Recovery Day One. Officially
Today I did something I hadn't done for 52 days. Not like I was counting or anything, but yes, I cocked my leg over a bike and turned the pedals. I managed a massive 11kms on the turbo trainer in the back garden. About a 20 minute ride. My legs barely noticed, but my lungs felt like I had just grimped up Alpe D'Huez in the big ring.
Despite this poor performance I am hugely pleased and somewhat relieved that I managed that much without my back or ribs aching. I sat on my bike, spinning a low gear, grinning, no headphones on, no distractions, just listening intently to my body. In all honesty, waiting for something to give in, crack or fall off. Thankfully nothing did.
It was a big leap forward considering that at the beginning of July I couldn't walk more than two steps without getting out of breath. I couldn't bend over, couldn't dress myself, was generally in a terrible state living on morphine to allow me to be able to breath in deep or cough.
I finally got on the turbo trainer today because I got the nod from my personal physician/nutritionist/coach/manager/boss (my wife) to give it a try. This is after I have got the all clear from the neurologist re my spinal fractures and to lose my back brace, dropped my pain meds by over 50%, and finally got my INR (blood clotting ability) in the correct range. I am on Warfarin for at least the next 6 months so I have been Googling the effects of exercise on Warfarin absorption rate. So far I have found that it can increase or decrease it depending on the individual. So basically no help, I'll have to wait until my next test.
This is the start of the road to real recovery, i.e. being back on my bike. I'm told that the clots in my lungs will take anything from 3 to 6 months to clear and that I may be left with a reduced lung capacity. Ironically I'm the lightest I've been in 20 years and almost at my racing weight when I stopped racing in 1993 but have the least fitness ever. I'm hoping I can keep some of this weight loss as I start to find a way to some fitness again. I have also read on the t'interweb that blood thinners (warfarin) have no known affect on VO2 max, so there's no stopping me now!
I still count my lucky stars that I'm able to get to this point and appreciate that things could have gone much worse for me. Hopefully I will see you on the road in the coming months.
Despite this poor performance I am hugely pleased and somewhat relieved that I managed that much without my back or ribs aching. I sat on my bike, spinning a low gear, grinning, no headphones on, no distractions, just listening intently to my body. In all honesty, waiting for something to give in, crack or fall off. Thankfully nothing did.
It was a big leap forward considering that at the beginning of July I couldn't walk more than two steps without getting out of breath. I couldn't bend over, couldn't dress myself, was generally in a terrible state living on morphine to allow me to be able to breath in deep or cough.
I finally got on the turbo trainer today because I got the nod from my personal physician/nutritionist/coach/manager/boss (my wife) to give it a try. This is after I have got the all clear from the neurologist re my spinal fractures and to lose my back brace, dropped my pain meds by over 50%, and finally got my INR (blood clotting ability) in the correct range. I am on Warfarin for at least the next 6 months so I have been Googling the effects of exercise on Warfarin absorption rate. So far I have found that it can increase or decrease it depending on the individual. So basically no help, I'll have to wait until my next test.
This is the start of the road to real recovery, i.e. being back on my bike. I'm told that the clots in my lungs will take anything from 3 to 6 months to clear and that I may be left with a reduced lung capacity. Ironically I'm the lightest I've been in 20 years and almost at my racing weight when I stopped racing in 1993 but have the least fitness ever. I'm hoping I can keep some of this weight loss as I start to find a way to some fitness again. I have also read on the t'interweb that blood thinners (warfarin) have no known affect on VO2 max, so there's no stopping me now!
I still count my lucky stars that I'm able to get to this point and appreciate that things could have gone much worse for me. Hopefully I will see you on the road in the coming months.
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