Baby Steps

Well, I am still waiting on MRI #2. The doctor I’m seeing is a part of the Memorial Herman / University of Texas Medical School system and the “Ironman Sports Medicine Institute”. I read some negative comments about this institute on a discussion forum, but was referred to this particular doctor by a friend I trusted, so I figured I’d try it.

I did like the doctor. However, I was not pleased at all with one thing about Memorial Hermann – the pricing. I was scheduled for MRI #2 on Monday of last week. It worked out perfectly, because I was already scheduled to take a vacation day from work to take care of a few other things. But then, I received a call from the doctor’s office around 3 pm on the Friday before the MRI to tell me that after speaking to my insurance company, the procedure would cost me $1,500. If my Grandma were here, she'd say that Memorial Hermann "thinks the sun shines out of their arse!" and I'd have to agree.  Normally, I have no issues with having a high-deductible health plan, but OUCH that was a lot of money for me! My HSA is usually hardly touched each year, but this year it is being drained pretty fast thanks to all my attempts at fixing this hip. After the initial sticker shock wore off, I called my doctor’s office and asked if I had any other options. They referred me to an imaging center that still could provide a clear MRI, but at just over ½ the cost of Memorial Hermann. Yippee!!

Fast forward to today – the day of my MRI appointment. I drive to the imaging center…it’s not exactly convenient to my home or work, but I guess that's the price of a cheaper procedure. After filling out some paperwork and waiting about 10 minutes, the woman at the front desk called me up. It seems that the doctor who administers the injection had an emergency and had to leave. Ugh! So here I am, still waiting to find out some answers. The good news – I got a couple of hours of my day back.

On a happier note, I am convinced that I am healing. On Saturday, I finally got sick of doing the P90X upper body videos and decided to take advantage of the awesomely cool morning temps.

I went for a walk!

Okay, so walking is not the same to me as running, but it is something. I woke up before dawn and walked a slow 2-miles around the neighborhood. I took in the cool, fresh air and just enjoyed being outdoors again. Oh my God, how I’ve missed the serenity of my morning runs!

Just me, the stars, and an occasional runner…awesomeness!

And the best part? The hip didn’t bother me!

Confession #1 – I was very, very tempted to break into a jog. Confession #2 – I did jog, but only for about 10 steps . I just had to see if the pain I felt on that last 2-miler was still there. It wasn’t. But, I know better. I know from the occasional aches from my hip that I am still healing. I stopped the jog and just continued to walk. I didn’t want to, though. And, what’s even better is that the hip felt fine the rest of the day. There were no extra aches, even after working in the yard later in the day. None!

Because of the success of Saturday’s experiment with walking, I decided to attempt something new on Sunday....

I biked!

If I had to rate what I’d like to do more, it would work like this:

Running > biking > walking > strength training > swimming

Biking felt great, even though I was just going for a casual ride! I loved that I could move quickly though my neighborhood (unlike my walk). I had my Garmin on, but only to show the time. I wanted to ride for 30 minutes, but without worrying about speed or cadence. I quickly realized that I miss my bike almost as much as I miss running! The bad news – even though my hip felt okay during my ride, it ached a bit for the rest of the day. Only a little teensy ache, but enough to tell me I might want to wait a little longer before attempting to bike again. I was bummed about this, especially since I registered for Tour de Cure which takes place in September. I know it was dumb to register for anything with a stubborn injury, but I was certain that I’d be okay by then…and I took advantage of a coupon code to register for only $3!

So walking yes, biking no. At least it’s a step in the right direction…a teensy, little baby step!

Add in "do Cardio and SWEAT!"