Boston, Virus, VR, Injured List

It's been a while. My last race was LA Marathon and it was in early March. This was my warm-up race for the Boston Marathon which was to be held on April 20, 2020. I ran a comfortable pace and finished LA in 3hrs and 7 minutes. My goal was to then try to run a 2:59 at Boston. Well, things took a turn for the worse.

The year that we were safer at home. Covid-19 shut everything down. I could go on and on about the impact, but it's best to just keep this section a distant memory. Ironman created online virtual racing and I continued to compete in the weekend warrior events, finishing usually in the top 20 and a few in the top 10 in my age group. It should be noted there were quire a few "sketchy" times of other athletes.

I had groin discomfort off and on for about 1.5 years. During summer of 2019 I finally visited the doctor. It was a strange situation where everything felt fine, I'd swim, bike, run without any problem, but then every so often the rest of the day I felt discomfort anywhere from upper leg/groin area and sometimes toward my lower abdomen. This was every so often and during 2019 rarely bothered me. I, however, went through about a one week period where it was really bothering me and I noticed a bump bulging out about 2/3 of an inch on my lower left groin area. I pretty much knew what it was without a doctor. But was this causing the discomfort? Doctor analysis came back and yep, its a hernia. He was not as worried about the one on my left, but more concerned about the one on my right. Ugh, I didn't notice that one which was about 1/4 of a bump and slightly lower. Doctor said that they were likely inguinal hernias. Only later did I research what this meant, but as a male the "boys" drop as a baby through a inguinal canal to where they finish up at. As the abdominal wall weakens (common in males), the intestines will bulge through. In essence, they went through and went down the canal to a point where they pushed through the barrier slightly being exposed under the skin. An ultrasound a few days later confirmed the results. Bilateral inguinal hernias. At this point, the pain and discomfort went away. Doctor said I can get fixed or if I can manage I can continue to workout and do activities. So on I went.

Rocky Peak 50K run, Ironman Arizona, Ironman La Quinta 70.3, Surf City and LA marathon. However, the weeks leading up to LA Marathon I continued to get off and on discomfort again. Keep in mind the discomfort feels like a groin pull. Which would be odd as I don't play any type of groin pull sports (football, basketball, soccer, etc.) which have sharp motions left and right. I could feel the discomfort around mile 14 of the LA marathon but adrenaline and off and on discomfort was becoming normal at this point. After the race, that is when the impact started to set in.

However, a week later, it went away, so I continued with the Ironman Virtual racing and training in case races start up again. Around May, the pain returned. This time, not letting go. I'd workout, be in discomfort the rest of the day, then go to sleep and wake up and no pain. Running seemed to cause the pain, but biking and swimming did not. My workouts began to focus on mostly bike and cutting back on the runs (more easy paced as well). Not much progress on improving. Looking down, the bulges seemed more prominent. Including the right side which was about 3/4 of an inch. All the pain was in the left though. Races are being cancelled. I guess it's time to see doctor again.

After some more research and being sent to a specialist, it was confirmed. Basically as I exercise, there is constant irritation of the intestine and the groin area. Repeatedly squeezing and releasing for 5,000 + steps (5 mile run which is normal) per side, causes the inflammation. Time to fix. Three options. 1. Incision of about 2 inches on both sides and fix from outside. 2. Laparoscopic - 3 small incisions of about 1/2 an inch and a scope is used to view all of abdominal area and then tools are used through the small incisions to basically fix on the inside or 3. Robotics. I was not a candidate for robotics. The problem was that both 1 and 2 required me to be "out" through anesthetics. I've never been knocked out before and this concerned me greatly. I'm the guy who stayed awake during wisdom teeth removal. The second problem is that with option 2 laparoscopic, you are also paralyzed and are required to have a breathing tube during the operation. Of course you are asleep and never realize this, but the thought.... scary.

All of my research showed that laparoscopic tends to have less discomfort after, quicker healing process, and less scars. That was my choice. A scary choice. The research sounded bad though. In that, you're looking at 7-10 days of absolute discomfort and pain. Then a slow process of likely not running for 3-4 weeks and even when returning to running it being episodes of sharp pains for a few months afterwards.

Surgery day, well its Covid time so I had to pass my covid test. Long Q-tip up the nose, all the way up, beyond what you can imagine. Twist, twist, 3, 4, 5 seconds. Ok, now the other nose. Up, Up, Up, twist, 5 seconds. Eyes watering. Done. I passed. The whole process with a mask is just unusual. No smiles, laughs, etc. I undressed, received the IV drip. Ugh, that initial probe and poke into arm did not feel good. Nurses were very nice. Doctor came by to say hi and to talk a little before hand. Anesthesiologist came over to explain the process. This was my nightmare. Everyone said I seemed calm and relaxed. I'm good at hiding the inside. Ok, it was time. We started rolling to the operating room. The anesthesiologist told me he was going to add something into my IV to help make me a little calmer before going into the room. The nurse and him joked with me that perhaps I could tell them where I buried a hidden treasure once I get the truth serum in me. I laughed and said no hidden treasures here. That's all I remember.

I woke up at around 12:45pm. Surgery was to start at 9am and I believe we went in on time. Oh wow, groggy and definitely not feeling good. Eyes fluttering in and out. The nurse asked me how I felt. I'm not sure how I responded, but I doubt I was sarcastic because I did not feel good one bit. I was given another round of what they called "narcotics" as I complained about the discomfort and pain. I probably shouldn't have taken as I have decided at a later date, that no matter how much drugs I was given the discomfort in my abdomen just never really went away. I was told I can't leave until I demonstrate that I can use the bathroom. The thought of moving seemed impossible. My entire torso felt paralyzed. They wheeled me to the bathroom, I STRUGGLED to get up. Slow shuffle of feet about 2 inches at a time and bathroom. I couldn't really feel my abdomen and the muscles around my kidney/ bladder, etc felt non-existent. How was this going to happen. Pushing, the thought and idea felt miserable. I tried. Discomfort. Trickle, trickle, slowwwly. Not much came out, but the nurse seemed happy. Now the harder part. Getting back to the wheelchair. Body went cold, shuffled back, lightheaded, dizzy, I sat down. I knew this feeling. I've been here before. After 10 hours running an ironman and crossing the finish line, here I was again, nautious, dizzy, and shivering. The answer: Food.

The nurse said you're the boss as you know more about you. It had been about 16 hours since I had any food, so I knew this was the answer. Apple and cranberry juice mixed and saltine crackers. There was no way I was getting back into bed. I sat next to the bed in the wheelchair for probably 45 minutes with 2 blankets on me. My blood pressure was way off, but slowly as I ate and drank it returned back to normal. The nurses said it was time to go. The doctor and anesthesiologist asked how things were. I was still loopy and cold. But my vitals seemed good. The nurse helped slide my clothes back on. Wheeled to the car. It was bright and warm outside. I'm sure my kids were scared as I was wheeled out in a wheelchair with blankets on. I probably looked like a ghost. I definitely felt like one. Out of wheelchair and into SUV. I think it took 5 minutes to get in.

Car ride home was awful. Every little bump we went over shot vibrations through my torso. About 20 minutes later we were home. There is a step to get into house from garage. I was not sure how I was going to make it out of the car and/ or up the one step. Struggle. Shuffle, small inch by inch motions up the step. I made it to the reclining portion of the couch. That was as far as I was going. There I sat for the rest of the day. Just sitting down was absolutely painful and difficult. Without your core muscles, you are nothing. Ice packs, bread with nuttela and apple juice. Later a BLTA sandwich.

It was time for bed. Options. I hate laying on my back when sleeping. I also didn't want to sleep on couch if I needed help and wife was upstairs. I wasn't sure I would be able to walk on my own to use bathroom. I thought best to sleep in bed next to wife. 20 stairs to climb. That was a journey. Sitting on the bed was work. After sitting, laying down was work. The minute I lay down, "this was awful." Not comfortable, not comfortable, not comfortable. Nothing felt good. I couldn't even roll over to a side. Ugh, I lay on my back, put a pillow under my knees. I lay there with eyes closed. I drifted to sleep for about 15 minutes, then lay awake for 45. This repeated throughout the night. Now the problem began. The drugs, pressure in abdomen either pushing on bladder or I didn't get all urine out. I constantly felt like I had to pee. Getting out of bed. I figured it out. It was about a 3 minute process. Sort of lay on side, let legs start to fall to floor, use elbow to push up simultaneously, straighten arm to get body upright, let feet land on floor. Sit there for a minute wondering how the next step will go. Use arms to brace yourself up, stand. Uuuuuugh, stomach muscles tight, clenched, lift a little more, grimace. Ugh. Awful. Shuffle. Bathroom. Pushing was now non-existent. I really didn't have much control or effort. I probably spent about 10-15 minutes trying to go pee. The flow was not strong, it was in fact droplets. My wife would laugh, making me fight laughing. Laughing hurt. It was not allowed.

This process took place 4-5 times at night. I was worried I had a urinary tract issue. The next morning though, I was able to go better, albeit in pain and discomfort.

For the next 3-4 days it was useless. I was a blob. I couldn't do anything. No bending over, still hard to sit or stand up. Once I did stand up, through the effort, it felt better to stand. I'm not going to say it felt good. It was complete discomfort, but it felt better than any other position. I had read to start trying to walk immediately. Day 1 I went to the treadmill. I started at 1mph. The lowest setting on the treadmill. It did not feel good, but it went with my 3-4 inch shuffle of feet. After 5 minutes I progressed to 1.1 mph. Not much better, but I was getting the hang of this. I slowly made my way up to 1.2 mph and even touched 1.3 mph realizing immediately that was too fast. In total, 1/2 a mile in 26 minutes. A 52 minute pace per mile. Ouch. That sucked. But I felt accomplished. Progress on Day 1. The next day I went outside with my 8 year old daughter Brynn. We walked around the block. It was very tough, she was running circles around me. I made it 0.8 miles in about 33 minutes. I was faster, but everything hurt. Day 3, 1.2 miles. By Day 7 I made it 3.1 miles. Even one week after surgery making it a solid 5K in 70 minutes, it was not comfortable and constant pin needle pains.

It was not until Day 8 that I can officially say I felt better. Walking felt decent, I could go faster. I improved my 5K time to 62 minutes. Sitting down and standing up went smoother, but still with its discomfort. By Day 11 I was walking with speed finally. My 5K walk dropped to 52 minutes. On Day 11 is when my white bandage strips began to frazzle so I decided it was time to remove. My doctor follow up was on Day 12 and I thought necessary to let the incisions dry without the bandage for a day.

The doctor said the scars looked great. I've been told that due to the laparoscopic nature that the scars will be non visible in about 8-12 months. He said I can do some easy stationary bikes and easy hikes at this point. No swimming, biking, or running for 4 weeks post surgery, so that means about August 12.

I imagine its still a road to recovery. My stationary bike ride today at 80 watts felt ugh. Leaning forward is doable now, but not without discomfort. I went on a steeper hike as well, but brought the kids as I knew they would slow down and stop which would be good for me to take breaks. On Day 12 I did a 5.3 mile trail walk and it went very well. The main discomfort in my abdomen area at this point of time is the tacks. When they put the mesh in the abdominal area to strengthen the core, they in essence "staple" tacks to hold into place. According to the doctor I have quite a few. But there are two in particular that I can feel. They jut out just a little on the left and right. They are designed to dissolve over time, but can take about 16-24 weeks before they dissolve. It's weird to feel them, but they are serving an important purpose.

Now to keep healthy, slowly strengthen up and build up to a 26.2 mile virtual marathon to complete on September 14 for Boston one of a kind medal. The first Boston marathon to not take place and hopefully the only to ever be "virtual." My goal is to complete it with as little strain as possible and take my time. There is no time limit so hopefully a good combination of easy jogging and walking over a longer time than normal.

On day 14 post surgery I did quite a long "hike" which was a gentle incline of a trail for about 3.6 miles and then back down. It went very well. Walking this distance takes forever though and I cannot wait to run this again in 1/2 the time. I've finally done well at getting shoes off and on. Bending over is still slightly discomfort, but standing and sitting seem to be going much better. Every so often when standing I feel a nook of a discomfort but it goes away fairly quickly. I had to actually run on today's hike. But it was because a loud crash in a nearby bush startled me. It was probably a bunny, but who knows as it could have been a mountain lion. I doubt it. My reaction time is still a little slow, and my rotation of my body is still limited due to core tightness. All much better than the first few days though and I feel I will be ready to throw in a few easy and quick jogs for 15 to 45 seconds during week 3 to prepare for an actual jog/run week 4.