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| August 23, 2011 | | DE NOVO NT by ZIMMER WORKS | | I know one thing for certain - DE NOVO NT by Zimmer works. It is definitely a good solution for focal articular defect/lesions. Due to its success, I not only can run but now I am able to increase my overall running time each week. Last week, I ran 12 miles at 100 percent my body weight. In addition, I ran 1 1/2 hours on the Alter-G treadmill @ 85% my body weight. And I ran my first brick outside in over 20 months - a simple five minute effort.
I am building my volume very very slowly. In fact, last week, I increased my run time by a total of 8 minutes. To my dismay, I am able to run on back to back days now with no problems. If there is going to be any residual swelling/soreness I want to be able to address it before there is a BIG problem.
At this point, I am still working on learning to run again.The hardest thing for me is learning to extend my left leg again as I land and landing on the ball of my foot. Below is a shot of me running from last week. Each week, I am becoming more and more comfortable with my actual running form - it is very weird having to learn to run again!
As for learning to run again, I am doing a series of drills. These videos are a month old but you can get the idea - the goal is to learn to trust to land on and push off the repaired left leg.
While the below is not yet perfect. It is so much better than it was a month ago. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest. I think the mental part of recovering from this type of injury is the hardest - trusting that landing with full weight on my leg or using the leg will not cause excruciating pain and/or that the graft will hold.
Speaking of drills and trying to improve athletically, I love the picture below. I hope my kids will continue to enjoy athletics and that in so doing that they will care for their bodies better than I have thus far.
Here is a sport I never tried! Being from the desert, Nate started on some smaller waves. He had an awesome time.
Finally, when thinking of athletics, I would be remiss not to mention my buddy Erica. Erica recently qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona and is competing in Ironman Canada also. As part of her training, she supported her husband at the Leadville 104 mile mountain bike race (Chris crushed it) and while there she rode her bike up a little hill. WOW!
One of the hardest parts about being injured (having a focal defect) was that I was unable to move about freely. The smallest movements hurt BAD - thus I was virtually confined to the couch! It is so nice to have a good quality of life again. As you can see below, some movement was definitely necessary! Thanks to Dr. Glashow, Endurance Rehab, and De Novo NT I am able to do more than sit on the couch or as one doctor famously stated - I could take up canoeing!
The game was part of Joel's birthday celebration. If you haven't played, I strongly suggest that you try it. This was a blast. Above, Brad and I (woefully undermanned and low on ammo) successfully defended a charge from a pesky group of fourth graders!
Not much to say about the below other than I am still laughing!
I hope your summer was great. Keep working you can and will destroy your limitations.
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