...and the foot injury

After surgery, I was on crutches for 6 weeks, and was then told I could ease back into my full workout routine.  I even decided to run a 5K on New Years Day to start off the year right.  I also signed up for a yoga class.  Bad idea.  Pretty much every move in yoga requires that you bend your toes, whether weight-bearing or not.  I could not do that.  I then attempted my run/walk routine a few times over the next couple months, but never without pain.  I figured it would just take awhile for my foot to get back to 100% so I didn't think too much about it.  In mid-March I found out I had a degenerated and herniated disc in my lower back, and so I was happy to just take running off the table for awhile until that got stabilized.

My need for surgery was direct result of a soccer play gone wrong, however the joint
that I hurt was the same as though I had a bunion, so that's the procedure I received.
It's also possible that I did have a bunion that just never bothered me at all until this happened.

It was June when I was finally cleared to run again by my new back doctor, and I decided to start very easy with the couch to 5K program.  I was doing well but my foot hurt with every single step.  I wondered if it was really just taking a long time to come around?  Meanwhile, I was still attempting to do the yoga once a week and it was getting more and more painful.  The day that it hurt while I was swimming(!!) is the day I made a follow up appointment with Dr. Lutta.

This is how it looks today, or at least a month-ish ago when I saw Dr. Lutta.. much better!

I have had nothing but great experiences with Commonwealth Orthopaedics, except for the wait time to get on a doctor's schedule.  This was no different, so I suffered through a few more weeks before I finally had my appointment.  X-rays showed that structurally, my foot is doing great.  He noticed some scar tissue on the top of the joint and thinks that maybe this is what is causing me pain...although then he checked my "before" x-rays and noticed I have scar tissue there also (possibly from when I broke my feet during one of my college summers).  He decided to give physical therapy a try. 

It was a little weird to me that I wasn't sent to physical therapy right after the surgery, but I guess it was winter and I wasn't really doing too much - or wearing flip flops - such that it really really bothered me.  I was a little hesitant after my poor experience with my back physical therapy, but as much as it hurts, I'll give anything a try!  I'm glad I did because immediately, I was much more impressed with this practice.  I have 2 therapists, Amy and Jenni.  In my evaluation, Amy took measurements of my feet.  My left big toe joint had range of motion 38/85 (down angle to top angle), and my right joint has range of 15/32.  Amy's initial response was "wow, how the hell have you been running at all with this?!  Your joint has zero mobility!"  and, after several chats about my triathlon training schedule [which admittedly has been light on the running lately], commented, "ahh, I can tell you're going to be one of those patents."

This part of PT - the hands on part - HURTS!!

Dare I say, I think the physical therapy might be working.  I have exercises to do on my own, and I have been diligent about it.  After all, it's in my best interest to do anything and everything I can to get rid of this pain once and for all.  And contrary to my PT experience for my back, I really like my physical therapists.  They each spend quite a bit of time with me each day, really working the problem area in my foot, and explaining clearly how each thing they do will directly address the issue.  The exercises are designed specifically for my injury and, while it does hurt [which they warned me it would do.. if it doesn't hurt at all, it's not working the area], I am optimistic that it is helping.

After the PT works with my foot, it's a series of foot/toe-specific excercises and then ice.

It's not yet been determined how long I will be in PT.  The original suggestion was 4 weeks, but given the absolute lack of mobility, it could be considerably longer.  I'm OK with that.  It's a pain to schedule alongside of work, training and chiropractor for my back, but if it helps in the long run, then it's totally worth it.

catching up on the back injury

I feel like I've been injured forever, and to some extent, with no end in sight.  It's both annoying and frustrating... often fairly painful and sometimes downright debilitating. The more recent issue is my back problem, the degenerated and herniated disc in my lower back.  In hindsight, I learned a huge lesson with this injury.  I'd had such a great experience with Commonwealth Orthopaedics, that I knew I should look to the same practice for a back specialist.  I was impatient though.  My back hurt and I wanted to get it addressed.  So I settled for a doctor who could see me on short notice.  Now, Dr. Davis was nice, and I'm sure very qualified.  He is the first doctor in all the times I've been seen for my back to send me for an MRI which finally revealed the problem.  That's where my good experience ended though.

So, I have a degenerative disc AND a herniated disc, both at the same
location, L4/L5 [so lumbar spine near the arch]

I wrote before about Dr. Davis' treatment plan, basically physical therapy that ended up being a complete joke, and an ESI that helped for a bit, but obviously didn't solve the problem.  When I returned to Dr. Davis after my trip to Florida, his professional advice was to avoid lying on the ground, which is the thing that triggers my back locking up most of the time.  Huh?  That's all you've got?  I felt as though I was getting dismissed.

At the urging of a coworker who's recently had back surgery for a similar [but significantly worse] back issue, I saw a neurologist (his referral) for a second opinion.  Well, that jackass told me to simply stop doing activities.. no running, no biking, no yoga and even no swimming.  End of treatment plan.  Uhhh.. no, sorry, that's not even close to an acceptable path for me.   But, I guess why they call them "opinions" though, because it's just that.. his opinion.  Next!

Yep.. Jon had to place my wine on the floor for me when my back locked up b/c I couldn't sit up.. AT ALL!
[btw, face down on the couch with ice on your back is not the most ideal way to drink wine]

Immediately, I got on the phone with Commonwealth Orthopaedics and got myself on Dr. Mazahery's schedule.  I had to wait a month, but it was well worth the wait!!  Such a night and day different experience.  He reviewed the MRI and discussed my options with me.

1. Do nothing - but since I'm active and my back hurts, that's not really an option
2. Physical Therapy - which I've already tried, but perhaps with the right physical therapist I could have a better experience.  That said, he thinks PT probably won't do anything extra for me since I'm already pretty active.
   
3. Chiropractor - yes, there are some quacks out there, but there are also some good Chiropractors that can help, and it's a good way to help avoid any surgical procedure
   
4. Pain Management - basically, get another ESI.  He gave me the "prescription" and referral, but told me to hold off using it until I've tried one of the other options, to see if I was still having issues.

I've had one ESI and thought it worked for a while, but then BAM.. locked up again, and went back to hurting constantly.  Andrea told me that it took her 2 injections to really see a difference... but the idea of shooting steroids into my spine doesn't sit great with me, so I'm hoping one of the other methods will help.

OK, so I found a chiropractor close to my home that I visited.  He looked at my MRI and settled on a treatment plan of laser therapy and spinal decompression therapy.  I thought it was odd that I was going to a chiropractor and spending all that money and he never even touched me!  All he ever did was rub some laser thingy on my back and then hook me up to a machine.. anyone could've pushed that start button.  Part of me feels like this was just a huge waste of time and money, and as far as chiropractor care goes, a big pile of shit.

This is the exact spinal decompression machine that was used on me and it
basically stretches your spine back and forth.

Nevertheless, I completed that treatment plan... and my back still hurt.  A lot.  Not all the time, there are definitely better days than others, but enough to still seek out a treatment plan that works.  I feel like I haven't really given the chiropractor route a decent chance because I am still not sure what this guy did was really chiropractor care.  Through connections with Team Z, I found Positively Chiropractic and made an appointment with Dr. Anna who does a lot with sports chiropractic medicine.

Heating pad... Every. Damn. Night.

My first visit with Dr. Anna went well, and I am hopeful that she can help.  She did some adjustments (she actually touched my back!) and did some traction therapy with heat and electric pulses.  She gave me some exercises to do, which I have been good about doing, and instructions to ice and heat my back daily [which I have been doing this whole time].  My only concern with her is that she seemed to want to be more of a life coach than I was looking for, giving me advice about my foot that sometimes contradicted what my foot doctor and PT were telling me, and nutrition advice even though I told her I was working with a nutritionist [who is even associated with her practice!].  Not sure I care for that, but at the end of the day, if she can make my back feel better without the need to get another shot in my spine, then I guess I can handle auxiliary nonsense.

Dr. Anna uses this table for some type of traction therapy also, but actually adjusts me first!

My treatment plan with Dr. Anna is for about 6 weeks, so fingers crossed that this works... because the next step is to revisit the pain management specialist, which I am really hoping I don't have to do.

All my new accessories to hopefully help me at home!  Thanks, Amazon Prime :-)

Save The Bay Swim

For starters, I wanted to give a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who was able to make a donation to support the cause to save Narragansett Bay -- y'all are awesome!!  I was able to meet my minimum fundraising goal, and even went a little over ($600!).  Even though it's not a local bay, as a swimmer [and general user of water all around], keeping water clean is definitely important to me.  And I promise I won't solicit donations for another event again for at least a few years!

On a whim, in the week leading up to the bay swim, I decided to check out my training numbers for swimming over the past few years.  I started logging my workouts in 2009, and sure there were probably some periods where I wasn't consistent about entering in my times, but I think for the most part it's pretty accurate [especially for triathlon sports, maybe not so much the extra stuff like soccer, hiking, etc].  Holy cow, check out these swim numbers!!  Mind you, we are only in July of 2014 [and not counting the actual bay swim] and I have already well surpassed the past three years combined!  I have my swim lane-mates Linda, Hillary, Taylor, Catherine and Dexter [and Chris even though he recently moved up a lane] to thank for keeping me committed to the training.  It's easy - well, easier - to wake up before the crack of dawn when you have great lane-mates [and when you know they'll notice when you're not there]!

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sitting on my ass all these years [well, not completely]..
I did run over 67 hours in 2013 [prior to surgery in Sept] which, for me, is a LOT.

I'm definitely going into this event confident in my swim training this year, even though this is the 2nd furthest I've ever swam (one 2.4 miler at Slam the Dam a couple years ago), and the first time swimming straight across a major body of water, versus the sheltered areas and along shorelines.  I was thankful for the Tarzan (helps with sighting) and weak-side breathing drills in Tuesday morning's swim workout, since the one thing I've heard from Heidi [who heard it from others who have done the swim] is that sighting is the hardest part.  I also ordered tinted goggles to minimize any sun glare.  One final open water practice on Thursday evening with Andrea, and I'm ready to fly up to Rhode Island.

Getting up to Providence was a breeze (and thanks to Heidi who picked up some TriSlide from a local bike shop for me -- stupid carry on liquid rules) and Heidi, Dan and I went out for a nice dinner and just relaxed for the evening.  I think I woke up pretty much every hour on the hour that night, but was still shocked that 4:30 rolled around so quickly.  The three of us got our stuff together, stopped at Dunkin Donuts for coffee/diet coke and breakfast for Heidi and Dan, and then made the uneventful drive to Newport, including a drive over the bridge that I would be swimming alongside of.  We actually made it there fashionably early and had a bit of time to hang around enjoying the views.

Originally, I was placed in the 2nd wave, and was happy to know that there would be a wave before me that I could watch navigate the first 5 minutes of the course.  Except, when I got to the check-in, I found that they had shifted me to the first wave.After the safety briefing, I started making my way into the water over the [very] rocky shoreline.  Once I got a few meters into the water though, there was a bunch of seaweed that created a softer carpet on the bottom of the bay.  Us swimmers couldn't hear any of the announcements that Heidi and Dan heard, giving us the 2 minute warning and such, but all of a sudden we heard the cannon (!!!) sound and we were off!

I was super nervous about this swim.  The idea of swimming straight across a large body of water, without any buoys to help guide me gave me visions of a large current catching me and carrying me out to sea, never to be heard from again.  Shockingly, that didn't happen.  I kind of let most of the swimmers in my wave go ahead of me, and I slowly started to get my groove on.  I was breathing only to my right (bridge was on the left) and so everything looked the same with every stroke.  I decided to just plug along without looking at the bridge or my watch, though I gave in after what seemed like a really long time... 18 minutes.  Geez.  Then I decided to look over at the bridge, and it seemed like I was barely into it.  Oy, it was going to be a long day.

They had warned of jellyfish in the bay that time of year, and I saw them!  There were tons of them just under me in the water, and I did not really care for that sight.  I felt like my arms kept swerving through a school of them and I could feel them touch my hands.... I later realized that what I was feeling was more likely the bubbles that my hands created as they moved through the water.  I did get stung though.  Twice.  Luckily, the jellyfish lotion I was wearing did its job and it didn't really bother me at all past the initial sting. 

Twice I hit something solid and slimy, that I can only describe as a huge fish head (or sea monster?), even though realistically I know that no fish would swim that close to me no matter how separated I might have been from the other swimmers [which, at times seemed like there was a ton of space, though I think I was always within 15-ish meters of another swimmer in varying directions... I only collided with another person once and much unlike triathlon, we both paused and -- wait for it -- apologized!!].  Touching the sea monster's fish head freaked me out something fierce, but I had nowhere to go but forward.  I looked over at the bridge and could tell that I was approaching the middle section, so almost halfway.  I kept swimming, trying to get away from the sea monster that was obviously following me, and looked at my watch again... 26 minutes.  Then I looked at the bridge again.. still almost halfway... still coming up on the middle section of the bridge... ohmigosh, I felt like I was in an endless pool.  It took literally forever, but as soon as I passed that section, the rest of the swim seemed to go really kinda fast.

The top is the mapped course... the bottom is MY course :-)

Honestly, the current wasn't too bad.  There were a few sections that were a little choppier than others, but at no time did I feel like I was stuck in a washing machine.  There was one completely disgusting section with foamy brown water that I couldn't bring myself to put my head into, so I swam with my head out of water for about 20 meters (give or take 10; I have no way of measuring that kind of distance).  I forbid myself to look behind me for most of the swim because I was worried I'd see that I really hadn't swam that far at all.  But finally, I allowed myself to stop and glance back to take in the beauty of the area.  What I saw was a parade of kayaks decorated with balloons and streamers, all so that the swimmer they were escorting could identify them.  It was actually a really cool sight!

One of the things I didn't count on was how much my back would hurt.  The wetsuit keeps you buoyant, and it poised my legs at just an angle to put an arch in my back.  It really started hurting during the second half of the swim and lingered for the duration.  But I kept on going, and realized the end buoys were within reach and I was close to being finished!  Some of the kayak swimmers had caught up to me by then and it got really congested trying to navigate around the corner and into the finish chute.  The finish volunteers were standing pretty far out in the water, and I wasn't sure when I was officially done, so I just kept swimming until I was basically on top of them.  I hit the lap button on my watch cause I wasn't sure if that was the end or just a check point -- we were still a good distance from the beach.  1:16:09.  My [completely reasonable, in my opinion] goal was to go under an hour and a half, so this was fantastic!  I got my position marker and walked towards the other set of volunteers who took my marker (basically a popsicle stick) and wrote down my number.  I think I was probably officially done at this point, but I kept my watch going until I was firmly on the beach.  Done!  1:18:18 when I finally stopped my watch for a total of 1.97 miles (versus the advertised 1.7 miles... It was 1.91 miles when I hit the lap button and stood up).

The hardest thing about distance swimming for me is the feeling of being horizontal for so long and then standing up and trying to walk.  I was dizzy and disoriented, probably walking around with my head in the clouds wanting to find some water and a place to sit.  My mouth was on fire from all the salt water [and my invisalign retainer cut up my mouth as well, as it does on many endurance events].  I looked around and saw Heidi waving at me.  Someone handed me a towel and I made my way over to where Heidi and Dan were standing.  I went back into the water to remove my wetsuit and the 3 of us went over the the festival area where I snacked on some post-swim fruit (the strawberries were stinging my tongue -- not cool).  Then it was a walk to the car, back to the house for a shower and off to breakfast!

The currents didn't get me.  The sea monster didn't get me.  The nasty brown foamy section of water didn't get me.  The jellyfish did get me, but I was prepared for them.  Unfortunately, I didn't come out completely unscathed, as I sliced my toe open on one of the shells on my way out of the water.  Still, all things considered, this was a win for me.

I don't think this band-aid depicts exactly how much this cut hurts!
[even though I didn't even notice it until later that afternoon]

The rest of the weekend was spent at the Narragansett Town Beach, a driving tour of the area, good food (scallops!), great ice cream and a good nights sleep.  Heidi and I took a mile and a half stroll along an ocean side trail Sunday morning before it was time to get me to the airport to go home. Heidi and Dan were both incredible hosts [and swim sherpas!] for a fun weekend!

Yes, that is Dan in that photo, riding the waves on his boogie board!

Then.... when we landed in Dulles, a lady from my flight comes up to me and says,

"Oh, I recognize that shirt; my husband and I were in Newport and saw all of you guys swimming!  We were actually there for the shark catching contest on the other side of the bridge, and were worried they were maybe using you all for bait -- I'm glad to see you made it out!"

Ummmm... say what?  She must be kidding.  Right?  Wrong.  Of course I immediately grabbed my phone and looked this up.  Sure enough, the Newport Shark Tournament was going on at the same time.  It's a really good thing I didn't know about this before the event!!  I am now absolutely convinced that the sea monster I touched twice was actually sharks...  [I'm kidding... kind of]