Two Milestones: 99% ROM and a Seven Mile Run

The shoulder's improving. Yesterday, after five rounds of assisted SHOULDER - 1 ROM: Flexion - Wand exercises, I did the final five unassisted. The range of motion is nearly 100% now and its strength is returning. Fantastic.

To celebrate, I ran the seven miles from work to home last night. I had no issues with the shoulder during the run. Granted, there was very little shoulder movement, but the fact that there wasn't any pain from the jarring foot strikes has got to be a good sign. In fact, the only issues experienced were in the ribcage (minor) as a result of heavy respiration during the run.

The body's healing mechanism is truly an amazing thing.

Nutrition Tool Box: Emulsified Norwegian Cod Liver Oil

Last Friday's blog had a plug for TwinLab's Emulsified Norwegian Cod Liver Oil. Although setup for comic relief, it wasn't meant to be only that.

Since injuring my shoulder, I've been giving my body the building blocks it needs for recovery. In a the accident has allowed me to reassess my nutrition intakes. So while whey protein and antioxidant rich fruits have been supplemented to help in the short term recovery, I've also taken the time to look at longevity needs.

One such area is in cardiovascular health. We all know that cholesterol is bad. Well all but the HDL "good" cholesterol form. HDL cholesterol reduces plaque and carries bad cholesterol to the liver where it can be passed out of the system.

How much is needed? Clinical studies have shown that a diet of 400mg of fatty acids nutritionally supports cardiovascular health. Two tablespoon of Twinlab's cod liver oil provides 900 mg of total Omega-3 Fatty acids.

Will it miraculously heal my shoulder? Of course not. But it's contributing to overall good health on both a short and long term.

The product comes in three varieties: natural and mint, cherry or orange flavoring. The flavoring helps, but you can still taste the fish oil. But it's tolerable. In fact, I previously took fish oil in the form of a gel tabs. Gel tabs have no taste, right? Wrong. Without fail, every time I took one of those, I'd burp up heavy fish-taste within a few minutes. And I'm not talking about a dainty little Queen of England hiccup. Nope. It'd be one of those nasty guttural uuuuuuurrrrrrrrps that would wake the dog sleeping next to you.

No thanks. I'd rather deal with a little taste up front than have to deal with that later.

So if you're looking for a quick and convenient way to boost your Omega 3 fatty acids, this isn't a bad way to do it.

Whole Foods. $11.49

Not numb, NUMB

I got back on the bike yesterday for a 90 minute test ride with Mike Munson. The shoulder didn't feel great, but it felt good enough. Basically, it now feels like a big bad bruise. The good news was that there were no twinges of sharp pain, nor did it feel numb at anytime during the ride.

Speaking of numb, my friend the Real Wes J is participating in the Nebraska United Methodist Bike (NUMB) for Hunger charity ride this week. Count on him for a podium finish.

Here's one from the NUMB archives, where the Real Wes J just missed the win by a wheel:


NUMB is a worthy cause. Consider a donation. They'll take anything you throw at them, including a third place payout from a CAT4 road race.

Go get 'em, Wes!

Enigma

Many years ago, I had the privilege of backpacking in Europe with my friend Larry. Larry isn't his real name. But let's just call him that.

Larry and I made great traveling companions. He laid out out an ambitious, low budget assault of continental Europe on a 30 day Eurail Pass and I was content to simply tail along.

We arrived in Frankfurt, caught the first train to Wiesbaden, hopped a boat along the Rhine to Amsterdam, then back to rail into Belgium and so on. Within a week, we were in Paris, munching on a baguette and drinking cokes in a city park.

Larry stood and said that it was time to go.

Go? Go where? We had just arrived.

Larry dusted the fresh crumbs from his khaki shorts and began to head across the street toward a quintessential European Cafe. I stirred, but he turned and motioned to me to sit back down.

You don't understand, he said. I haven't taken a shit since we were stateside. I have to go.
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And now for a word from our sponsor, TwinLab

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For overall health and wellness, make Twinlab’s Cod Liver Oil a part of your daily health regimen.
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I sat there dumbfounded, weighing the gravity of Larry's last statement. It had been a week since we were in the States. Seven days! Why, what -- how -- how was that even humanly possible!?

A long time passed. Finally, Larry reappeared at the entrance. He had a contorted sort of smile on his face as he picked his way through the parked mopeds and crossed the street. It was a puzzling look, one that could be taken simultaneously for both shame and pride.

Let's get the hell out of here, he said, and without breaking stride, heaved his backpack onto his shoulder.

I hustled to grab all of my stuff. Moments later, I caught up to him.

What happened back there?

The toilet couldn't handle it. It was a small bathroom. I nearly flooded the damn thing. I panicked for a bit before settling on a plan. First, I attempted to unclog the toilet. To do so, I unfolded four paper towels on the floor, and then reached down into the toilet with my bare hands and removed the crap, placing it on the paper towels. I tried the toilet again, but it was worthless. Plan A was out. By then I was gagging. Since the toilet couldn't take it, and I certainly couldn't leave it in the trash can, I had to go with plan B.

So what did you do?

There was a small window to the alley out back.

You didn't

I did.

It was the only solution. Gnarly, huh? I tidied up the bathroom and washed my hands for about five minutes. Then, without saying a word, I dropped a twenty franc note on the bar and walked out.

Later that day, we saw the Mona Lisa.

There's been a lot that's been said about the expression on her face.

Thanks to Larry, I have my own interpretation.

Follow Up Visit

I had a follow-up with the Orthopedic today. A fresh batch of x-rays didn't reveal anything new. That's the good news. The bad is that I still have a separated shoulder and will need to proceed with caution for the time being. The official word is that I've been given the green light to resume low-impact training so long as it's in the normal range of discomfort.

It's not that the shoulder hasn't made progress. The general inflammation has resided considerably and mobility seems to increase as much as an inch per day. The line of discomfort begins when I attempt to lift my arm above neck level. That's better than a few days ago.

As mentioned previously, it's incredibly painful to sneeze or cough. I'd rate it a 9 of 10 for two seconds after the sneeze followed by a solid 8 for the next 20. Unfortunately, I'm reminded quite often of my injury as this is also my allergy season.

Obviously, I'm scratching from this weekend's CSG TT. As for the Omaha Cycling weekend, only time will tell.