A Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Happy Veteran's Day sports fans and a big shout out to those of you who have proudly worn the uniform of the United States or its allies.

Anyhow, two weeks ago I had my DEXA scan (still waiting for results) and on Monday I had a follow up with the orthopedist. I was worried because I was starting to feel some low level pain in the pubic region again (typically 1 -3 out of 10 on the pain scale, maybe very seldom 4's) nothing sharp or excruciating or debilitating but still... Anyhow, the orthopedist did not seem concerned with pain in the 1 -4 range. He even mentioned that given the drop in temperatures, it was actually normal for me to be feeling that low level type of pain (must by temperature sensitive). He put me through a range of motions test. I was concerned when he told me to wait while he went and got something -- I'm thinking, another prescription for an MRI? He comes back with a two page sheet entitled "Functional Activity Progression." The doctor said I could start on Saturday.

Day 1: Walk 1 mile. Walk 330 yards, jog 110 yards, walk 330 yards, jog 110 yards, walk 330 yards, jog 110 yards, walk 330 yards, jog 110 yards. Total distance -- 2 miles, total distance jogging -- 1/4 mile.

So on Saturday, after two long months, I put on my running shoes and my 2012 XMP shirt, went to the track at Churchill, turned on my Garmin (still anal when it comes to that...), and walked. And jogged. It wasn't fast, and I was a little sore. But I was running (or rather jogging) again. When I was done, I headed off to the pool for my usual mile swim and 15 minutes of pool running.

Day 2: Back at the track. Walk 220 yards, jog 220 yards, walk 220 yards, jog 220 yards, walk 220 yards, jog 220 yards, walk 440 yards. Walk 440 yards, jog 440 yards, walk 440 yards, jog 440 yards, walk 100 yards. Total distance -- 2.05 miles, total distance jogging -- 7/8 mile. Again, it wasn't fast (my jogging pace was around 10:30) and I was still sore, but not as sore as I kept at it.

Day 3:  Swam a mile and did 15 minutes of pool running in the morning.  This afternoon, back at the track for 440 yards walk, 880 yards jog, 440 yards walk.  220 yards walk, 1320 yards jog, 220 yards walk.  Total distance -- 2 miles; total distance jogging -- 1 1/4 miles!  Slowly building that mileage up!!

So here I am, very thankful and hopefully optimistic that I am finally back on the road to recovery.

Stay tuned, sports fans...