Tortured by the torture device

Today was our 8 month post-op follow up with the surgeon. And what a disappointment.

The green light for sports rested on a strength test on the Orthotron. Yes, that dreaded machine I wrote about a while back ("Almost 6 months" post).

The machine obviously hates me as much as I hate it.

Why couldn't we test me with some leg presses and hamstring curls? We rock at those.

So, we gotta keep working at it. Will probably revise my gym workout to be even more aggressive.

On the bright side, I am doing fine. The problem is Mr. Quad and Mrs. Hammie. They're just not strong enough, it seems. They're also still a bit smaller than on the other leg. But not that much. I'm really surprised by our results.

Oh well. Gotta listen to the expert.

No news, good news.

Ugh... sorry.

There's just really nothing to report.

Doing the same old strength training exercises and activities. Slowly getting better, as usual.

• I still crack and feel crunchy
• Get stiff when sitting too long
• Am smaller than my right-sided twin
• Not running
• Still numb and sometimes painful when kneeling

It's annoying but doesn't interfere with life or any of the sports I currently do.

Meeting with the surgeon Tuesday. Looking forward to hearing what he has to say...

Because what if I get chased by a bear?

Mireille has been very disciplined throughout this whole process but lagging in one specific area: running.

Running is pretty much the only thing holding us back from being a normal person again.

Sure, we tried a few times but never fully succeeded. What's the point? We don't plan on going back to any running sports until next summer. But, Mireille is starting to think she needs to put more effort into this...

On our last day of physiotherapy, Mireille told her physio she still couldn't quite run. He said: "Do you really need to run? Do you like running?"

I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. I waited. He wasn't joking.

"Of course I need to run!" Mireille exclaimed.

"What if I get chased by a bear?"

True story.

Exercise Update

So what the heck are we doing these days?

Here's how we're getting strong, back in shape and normal again:

• Spinning 2 - 3 times per week. This is really getting the circulation going in the leg and building muscle. Highly recommended and addictive.
• Swimming once per week. This loosens me up quite a bit. I still get stiff from sitting at a desk all work week.
• Gym workout 2 - 3 times per week. For the legs, we do lunges with weights, one or two-legged hamstring curls on exercise ball, deadlifts on Bosu ball with weights, mountain climbers on Bosu ball and step ups with weights.
• Yoga. Every day, usually twice. Highly recommended for body and mind.

With the surgeon's ok, we hope to start subbing on volley-ball teams and taking dance classes in the new year.

Busy, busy!

High heel hiatus

Is being short really that bad?

We went to yet another wedding this past weekend and Mireille faced the oh so important question: What shoes do I wear?

The previous wedding we went to, Mireille sported the heels (I'm talking four inches, here) for the ceremony and then flats for the rest of the evening.

The wedding prior to that one, we wore one-inch heels the whole night.

So what to make of that? At first, it seemed Mireille was anxious to get back in heels and started slow with the one-inch kind. Then, we went all the way with the four inches but they came off pretty quickly. This weekend, we stuck with flats.

This whole injury business has got Mireille embrassing her shortness. Looks like the high heels are going to stay in the closet for a while still.

After all, what's better than a cute ballet flat?

Do I or don't I?

These past couple of weeks we've been hearing a lot of stories about knee injuries and how these people are never going to return to the sport they were doing when they got hurt.

So, Mireille's been a bit down because of that and unsure about what she should do.

I'm feeling great and I often forget now that I was ever hurt. Going to back to sports seems like a no-brainer but people are planting seeds of doubt in us.

Is it worth going back to Ultimate? Do I really need to go back and prove a point? Who says I would get hurt again? We just saw Tom Brady playing football today. He went back. As do pretty much all pro football players.

Ok but Mireille isn't a professional, paid athlete. I guess if money were involved, there would be no question.

*sigh*

Spinning 'round and 'round

It's time to get down to business.

We now have a date for our next surgeon's appointment. November 10th is the official deadline for getting back in top shape. At that time, we'll either get the green or red light for a full return to sports.

Mireille took me to Spinning class tonight for the first time post-injury. She was really nervous about it for some reason and almost changed her mind at the very last minute. Funny.

"Where have you been?!", said the instructor.

Yikes. We haven't been slacking, I swear...

It turned out great, actually. New bikes, small group of unintimidating people. Couldn't ask for a better first class back. However, it took a while for Mireille to get up in 2nd and 3rd position. A mental block because I'm definitely strong enough for it.

It's all about confidence.