Days 18 & 19

I am finding myself to have more energy everyday, and I am sleeping better every night.  It was just me and the kids on Monday and Tuesday as Sara was at work.  They do an awesome job of helping me out and making sure I have what I need where I need it.  We spent a lot of time in the pool and I was able to get a lot of laps in swimming.  I have to be careful of the kicking still as I do feel a little soreness if my kicking motion is too exaggerated.  Luckily, I have never been much of a kicker while swimming freestyle and tend to use my arms mostly so this was not a huge adjustment.  I am looking forward to getting in a full-size pool to swim some true laps, but this will have to do for now.  I also was able to get another core strengthening workout in doing push-ups, planks, crunches and pull-ups.  I am looking forward to using the trainer with my bike to get some cycling in starting Wednesday.  Basically my gameplan is to cycle and swim everyday if possible, and to do my core workout 3-4 times a week.  I feel better after getting workouts in, both physically and mentally.  Plus, I need to make sure I am as strong as possible going into the second surgery.

I was able to get to my kids' cross country practice on Tuesday night, put on by The City of Peoria and coached by my friend Nathan of Tortoise and Hare Sports.  It motivates me to get back to full strength and run with them again and help out at events like this.  I can't believe how driven they are all the while sporting a smile and enjoying the sport.  It reminds me of what running is all about, being a kid again.  Just you and your shoes, out enjoying your surroundings.  I truly believe it is the purest of all sports.

Tips:

• Slow and easy -I find myself trying to move around more quickly than I probably should on the crutches.  As you begin to feel better and stronger, you have a tendency to try to "keep up" or at least not slow others down, at least I have.  The problem with this is that you sacrifice proper contact and alignment of the crutches.  Over the past few days I have found myself landing off balance or with too much momentum, forcing myself onto the recovering leg and putting way too much pressure, if not 100% weight on it.  NOT GOOD...so keep it slow and easy, it is not worth the risk of hip fracture and totally undoing all the good that has been done so far.
• Water is your friend -both as keeping you hydrated as well as being in it to work out.  Think about it, no impact, light resistance, and if you lose your balance, no fear of falling and causing other injuries...just fall over and float and regain balance.  You have no idea how grateful I am to have a pool to keep active in.