Update post-surgery

Well, I didn't die on the table so there's that ;-)

I had the surgery yesterday. Even the morning of I was still having misgivings about going ahead. As I noted in my previous post, I still had significant symptoms and my left leg just didn't "work right" but it had improved significantly since the last episode on June 8.

I'd hit a plateau though where it was essentially the same for the last three weeks and "the same" wasn't particularly good. I had a discussion with the surgeon who, to his credit, emphasized "this is not an unstoppable train, you can decide right now not to go ahead". What ultimately decided me to go ahead was that he was confident that although it might continue to improve somewhat it wouldn't return to normal. He asked "would you want to live the rest of your life as you are" and the answer was an emphatic no.

So I went ahead.

Post surgery, he told Marcia that it went well (I wonder if they ever say "I screwed up"?) and that he'd removed several loose fragments and part of the disc. He said it should reduce, but not eliminate, the probability of recurrence and that should it recur I'd likely have a couple more microdiscectomies before I had to have a fusion. 

This is obviously a path I don't want to go down.

And by way of final medical update for now: I really hurt. I try to avoid narcotics because I don't tolerate them well but it's likely I'm going to use them for at least a few days. The RX post surgery is no aerobic activity until my post-surgical exam in six weeks, no lifting above 10 lbs, no bending or twisting.

Since the RX is pretty generic and encompasses massively obese people who are largely sedentary, I'm hopeful I can ride the 'bent on the trainer after 3 weeks but we'll see. In the meantime, I'll be walking.

I'm still pondering the DF versus recumbent question. Pre-surgery, the recumbent was demonstrably easier on my back. I rode it almost 700 miles since the episode on June 8 versus 70 miles on the DF. Every time I rode the DF my back and sciatica was significantly worse the next day.

So the question at hand is whether it will be the same post surgery. My plan is to ride the recumbent on the trainer, then return to the roads. At some point, I'll ride the DF and see how it feels after. As I've said numerous times here, in order of preference the possibilities appear to be:

1. Return to normal, brevets on the DF with the recumbent as an occasional diversion.
2. Return to riding brevets but on the recumbent with the DF as an occasional diversion.
3. Give up randonneuring, ride the recumbent and DF on rides of 200K or less.
4. Give up riding the DF and ride the recumbent.
5. Give up riding.

You may be asking yourself (I know I am) "if the track record is that the recumbent is easier on his back, why doesn't he just face it and ride that".

Good question!

Here are the reasons, some of which I've enumerated in the past and some new ones:

1. The recumbent has a different performance profile than a DF so it's likely that I'd ride most brevets solo. Although I'm prepared to do this it's always more fun when you encounter someone who is simpatico in terms of pace, stops, etc., and can have some company.
2. Traveling with a recumbent is much more difficult. It's heavier, it requires a lot of disassembly to fit into a case the airlines will accept. 
3. I'm a DF guy. Although I like riding the Cruzbike, I love my DF's. I've spent a lot of time and money over the years acquiring my current stable of bikes. I've whittled them down to ones that I really love and would hate not to be able to use them.

And finally, there's the question of performance. Although I'll admit I'm probably not fully acclimated to riding the 'bent, I did ride it 700 miles in the last 60 days. I was concerned about my back and had sciatic issues so I wasn't doing super hard rides but the difference in my performance on the DF versus the recumbent is significant. 

As a case in point, here is the last ride I did on the recumbent. It includes a 12.2 mile segment that those who've ridden my Fennimore Frolic 200K brevet will be familiar with. It's right after you turn off of CR-K onto Green River Rd and goes to Hwy 60. It's generally uphill all the way and gets steeper as you near the Hwy.

I should note that on the day the temperature was pretty warm (near 90F) and it wasn't anywhere near an all out effort but I was trying to maintain a steady pace. Having said that, when I've ridden it in the past it's usually been a middle segment of the Fennimore 200K. Here's a Strava scattergram of my historical efforts on the segment:

As you can see, my PR is 43:42 and this ride was 59:04, 37% slower. This ride wasn't my all time slowest but on the slowest one (in May) I stopped and took a lot of pictures. Discounting that, there are only 6 times I rode it slower.

So the bottom line is, as most people say, I climb slower on the recumbent. I'll also say that my legs were really tired at the end of that 38 mile ride.

But who knows, if I were to go "all in" on the 'bent and train hard on it perhaps it'll even out. I'll get faster on the climbs and be able to take advantage of the better aerodynamics of the 'bent on descents and flats.

Stay tuned!