Yesterday's run and why the HELL did I wake up at 4 AM?

So, I hadn't gone on a real run for about 2 months when I hit the trail yesterday. My lungs tried to crawl up out of my throat almost immediately. Ugh.

So I worked through warming up by doing some really, really slow wind sprints. I'm talking more like wind crawls here, but hey - I was getting exercise, right?

After about a mile and a half working my way up the paved trail on Sand Creek, my lungs realized I wasn't going to quit any time soon and that they might as well start feeding my poor body some oxygen. I was able to settle into a pace then, albeit a slow one.

All in all, alternating run and walk, I made about six miles and scouted what could be a hellacious DIM-type trail. Gonna see how the running progresses before I commit to haring one of those, though.

Shoulder felt pretty good, but I iced it when I got home anyway, just to help make sure things stay hunky dory in there. I'm going to spend some time exploring Palmer Park today - should be a good day for it.

Easter, Monday morning

OK. So the shoulder is doing pretty damned good, although I have one hell of a deep tissue bruise from the dislocation. I start my new exercises (strength) on Wednesday, and the next phase of my recovery officially begins at that time.

I am going to attempt to run today - probably not much, as I don't know how my shoulder will respond, but I put a compression shirt on to help with the impact and I have a safe, level, paved trail to run on, so I won't be risking another fantastic wonderful shoulder-dislocating mud-ballet.

Yesterday, the boy and I took a walk along my trail looking for some decorative slate someone had dumped over their fence. Someone beat us to it, but I have this idea now - Nappy Headed WHORE!!! is giving me the Kimchi bar (yes, the infamous BFE bar) and I was thinking of refinishing it in slate with a marble top (Net's idea) and putting it in my Man Cave. SO we wanted to snag that slate, because it would have been perfect. Alas, all we got out of it was a 10-mile walk - which was pretty sweet in its own way.

I am thinking on getting my fishing license soon - and working my cast back up to shape. We'll have to see what the PT says ...

Poop.

P.S. Sunrise Earth is the Great Barrier Reef today. But no flying sharks. *yawn*

Day 20

OK. Physical therapy will not work with me until I do my follow up with my surgeon tomorrow morning.

That is fine. I am going to sit down with the surgeon, tell him what happened, show him that I seem to have full mobility and strength, even after the dislocation and ask if we need to proceed as normal or do another MRI and determine if I damaged myself further.

Bottom line is that I want this to heal right, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure things come together correctly - including walking on the treadmill at the gym rather than enjoying the GLORIOUS Colorado outdoors.

Um ... maybe I can get a special walker that catches me when I slip in the mud.

This fucking sucks you know?

Major setback

I was out for my walk yesterday along Hancock Parkway. I was walking along a slight slope on the side of the road, on what looked like dry ground. As a matter of fact, it was not - there was about 1/4 inch of mud on top of hard-packed ground. My feet went out from under me, more like shot out, and my entire body weight slammed down directly on my bad shoulder, dislocating it.

I spent the rest of my morning and a good part of my afternoon in the emergency room, waiting to get my shoulder put back into the joint.

I have a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon today.

Needless to say, I will be walking on a treadmill in the gym for a while. Outdoors presents a danger and I am not sure how much of a danger, but we'll find out what the damage is today.

Day 18

Good PT. Good coffee. Sunrise International was Machu Picchu this morning. Very cool.

I need a good long walk today, I think. Gotta get a haircut, too. I am really getting bored. But there aren't a lot of projects I can do because of the shoulder.

Hopefully, the weather starts to settle down for real, as I can do some limited gardening.

This is why I love Colorado Springs!!!

Garden Of The Gods in Snow

Happy St. Patty's Day 17

After a rough afternoon yesterday (the boy knocked something off of my lap, I reacted naturally and tried to grab it - ouch!), physical therapy this morning loosened me back up nicely.

Sunrise this morning is in the rain forests of Peru, and I can't wait to send the boy to school (2 hour delay) so I can head out to Garden of the Gods, get my walk in and take pictures off all this snow!

Day 16

OK. This weather is bizarre. Gorgeous yesterday for the Green Dress Run, freaking blizzard today?

Tweaked my shoulder this afternoon - not good. Had something knocked off my lap by an inattentive child and I jerked my right arm to try to reach it. Ouch. Ice is my friend.

Brilliant!!

I don't know who this guy is, but he is THE MAN! I think he should be running the United Nations.



Oh, and physical therapy exercises went well this morning. Looking forward to walking the Hash - I got about three miles in yesterday, too.

Two weeks since surgery!

OK. Physical therapy this morning: NO ISSUES. Feels great, the shoulder moves well, everything is good.

If any of you want to mail my sister get-well cards, that's what she wants. A bunch of get well cards. She is in Portland, OR to finish her tattoo apprenticeship, so tat themed cards would be appropriate. How cool if she gets a bunch f cards from absolute strangers 1/2 way across the country?

Bring them to the Hash tomorrow, or e-mail me and I can give you her address.

I hope there will be some wankers at Arctic tonight. Just sayin'.

C-4, WTF is with this weather? It was freaking 65 yesterday and I took an hour-long walk in the SUN! Today? 'S ok. I am planning to stroll the Garden of the Gods with my camera. See if we can't get some great shots of the beauty that is Colorado Springs.

Sunrise International was a beach full of baby seals in Argentina this morning. I don't know. I kinda feel like, if I want to wake up to a huge pile of corpusculent, snoring and farting mammals, I'll just go to another party at Brownie's.

Does anyone have a wheel-barrow I can buy or have?

Day 14 (DUH. This was day 13, I need a beer)

Um, ok. So, Sunrise International is in Greenland. A Geyser. Kinda cool, really.

PT went very, very well this morning, but I also realized that, due to another appointment, I had scheduled my PT appointment for YESTERDAY afternoon. So I forgot, blew off the appointment and feel like an idiot. I have to call and beg to reschedule for tomorrow. Ugh.

Still freaked out about my sister. Not sure what, but my brain is cooking some kind of idea of how to deal with that.

Let's just say this: We really need to make sure we look out for each other, Kimchi. Let's not let this happen to one of us.

Day 12

We're at a fishing village in Turkey this morning for sunrise, and with the exceptions of a few small twinges, my PT exercises were pretty damn smooth this morning. I am debating whether to request a push, and move to the next phase or keep steady and slow and let things take their time. Last thing I want is a frozen shoulder, or to tear or re-injure something.

I am hesitant about the weather today, but I would really like to hit Red Rocks for an hour-long hike. Guess I'll just bundle up and go - a little wind and rain/snow can't hurt me.

Day 11 (thanks C-4!!!!)

This morning, I woke up at 5, looked at my alarm with one eyeball, cursed it for it's damned efficiency and went back to sleep, only to re-awaking at 7, completely ready to begin my day.

I don't even know why I set my alarm. I just did. Weird.

Sunrise International was Stonehenge this morning. Eerie. I think maybe I saw a druid in the first minutes of the video.

Physical therapy went very, very well this morning. I still have a slight twinge in my shoulder when I pull my arm straight up while laying on my back, but the physical therapist did explain that, as this was the spot where they had separated some muscle in order to shave bone and arthritis off of my clavicle, this would be the last thing to heal. It's healing though!

C-4, seriously, if you want to spend a little time pulling the dash apart to design the stereo housing, just let me know. I bet there's even some Fat Tire in the fridge, isn't there?

I'm not even sure what day I'm at now

But it's Monday, Sunrise International was in a little village in Turkey and my PT exercises went very well.

We went to the movies and saw 10,000 BC yesterday. I think I lost my wallet at the theater. That would really, really suck. The suckitude goes beyond words. There are credit cards in there - and bank cards. If I don't find it at the house by noon, I am going to be in some serious trouble.

Oddly enough, my military ID was still in my pocket. Weird.

I need to dig out my fly-tying gear today, I think, and start building this summer's arsenal. Going to the fishing show really motivated me.

Besides, I need to do something other than sharpen my X-Box skills.

Days 8 & morning of 9

Well, I spent Saturday, day 8, first with my physical therapy, and then, after dropping the boy at the bowling alley, with a six-mile long walk. It was good to get out, get some sun, walk, sweat and enjoy the Colorado outdoors, which is insane. On the way out, sunny, warm. On the way back, clouds, wind and cold. This freaking state can't make up its mind.

Then, I got to go to the anniversary sale and show at my favorite fly-fishing shop out on 24. They had a huge sale, 20% off of Fishpond fishing vests. I got one of these and one of these for an insanely little amount of money. And I got to see some killer fly-tying, sign a petition to protect Colorado's streams and meet some great fishermen.

You have no idea how deeply it sucks to know it's going to be at least another month and a half or two before I can cast a fly-line.

But I think I need to break out my tying gear and start building my arsenal for this summer's trout season.

Day 7

First follow up with my doc, who says things look amazing.

Went to a retirement ceremony.

Had Thai food for dinner.

Missed Sunrise International, though. I kinda miss it. Maybe I should set my DVR to record it.

Day 5

This is not a good day. I am having some kind of adverse reaction to the percocet - it makes my whole body itch and instead of knocking me out, it makes me edgy. I called the nurse at the hospital. They need to put me on something that will kill the pain, but not turn me into a freaking tweaker.

And Sunrise International is at a Bhuddist school in Cambodia this morning, so I guess maybe China is not the only place they film.

Hopefully I can get some real painkillers today that will work. Right now, I just want to squeeze something until it pops and guts squirt all over the place. Good thing I don't own a hamster.

Day 4

OK. This Sunrise International seems to focus on China being the "International".

This time its rice patties. Beautiful, yes, but worth a full hour of HD broadcast?

Anyway, I did my physical therapy exercises this morning. They suck. Seriously. But I won't be able to lift a beer properly unless I do them. Wouldn't want to disappoint at my first Circle back from surgery.

This convalescent leave stuff? It's all right, I guess. I can paint the nail holes in my trim with my left hand - and I do have enough use of my right hand to do so as well. I can re-design and publish a new Kimchi web site. Oh, and I can make fun of Net's Mom.

Physical Therapy

Um ... Let's just say that the physical therapist must have apprenticed with Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition.

But I'm going to do what they tell me to. I want to get this shoulder in shape for those 12-oz curls, not to mention all the beer-pong rehab I have to do in order to get back into playing shape. Ugh.

So, you should see the pretty designs the doc carved into my shoulder. We should play "connect the scars" during circle some time and see if it looks like a beer label. My guess? PBR

Day 3 of convalescent leave

And I'm watching "Sunrise Earth International".

This morning, it's the Li River in XingPing, China, where fisherman have trained cormorants (one of my favorite birds) to fish for them. They tie a string around the bird's throat at the base, so that the bird can not swallow the fish whole the way it would naturally. Then they kick it off of their little bamboo raft into the water, the birds catch two or three fish, they pick the bird up by having it stand on the pole they use to propel the boat and they make it "drop" (read: barf) the fish into a little basket.

This is almost as much fun as watching paint dry.

I need a hobby.

By the way, surgery went well. Looking at the pics from the orthoscope, which I really don't have a clue what they are, it looked like things were pretty fucked up in my shoulder. But they gave me this cool thing called "Game Ready". You load the box with ice and water and put on this bladder contraption over the appendage in question (my SHOULDER you perverts!). Then you set it and it pumps icy water through the bladder, and can also add compression. Makes for much less swelling, hence, much less pain. Apparently, this is the pro athlete's alternative to sitting in an ice bath. Sign me up.

Damn, I really do need a hobby, don't I?