Day 139 - New camera for an old knee

I got a new camera today, a Canon Rebel Xsi, which does everything except shine your shoes. No, wait, there's actually a button on here for that. The photo to the right is of the gears on my bike, which I'll be riding a lot later this week (click on it to blow it up to see the amazing detail this camera captures).

I went for a run today, and my knee felt pretty good right from the get-go. That's unusual, actually. It generally takes a few minutes of running to get it warmed up and feeling OK. Tonight though, it feels a bit stiff and sore. I also did some jumping after the running. That felt pretty good too, but maybe it was too much.

So tomorrow, it's more rest for the knee. Stretching the hamstring, quads, IT band, groin, etc. And foam-rolling too.

I'll leave you with a close-up pic of my dog's eye, which shows off the macro function of this camera (click on it to blow it up; you can actually count her eyelashes if you want to; of course, if you do want to do that, you're probably kind of a weirdo, but that's not the point here) (I had a better black and white photo, but for some reason, blogger won't let me upload it).

Day 138 - Up, down and sideways

I ran on Friday. The knee felt pretty good. I also practiced jumping on one leg. I've got the test coming up on Thursday for the one-legged hop and if I pass that, I'll be cleared to move on to the next level, which I believe involves destroying the Death Star to save humanity (a little Star Wars humor for the geeks in the audience).

The knee felt pretty good on Sunday, so I went for a bike ride. I only did about 36 minutes, but this was a breakthrough because I rode pretty hard and also returned for the first time to one of my usual routes, which involves a lot of hillwork, which has been tough on the knee up until now. My knee felt fairly good the rest of the day.

But today, it felt a bit stiff and kind of sore in the back. So I decided to rest it and see how it's feeling tomorrow.

All in all, this is a weird injury to recover from. With all my previous injuries, it's mainly been a fairly steady projectory of gradually getting better until full recovery. But recovering from this surgery has been anything but steady and progressive. It's always two steps forward, 1.5 steps back, 9 steps to the side and just keep on riding this wave no matter how gnarly it gets, hoping things will somehow all work out for the better eventually because, really, what other alternative is there? Miles in Sideways showed that giving up and drinking the spit bucket doesn't really solve anything.

Catch ya on the flip side.

Day 135 - Riding

Today, I went for what I planned to be an easy bike ride. But my knee felt pretty good, so I hammered a bit harder. I was actually able to get out of the saddle and pedal, something I haven't been able to do until now. I did about 32 minutes and the knee felt awesome, probably the best it's felt since the surgery.

Until I got off. Argh. It felt a bit stiff. But after a while, it went back to feeling pretty good. Later it felt kind of horrible. Stiff, kind of popping and clicking. I think it'll be OK in the morning, but it's weird how the status of my knee can swing from one extreme to the other.

Later, I was walking around with a friend in DC and stumbled upon the sad sight in the photo. Oh, the humanity!

Day 134 - Leg song Thursday - Sea Legs

It's summer and surf's up. A clip from Sea Legs, a surfing film by Patagonia:



The music might be by Piers Faccini, but nobody is really sure.

Day 133 - I run, I bike, I take a photo

Today, I biked about 21 minutes. It felt mostly OK on my knee. Going uphill is still a problem because it causes too much stress and force on parts that are still healing. After that, I tried going for a 20 minute run. But I stopped after about 13 minutes because my knee was feeling raw. I think I've been pushing it maybe too much lately.

I've been taking a day off in between runs, but I've also been walking a lot in addition to running. So I may not have given my knee enough time to rest and recuperate. I'll lay off it tomorrow and maybe go for an easy bike ride in a day or two.

After the bike and run, I went for a walk and took the photo posted here. I have no idea who did the mural or what it represents, but it must mean something. The thing on the left appears to be a peep, but I'm not sure who the guy on the right could be. Sort of looks like Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler, but I don't think he's ever worn a bowtie. Taken all together --Steven Tyler in a bowtie on stage with a peep-- it must be saying something deep and meaningful, but I'm not sure what.

Day 132 - At least I'm alive

My knee is still a bit creaky, but at least I'm alive. Nine people yesterday weren't that lucky, and 76 others were sent to the hospital with injuries, after 2 Metro cars collided. I was on the subway system at the time, and on the same line that it happened on, but I was on the opposite end of the line, fortunately.

What a tragedy.

Day 131 - Weak link

An athlete's body can be a tough but fragile thing. And nobody knows that better than the professional athlete. They may put in the extra training and effort it takes to strengthen their body and make it capable of performing better than the rest of us mere mortals. Michael Jordan was able to defy gravity. Rafael Nadal has been capable of defying Roger Federer.

But when it comes down to it, no matter their commitment or training intensity, they're still just as vulnerable to injury as the rest of us. It's simple physics. Our muscles, tendons and ligaments can only withstand so much force, no matter how strong we make them. Exceed that threshold and injury is the result.

One of the parts of the body most vulnerable to this is the knee. And Nadal is the latest example of this sad fact. He's had to drop out of Wimbledon due to tendonitis in his knee. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a result of over-training. He's known for his work ethic and running down every shot during a match, and he's working at least that hard in practice. Here's how one sports writer describes him:

He is also known as one of the most intense practice players, well, ever. He frequently spends five hours a day on the practice court, chasing every ball like he was playing in a Grand Slam final.

Nadal says he'll be able to return. Let's hope so. But I'm reminded of Tracy Austin, who's career was ended prematurely due to a series of injuries from over-training. She was finished at 21. Nadal is 23.

The knees will keep you honest.

Day 129 - Hopping to the beat of the New York Dolls

Today, at physical therapy, I hopped for distance on one leg. I was almost able to hop as far on my surgically repaired knee as on my good knee. Probably a few more days and I'll be able to match it. The main problem is the first couple of jumps on the bad knee feel a little weird, and there's a bit of pain when I stick the landing. So I think there's still some healing that needs to happen before I'm ready to max out my jumps.

But I've been relinquished from the weekly physical therapy sessions. I won't go back for another 2 weeks, and that's only for a quick check-up to make sure everything is progressing smoothly. After that, I'll go back in another 2 weeks to be cleared for resumption of all activity, I believe.

So to celebrate, I later went to see the New York Dolls. I'm not really a fan, but I won tickets, so what's not to like. And since I missed Leg song Thursday, here's one of their most recent songs, Dance Like a Monkey:

New York Dolls - Dance Like A Monkey

Day 128 - 25 minutes of sheer terror

I kid, I kid. There was no terror. I was a little apprehensive because I couldn't see, but I pounded out 25 blind minutes on the pavement anyway. More or less.

I went to the eye doc today and, of course, eye docs are never happy unless they can induce blindness in you somehow. I suppose that's good for business. He gave me some sort of dilating eye drops that he said was essential to accurately assessing my eyesight. But his office was littered with advertisements for bizarre cosmetic bullshit, such as Botox for people who are so superficial they're willing to risk death and being maimed for good looks, and Latisse, which is supposed to lengthen your eyelashes. So this guy is about as credible as a politician.

But an hour later, I walk out of his office, cleared with eyesight that is above average for seeing things close-up. Yes, he actually told me this. But I'm now blind to things near, far, and everywhere in between, thanks to his beloved dilating eyedrops.

I can't work, since most of my work involves being able to see. So I decide to put on some shades and go for a run. The run starts out feeling kind of tweaky on my knee, but as I get warmed up, it begins to feel OK. I run the route I ran the other day, but when I'm at the point when I should be around 17 minutes, I look down at my watch and see that I've only gone 4 minutes. Huh? I'm not sure what happened, but somehow my trusty watch kept switching to lap times, so I have no idea how long I've been running. But I'm also partially blind, so who knows. I could've run to the moon and back for all I know.

I do a little more running and add in some extra routes, just to make sure I've gone more than 20 minutes. I get back home and judging from the approximate time I left the house, I've done about 30 minutes. That doesn't seem possible, so I'll just call it an even 25.

I thought my knee would feel like hell, but surprisingly, it felt great later on. It actually felt the best it has felt since the surgery. It's kind of weird. It's like the more I use it like it's normal, the better it does.

Right now though, at 1:29 am, it feels a little stiff and weird. But that's after walking a few miles through the city, from one happy hour to the other. In bad shoes. With only one eye completely functional. Just kidding. I couldn't see out of either eye.

Anyway, I'm off to physical therapy tomorrow. So maybe I'll have better news after that.

Day 127 - Knee feels moderately OK

My knee feels mostly OK today after running on the road yesterday. There's a little stiffness and soreness in certain parts, but overall, it feels pretty good. My back is a little sore from the pounding it took from the pavement, but that's not too bad.

I might ride my bike tomorrow depending on how my knee feels. The kneecap still isn't tracking totally properly. It's better than it was, but I can't seem to get it back to normal. I took the tape off because that seemed to be making things worse. But it's not any better without the tape, so I'm not sure what to do at this point. Hopefully, my physical therapist will have a solution on Friday, other than her usual go-to: ice.

Day 126 - Pavement strikes back

I ran on the pavement today for 20 minutes. That's a whole lot different than running on the treadmill. There's obviously no give to the pavement, so all the shock-absorbing has to come from my shoes, cartilage and muscles. It felt a little rough at first, but as I got warmed up, it started to feel OK.

But later, the knee was feeling a little tweaky in certain parts. I'm not sure if the pavement was a good idea, but my physical therapist said I was ready for it. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it's feeling tomorrow.

One thing about running is that it is so much slower than cycling. Once you get used to cycling, going back to running seems like you're not moving at all. But due to my cycling habits, I was running 4 or 5 feet away from the parked cars, so I was kind of in the middle of the right lane. That tends to be OK when cycling, but if you're running down the middle of the street, drivers just think you're an escaped mental patient because they gave me a wide berth and didn't honk or say anything. Sometimes, it pays to be crazy.

Day 125 - Family reunion

The knee feels OK today after the bike ride. I was planning to run today, but instead I went to see the entire Marsalis family play at the Kennedy Center. And when I say the entire family, I mean everybody. Dad, mom, sons, even sons who don't play music, extended family members, people who once stopped by the Marsalis house for coffee, former plumbers, etc. Even Harry Connick, Jr., was there.

The purpose of the night was to honor Ellis. So all the sons were there: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, Jason, and even Ellis Jr, who doesn't play an instrument and is apparently called "The Oracle."

It was a great show. Here's what it was like:

Day 124 - The rubber hits the road

I took my bicycle for a spin today to test out my knee. As you may recall, I've been laying off the bike riding because it seemed to aggravate my bursitis.

So I took it easy and planned on only doing about 10 minutes. But my knee felt pretty good, so I stretched it out to 17 minutes. It still feels ok tonight, so hopefully the rest has allowed the bursitis to settle down. I didn't press it, so that will be the real test down the road. For now, I'll continue to try to build up my time in the saddle as long as my knee feels ok tomorrow.

Day 123 - Take the money and run

So the total cost of my surgery just went up by more than a grand. The previous tally was a bit over $32,000, but I just received a bill for the CPM machine and the knee brace. The CPM machine cost $650 and the knee brace came in at $625.00. Oh and there's an extra $80 charge for the pad that goes on the CPM machine. A reasonable person would think the pad was part of the CPM machine, but apparently, there are no reasonable people working at the company that supplied the CPM machine and the brace, just crooks, liars and thieves.

So the total cost of the surgery now comes to more than $34,000.00. Actually, it's probably more than $35,000.00 if you include all the charges for the physical therapy.

By the way, the CPM machine and the knee brace are worthless. They make no difference in the outcome of ACL surgery. I don't know why surgeons continue to recommend them or why health insurance companies continue to pay for them. But my insurance company --which would not pay for the nurse who assisted in the surgery-- had no problem shelling out out over $600 for these contraptions. I wish they would've instead put that money towards beer for me. Or perhaps just donated it to the ASPCA.

But like Steve Miller said, it's easier to Take the Money and Run:

Day 122 - I jump, Leo Kottke plays

At physical therapy today, I did a one-legged jump for distance. I started with my good leg and then tried to match that distance with my bum leg. The first jump on my left knee (the surgically repaired one) felt strange. Several jumps after that continued to feel strange. It was as if I didn't really have a good idea of where my knee/leg was going to wind up.

They say it can take a while to get used to the new ACL in there because it still lacks all the nerves and other things that allow you to sense movement in space. So I suspect it was a combination of that and my own mental blocks of worrying that my knee wasn't yet strong enough to withstand the force of jumping and landing.

But after about 10 or so jumps, it began to feel more or less kind of normal. I was still worried about the landing though.

I never quite matched the distance of my good leg, but I came pretty close. My physical therapist said I was doing better than most. I told her it was because I didn't ice my knee.

Later, I went to see the amazing guitarist Leo Kottke. If you've never heard his music, you should check it out. And he tells pretty funny stories in between songs, so if you can, see him live.

Day 121 - Leg song Thursday

Technically not a leg song, but I'm going to see Dave Brubeck in concert tonight, so his classic, Take Five, seems apropos (and note the brilliant drumming by the incomparable Joe Morello):

Day 120 - I wish I was a newt

According to some of my newt friends, they can regenerate an entire limb in a matter of weeks. An entire limb?! All I needed was a new ACL, and now 4 months after the surgery, I'm still not back to normal. If I had some newt blood in me, I probably could've regrown an ACL in a few days, a week max.

I won't bore you with the details of newt limb regeneration, but if you want a quick overview, watch the video below, which explains it all in about a minute. But I hope some crazy scientist somewhere is working on a way to splice newt genes into people because I could go for some of that. It'd beat going through surgery and 4 months of rehab.

Day 119 - Pounding the pavement

I did a tiny bit of pavement pounding today. I ran to the gym, a trip that takes me about 2 minutes max, and I ran home from the gym. So about 4 minutes in all, but in between I hammered out 25 minutes on the treadmill.

The knee felt a bit sore and sensitive today on the treadmill, so it may not have been the best day to start pounding the pavement. But my physical therapist said last week I was cleared to hit the streets.

I hadn't done it until today because the knee just wasn't where I wanted it to be and I didn't want to risk any excessive pounding. The treadmill's surface is more shock-absorbing than pavement and cement. As always, I'll find out tomorrow if this was a good idea or not.

Day 118 - Jumping Jack Flash

More jumping today. Knee feels about the same. I'm continuing to try to strengthen the VMO and stretch the IT band. Knee cap tracking still feels a little funny at times, but for the most part, everything's good and it's a jumping jack flash.

Day 117 - 25 minutes without tape

Today, I ran 25 minutes on the treadmill without tape on my knee. And so far, it still feels pretty good. I'm kind of surprised by that because yesterday, it ached in one spot and the knee cap didn't feel so good going down steps. That was after doing my jumping exercises and also a lot of walking. But this morning, it felt ok. And it continued to feel OK through the run and the rest of the day. So that may be good news. Extremely good news actually, because I'm sick of putting the tape on. And it was ripping off my skin. So I hope I'm finally done with that.

Day 115 - Jumping Jive

I guess all my trampoline work paid off. Yesterday, I was cleared for jumping. Forward. Backward. Side to side. And one-footed as well. My knee feels OK today for the most part. That's good news. Hopefully, I'll be able to return to this type of dancing soon, but probably not for another few months or so:

The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Jump Jive An' Wail
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Day 114 - Leg song Thursday - Koko Taylor

The great blues singer Koko Taylor died yesterday at 80. So in her honor, here's one of her songs, I'm a Woman, even though it has nothing to do with legs. I wanted to put "Jump for Joy" on here, but I couldn't find it anywhere online. Enjoy:

Koko Taylor I m A Woman
Uploaded by Zone19. - Explore more music videos.

Day 113 - 25 minutes

Today, I cranked the speed up a little and did 25 minutes on the treadmill. I was only going to do 20 minutes, but fortunately a girl had taken my favorite treadmill at the gym, so I was forced to shift to a different one. It turned out that this treadmill had much better cushioning, so I figured 25 minutes would be OK on the knee. We'll see how right I was tomorrow.

Day 112 - Surgeon confirms Tom Brady is an alien

His performance on the football field has always hinted at it, but now there's proof that Tom Brady is indeed an alien. His surgeon, Neal ElAttrache raved today about Brady's incredible recovery from ACL reconstruction last year:

"With regard to his recovery of strength, I've never seen anything quite like it," ElAttrache said to the Times. "With an average person, it would have taken probably twice as long to get range of motion and strength back."

And this despite the fact the Brady suffered a staph infection after his surgery.

And it's not as if ElAttrache is new at this surgery thing. He's previously operated on other star athletes, including the Los Angeles Lakers' Kwame Brown and the Dodgers' Jason Schmidt. So he knows a thing or two about a thing or two.

So it's pretty clear that Brady is an alien life form, probably escaped from Roswell. I wonder if the NFL rules say anything about aliens. But I guess we shouldn't be surprised that if there is an alien in the NFL, it would have been picked up by Bill "anything to win" Belichick. On a positive note, maybe we can use Brady's amazing recovery abilities to help others who have to undergo ACL reconstruction.

Day 111 - 20 minutes again

I clocked in 20 more minutes today on the treadmill. The knee feels a little sore actually. But that's mainly due to my patella still not tracking properly and the fact that I was testing it on the stairs on the way home from work before hitting the treadmill. So I don't think the running is the main source of my problem. I'll rest tomorrow and keep taping it and it should be fine.