Hernia recovery isn't a bad word...

Listen, I'm not the type to give in to pain, and there lies my problem. For a few years now during my physicals, my doctors (had a few) have reminded me of my ongoing hernia issue. My original doc said I had two, then it was reduced to one, so with that in my ultimate wisdom... I continued to run, and run and run.

Let's move forward a little, marathons, ultras, 100's later I now feel that it would be beneficial to do something about it. During many trail ultras I had lost confidence in my stride while pushing up steep terrain, rocky or otherwise...that really bothered me and affected my racing. So I made the dreaded appointment to get it done, finish me off doc, just do it.

For an avid runner like to me undergo surgery...any surgery, it's a really scary thing. My legs and their movement are a source of freedom for me; to have anyone mess around with that is just a crazy idea.

1. Surgery day - Nervous but committed now, I'm here in my backward gown, bare for the world to see and at the mercy of these professionals..... now see there, how I did that, these ARE professionals and we have nothing to worry about right.... In actuality the process and procedure are quite simple, an appointment, a quick change, and don't blink it over like that, but wait, they're acting like it's no big deal, I can't justify my concern with their professional attitudes!!! and lights out............................

I'm awake!!, I'm ALIVE.......and actually feeling pretty good!, nice and relaxed.

The rest of the day is simple, feel really good, bandaged up and light headed, kinda concerned that they didn't really do anything at all though!!...



2. The day after - I'm not sure they even cut me, I'm not feeling to bad... wait, there's something, yep I'm a little sore, after all, I was still laying in bed. I'm not going to take any pain medicine if I can help it today, so off I go then, and by mid-morning I was starting to feel the burn. In the afternoon I got a call from the surgery center for my standard check-up. It was here that I proclaimed that "I haven't even taken pain meds yet!" hoping for a proud voice and maybe a cheer from the other side.... crickets..... "Oh you'll need them, that's why you have them, it saves stress on yourself as you recover". psst...whatever.

By the end of the day I had cracked the bottle, she was right, definitely right.



3. Days 3 thru 5 - I will prevail and run again!, keep saying that cause it hurts to walk but you have to. Gotta keep the blood circulating for reasons beyond blood clots, start working on your standard range of motion. I felt as if my motion was going to be limited to my recovery, I felt that if I kept still that through healing I would loose some of that stride. And being that I've never been good at stretching my stride as is needed some work..so I pushed myself to keep moving.

Disclaimer: that was me, you are - you guessed it (you)... move within your limits and don't strain your recovery...be smart but be diligent, balance rest with activity.



4. Days 6 thru now (day 37) - If I can't run I'll bike - from day 6 I began biking to work 7 miles each way.... though this might not be recommended it was something that I felt I could do safely and I felt ready. Through walking and movement, biking and now running I am at 80%. I'll leave that 20% there in the back of my mind for awhile so I can fully recover, it'll give me a sliver of restraint. Overall my pain is negligible if even barely recognizable, and yeah,I began running a over a week ago (about 3 weeks into recovery).

Just be aware of your body, don't push your limits now, there will be plenty of time in the future for that, run slowly and focus on form and consistency. I noticed aches in other areas opposite of the hernia, be careful not to overcompensate. I you feel your compensating to much then slow down and recover more, the last thing you need is to blow a gasket somewhere else.

There will be pain but time is temporary, we can all get through this........Time to go for a run....I say 15 tonight....yum. Sept. 27,2012