Near Death: September Update

This month’s update is pretty short. Just two or three things and my fitness stats. I expect October will bring a fair bit more news, as I wait on resolution to a couple things.

Victoria

For the first time since my crash, we got back to Victoria from September 17-20. It wasn’t quite the same without craft beer or whisky, but it was still very enjoyable. Sadly, Connie was nursing a calf/outer knee strain, so we couldn’t do the walking we typically love to do while there. I did have my fastest short run, at the time, since the crash while there (4.5k @ 5:15/km) so that’s something I guess. I’ve since done 8k @ 5:06/km.

Weights

Early in the month I decided I didn’t really like going to the weight room to do my strength workouts with me missing my spleen and all, and given my need to keep building strength, I asked my OT if it would be possible to get some weights for home. Much to my surprise, it was approved by ICBC and I feel much more comfortable not exposing myself to the viral stew at the gym. This will be particularly beneficial with flu season coming soon and COVID already seeing significant community spread.

New Bike Choices

As I said in last month’s update, I finally got my bike money from ICBC in August and I’ve just begun shopping for a replacement steed since mid-September. I’m taking my time, not only because I hope to snag an end-of-season bargain on a 2024 model, but also because I want to be sure I won’t switch to more transport and city biking. If I don’t feel I need a road machine any longer it’ll reduce my cost by half or more. I think I’ll ultimately still want to do group road rides, but it’s best to be sure and not regret my purchase immediately after making it.

Fitness – September 2024

This month, I tried to get a little more regimented with my fitness and saw pretty significant increases in time/distance across the board. While I’m not beating myself up for missing workouts, I also need to do my best to stick to a schedule and it paid off in September. I set modest time or distance goals for all major activity types a week ago to see how well I could do in the coming weeks and months.

Running continues to be the most challenging to return to, and still a significant vestibular symptom trigger. I continue to see improvement in my strength, coordination and general right hand functioning. Typing and writing are still slow, but improving. Drumming is surprisingly improving the most, buit closer to nearing a plateau, I think. I walked a lot in Victoria, so that’s more a blip than actual progress, but walking a lot is thankfully not an issue. Cycling on the trainer is seeing glimpses of power returning, but progress is also very slow.

  • Running: 55 km
  • Walking: 92 km
  • Cycling (trainer & e-bike): 233 km
  • Weights: 6.75 hrs
  • Yoga: 6.2 hrs
  • Drums: 7.5hrs

Notes

  • I haven’t mentioned it so far, but one thing I have struggled with since the crash is keeping up my weight. I used to hold steady at about 165, which was probably ten pounds heavier than I’d have liked. Now I usually weigh 148-150. In a perfect world I’d weigh around 155. I’ve taken to smaller, more frequent meals because my appetite has been smaller since my hospital stay, with all the abdominal and chest related surgeries, and eating denser, more high calorie foods often comes with additional salt, sugar, cholesterol or a combination of them. Hopefully I’ll gain that final 5-7 pounds at some point.
  • I also have slightly elevated BP now, but really have been dealing with it for a few years, but the medication I’m taking for it (Amlodipine) seems to cause constipation. I tried a few things without much success and finally gave in to Metamucil in the past week, and that seems to have done the trick. I’m very regular now and much happier. We already eat a pretty high fibre diet, so I figured I didn’t need it, but I’m glad I tried it. Unlike polyethylene glycol, I can use it daily, with the added benefits of potentially helping to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. Man, does all this stuff make me sound old now.
  • In addition to the new vaccines resulting from my immunocompromised status, I have to take infections more seriously in a general sense. So, in addition to masking when in confined spaces, things like live hockey games, concerts and places where people pack tightly like sardines are no longer a good option for me. I guess being a bit of an introvert is finally paying off, whether I like it or not.

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