Maryland Swim for Life

Since the knee injury, and more recently, the hip injury, I've not really been able to schedule any triathlons not knowing when I'd be able to return to action. Since swimming is significantly less impact, I opted to enroll in the 5-Mile Edition of the Maryland Swim for Life.

The weekend prior I did a 4-mile swim in Wilson Pool and although it was a long time in the pool, it wasn't particularly difficult. The actual swim last Saturday was another beast entirely. The start was delayed by an hour due to storms in the area. This also meant that the 5-Miler would be cancelled and reduced to a 4-mile swim, to my chagrin.

Finally, though, the the kayaks were launched and the first wave entered the water.

Immediately, it was clear that this would be no stroll. The current was strong and it felt like every time I looked up to sight I was a little off course and barely moving forward. Then, around the first buoy at .5 miles, my feet and calves started cramping up. This only ever happens after more than a couple miles and usually only when I push off the wall after a flip turn in the pool. When my feet were cramping I couldn't use my legs at all and resorted to an upper body stroke. When they weren't cramping, I could only muster a very light kick to try and avoid the cramping. Add to that, for some reason my right hip was hurting whenever I kicked. Big suck-fest.

I continued to pick-off turnaround buoys and was excitedly arriving at my turn-around buoy 2 miles out. I reached it and started heading back to shore. And then, after about 5 minutes it happened. The tide started coming in. That hour delay created a hell of a penalty. Sonufabitch. The tide created a nice chop in the water further arresting progress and meaning I would essentially be swimming upstream both directions. My spirit sank a bit but I was resolute to continue.

I grabbed some water from a kayaker in hopes it would alleviate the cramps. It didn't. But I kept going. Little by little and finally reached shore. Garmin results here. Looking at the map, I didn't stray too far from the line but you can definitely see all my small corrections along the way.

I was also warned ahead of time that most of the people doing this swim were members of Masters and other swim teams and I shouldn't expect to come close to the top. Goddamn right. It was my worst performance ever as it relates to a starting wave of which I've been a member. But fuck it, I'm injured.

After finishing, I was completely gassed. It was like a 2+ hour power workout. The next day, I was sore everywhere. Shoulders, abs, lower back, triceps and my right shoulder joint really hurt. I'm sure everything will get better shortly but I may have to reconsider my swim of the English Channel. I'm signed up for the Nation's Triathlon Aquabike but it remains to be seen whether or not I will participate. Maybe I can get on a relay team instead. Shitty swim finishing pictures (oh, and not running and biking adds 10 pounds):

Bring the Pain

Went to see Shira Greenberg at Professional SportsCare & Rehab to check the box on Physical Therpy. She conducted her assessments and didn't see any weakness (naturally) that she could focus exercise on to alleviate my issues. She could give me stuff to do but ultimately, to get back to doing the things I want to do, I would need surgery. Despite that expected outcome I was anxious to start doing more.

So, I was feeling frisky on and June 16, decided to go for a long ride. Things seemed fine, my hip only announced itself a couple times during the ride and Sunday I was slightly sore. Monday however, I was ready to cut off my leg. I couldn't move it in any direction without excruciating pain. I almost cleared my medicine cabinet of analgesics and none were helping. I called my Doctor's office and was met with the unsympathetic response that the Doctor would get back to me when he could but he was busy all day and the one following so it might be a while. Not satisfied with the response, I continued calling until I got a return phone call. Finally, I was able to get a prescription for Relafin, a 750mg anti-inflammatory I was to take twice per day. Unfortunately, I only got the prescription on Wednesday and it took three days to kick in. Naturally, I pressed the Doctor on an MRI and scheduled another appointment.

Fortunately, I was able to get pre-authorization fro the MRI from United Healthcare. I scheduled an arthrogram as part of an MRI at Progressive Radiology. For those that don't know (or didn't want to click the link, lazy ass) an arthrogram includes the injection of a solution containing rare earth metals directly into the hip joint. They use a local anasthetic but it is still uncomfortable as you can feel the needle hitting the bone in the joint. In any event, I had the series of images taken and took a look and it was pretty clear that there was a tear, something mirrored by pretty much everyone that has made an assessment of it.

Back to Ochiai. He reviewed the MRI and original X-Ray and provided me my options.

1. Do Nothing
2. Physical Therapy
3. Hip Arthroscopy
4. Fix/Secure the bone fragment to my hip via screws

Meaning that my only real option is to get my hip scoped. He suggested removal of the 1.66cm bone chip, re-shaping of the acetabula, and repair of the labral tear resulting in 2.5-4 hours of out-patient surgery. Surprisingly, he said the day after surgery I could spin with no resistance but it would take about 3 months to determine if the surgery was successful. "Success" as determined by a noticeable improvement or the ability to say knowing what I know now, would I do it again? The procedure has a 93% success rate, 5-6 percent of failure is attributed to a 'no' answer to the aforementioned question. 1-2% of failure due to infection or other complications. Naturally, I opted for surgery.

I was ready to schedule the procedure ASAP but Back to the drawing board; Ochiai is out of network for me. I contacted the other hip arthroscopy specialist in the area, Dr. Anthony Parker. Due to the dearth of specialists in this area (geographic and medical) the earliest I could get in with him for a consult is 8/10. The waiting game begins anew. I just want to get this done and get better.