had something to do with the sudden temperature changes.
Like I said, it sort of freaked me out at first. Now, I wish I could find a way to make it squeak on demand. I’ve heard of creaky joints but I don’t know anybody who can make their joints squeak.
July 4, 2011 I still have to remind myself not to push too hard, even though I often feel like I could push a lot harder than I have been (and I’m really not pushing that hard).
I’ve been working slowly back into using my Concept2 rower. Maybe once or twice a week at most, no more than 5000 meters, 23 or 24 minutes with the resistance on 2 out of 10 and not rowing very hard. At least it gets my pulse rate elevated for a few minutes. On Friday evening I felt really strong so I set it at 4 and did 6000 meters pushing a little harder. Felt great when I was done.
Saturday morning I woke up and went on a 3 mile walk on a hilly loop around our neighborhood. This is something I’ve done many times in the past few weeks. On the last downhill part, though, my left leg felt very weak, and sore in the flexors. I was limping around a bit for the rest of the day and was a little worried. I took Sunday easy and felt better by Sunday night. Did the three mile walk again this morning and feel fine now.
I’m not sure if the soreness was a result of pushing too hard or something strange that happened Friday night. I was lying on my back in bed, reading. My right leg was stretched out straight and I had drawn my left foot up so that my knee was sticking straight up. I apparently dozed off in this position and it seems that I woke up as my left knee was flopping over toward my right leg. I have a very vague memory of this because I was half asleep, but it seems like I couldn’t raise my knee back up and had a hard time moving my leg at all. I was able to slowly straighten my knee out and then I could move normally. Then I want back to sleep.
When I woke up again I could sort of remember what happened but was not really sure of the details. It reminded me of the restriction not to rotate your leg inward, and this was a pretty sudden inward rotation. I don’t have any rotation or flexion restrictions anymore, but I’m sure that this is something that should be avoided. It could be part of the reason my hip flexor was sore the next day. Anyway, I’ll have to remember not to fall asleep with my knee in the air.
August 2, 2011 Last week I started a regular weekday after work schedule of swimming on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and rowing on Tuesday and Thursday. On weekends it’s yardwork, long walks and whatever else I can come up with. Still planning to get back on the golf course soon. I’ve been able to keep it up since last Monday (not very long yet but I’m very committed to this now).
Started out last Tuesday at 6500 m and have added 500 m each of the last two workouts. Today I did 7500 meters in 33:04, an average of 2:12.3. Still not particularly fast, but I’m getting better gradually. Not sure how long I can keep adding 500 m twice a week. Eventually I’ll start mixing distance pieces with interval work –I hope. In the meantime I alternate one minute hard with two minutes moderate pace. Keeps me from going crazy.
August 12, 2011 I slowly started rowing on my C2 again in June after several years off because of back and hip problems. For several weeks now I’ve been doing two sessions a week and slowly building up my speed and pace. I find that both my strength and stamina are not close to what they once were, but they are coming back with each workout.
I did three sessions this week – Tuesday, Thursday and today (Friday) and decided to start keeping track of some benchmark times. Yesterday I did 7:54.5 for 2K, which is not particularly fast but my goal was to break 8:00. I did it but it was very exhausting.
Today I did my first 10K in probably 5 years. With no idea what I could do my goal was to do 44 minutes, a 2:12 pace. I was able to keep it under 2:11 most of the time and ended up at 43:34.0 (a 2:10.7 pace). I probably could have gone faster but not much. Plus I now have about three blisters to deal with. I think I’ll swim laps tomorrow.
September 6, 2011 I’ve been concentrating lately on putting a lot of meters on the erg, as this is really my only exercise besides walking before work every morning, and I need to lose some weight (I’m about 5′ 11″ and weigh 235 lb). I’m not worried too much about going fast, though I expect the times to come down eventually. Today I did 14,000 meters (2K warmup, two 5K pieces and 2K to cool down) in about 1 hour total, and I’ve done about 62K in the past week. My 5K pieces are averaging around a 2:08 pace.
I’ve joined an online rowing “team”, called Free Spirits Rowing through the Concept2 website. There are over 300 people on this team, some very active and some not so active. There are guys there rowing in the low 6 minute range for 2000 meters and 36 minutes for 10K, and there are also a lot that are more like me. They run a message board like this one where people discuss their goals and their progress, and they are all very supportive no matter what level you are at. I find this very inspiring as it helps me to continue my workouts without any real pressure to compete or anything. Before my hips and back got too painful I rowed on my C2 for 10+ years in my garage, basically in isolation because I didn’t know anybody else who was doing it.
September 24, 2011 I just did my fastest 10K this evening at 42:34.3. I think it’s only the third or fourth time I’ve done the entire 10K without any rest. The thought of finding my fastest possible pace for such a long distance is pretty daunting at this point. I have my damper set at 7 right now.
I bought a small TV last weekend, which I set up in my garage next to the C2. It really helps…I was watching Oklahoma play Missouri and the 10K went by pretty quickly. I finished the entire thing during the first quarter.
January 24, 2012 My left hip’s one year anniversary is coming up in a little over two weeks. The only exercise I’m getting right now, due to lack of time and access to a gym, is walking in the morning before work and rowing on my Concept2 in the evenings, and a little stretching. I was able to get the C2 out of the corner of the garage at the end of July after probably 4 years of non-use. In September I set an ambitious goal of 1 million meters by the end of 2011, which I didn’t quite achieve mostly because I slacked off during December. I’m now at 959,000 and should get to 1 million with no problem before my first year anniversary, which would be great.
In the past week I’ve stepped up my distance and intensity after, like I said, slacking off during a lot of December. I put in 15K on Sunday afternoon while watching my 49ers lose to the hated New York Giants. That evening while sitting in my recliner it felt like my left buttock was cramping up, a feeling that I’ve never had before. I got up and walked around a bit, and it went away, but it was still kind of scary. A good reminder that, even after almost a year, we have to be careful not to overdo it.