No More Slacking

Last Friday was six weeks since surgery. In the two plus weeks since my last post I've continued to walk. My best time for the 5K was just over 47 minutes, about 16 minute miles. Some days I would do that twice. On other days, I might get tired and do less. Recovery is not linear; there are some days where I just don't feel that sharp.

This past Monday the 21st, I had my six-week follow-up with Dr. DCM at Stanford. He was not at at all impressed with my exercise level. He said that the recovery handbook was written for 75 year-olds, and that it was time to start pushing my exercise. Actually, it was a little more nuanced than that. Dr. DCM thought my heart sounded great, my blood pressure was fine, and my scar and body were healing well. On the other hand, he was not happy with my resting pulse. Since going off a beta blocker medication at 30 days post discharge, my resting heart rate has settled in the 90s. When I was training for triathlons, it was in the mid 60s. Post recovery, it should be in the 70s.

Dr. DCM wants me to increase my exercise substantially, with the goal of reducing my resting heart rate. In terms of exercise, there are no limits in terms of heart rate or exertion level. Other than continuing to protect my sternum, I can do whatever I want. Those are doctors orders I'm happy to hear! Dr. DCM is giving me one month to increase my exercise and hopefully push my resting heart rate down. If it doesn't drop enough after one month, I'll need to go back on a small dose of some type of beta blocker. I'd like to avoid medication, so exercise it is.

Out of Shape
On Tuesday, I went to the gym. First, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Then I did a 45 minute spin class. I used to go very hard in spin class, sending my heart rate toward 170 or so during the sprint portions of the workout. Now, it was hard to keep with the class because my conditioning had deteriorated over the past few months. There really is a difference between brisk walking and real cardio training. Yesterday, I did the treadmill for an hour with a combination of running and walking. I would walk at 16 minutes per mile pace for two minutes and then run at 12.5 minutes per mile pace for two minutes. That was a hard workout for me. I'll probably do more of that today. I'm a long ways from my typical 9 minute mile sustainable pace.

All in all I'm happy with my recovery from surgery. For the first time in a long time, I can push my heart as hard as I feel like. At 12 weeks, my sternum will be completely healed and there will be no limits on exercise.

I'll try to post more often. Happy Holidays.

At Four Weeks

My surgery was exactly four weeks ago. At this time of the day, I was sleeping in intensive care and did not wake up until about 7:00 that evening. Three weeks ago I left the hospital. I've come a long ways since then.

From early walks of just 7 minutes, I've built up to between 1 and 2 hours of walking each day. Today I walked a 5K in the morning and in the late afternoon. My morning time was 50 minutes, 8 seconds, and my afternoon time was 52 minutes, 39 seconds. I'm not sure why the afternoon was slower. Perhaps I was tired because I did not take a nap today. On most days, I take a 1 to 2 hour nap, usually around mid-day. Three weeks ago I would not have predicted that I could do two 3+ mile walks at something close to a 17 minutes per mile pace so soon.

My scar continues to heal. It's about 8.5 inches long. A scab covers less than one inch of it. The remainder is a reddish color. On the incentive spirometer breathing device, I'm can easily hit the 2500 ML level. According to my discharge papers, the goal is 2900, so I need to work a little harder with that.

My need for medication continues to fall. I take 1 Vicodin on most nights. Some nights I don't need it at all.

I'm looking forward to the six week mark. At that point I can the stationary bike to my workout and I can drive if I'm off the pain medication. I have a follow-up appointment at Stanford with Dr. DCM on the 21st of December. Hopefully he will be as pleased with my progress as I am.