Slowly Getting Back

I've been doing what I can for the last few weeks.  I haven't been running...I probably should be pushing myself more in that area.  But it's hard...mentally and physically.

Right now swimming is good.  I have gotten back my confidence in the water.  I have also gotten back some speed.  I think that if I lose some of the weight that I gained during my recovery that I would really see a difference in the swim.

So last night I attended my second Spin90 class.  We were inside due to the rain...which means isolation drills.  Ugh.  But I was able to keep up with the class.  We did high cadence drills, which were actually fine for me.  I could totally keep up.  I was a disaster with the one legged drills...but they've always been a challenge to me. 

I was struggling throughout the entire class, but I was determined to keep up.  At one point we were doing ladder drills.  This is something where we start at the top of the gear box and every 30 seconds drop to a harder gear.  After the first ladder, John asked me if I was using a heart rate monitor.  I don't but I could tell that my heart rate was through the roof.  He told me to let him know when it calmed down.  We just spinned in recovery gear for another few minutes before starting the next ladder.

I knew that I was the reason that the class was getting "extra rest".  But honestly I needed the extra rest.  I commented to John that I felt like a rookie all over again.  He responded "fitness level maybe but operationally you're still above the curve". 

If you are a faithful reader of my blog, you know that John does not dole out compliments very easily.  So the fact that he called me operationally above the curve was a huge thing for me.  I was literally giddy...on the inside of course...I played it cool on the outside!  But really, I needed to hear that simple statement to remind myself that I am not starting over again.  I've learned how to properly pedal and hold my cadence.  I am still a good cyclist.  I may be slower than before the surgery, but I will get that back.  I've lost some power but that will come back with time.