I'm getting better...I had my first Beer!

My throat is feeling 4 on 10.

Now it only feels like I have some open sores on my back gums, I smoked 10 cigars, and was yelling at rock concert in a drunken state the night before. It's a major improvement!

It took me a while, and I had to cover parts of my right side of my throat with my tongue, it was a little painful, but I was able to slowly drink a beer and watch Reid's power skating lessons. It didn't taste that refreshing, but it's a start.

For dinner, I still had ice cream, but I had a lot more than I usually do and ate it a lot faster. It was symbolic, I finished off the last 1/2 litre. That's it for me and the ice cream...no more.

I don't want to get to cocky, but my logic is that if I can eat, I can train. After all, the doctor just wanted to give the mouth enough time to heal so it wouldn't break open and start bleeding. So I figure, if I can eat, it won't break open. I'm not yet eating a regular meal, although over an hour and a half at my desk, I was able to eat a bowl of rice and chicken.

I'm still tired. While watching ""Kenny vs. Spenny" on TV, I dozed off and had my evening nap ( from the pain and sugar overload). I just woke and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. If I improve to 5 on 10 and I can drink water easily, I'm riding my bike, maybe some light weights.

From now on, no more pain killers. I don't think I'll need them anymore and they cause major constipation.

I'm getting very close to being back BABY!!! My daughter says she lost a lot of her muscle during her recovery period and she was sore after her early workouts. Great....at least I have something to look forward to :)

Things are getting a little better..still can't eat

The left side of my throat is now feeling better than the right. I still can't eat, but swallowing is still a little less painful.

Had my power nap, then went to Reid's hockey game. He's number 25. It's amazing he just learnt how to skate 3 months ago.. Afterwards the throat was a little sorer, I think it was the cold in the arena.

I can tell I'm getting better, but I still need the Tylenol 3's.

Worst Day of Pain, but I exercised anyway

The pain today was the WORST, I didn't even bother to try and eat. Just drinking water was hard enough.

For dinner, Alice made some home made chicken noodle soup and I was able to eat that and then had a nap.

When I woke up I tried some ice cream but it was too hard to eat. I started getting bored, lying in bed I kept looking at my bike...and finally said "screw it", I need to start exercising.

I put on the cycling shorts, jumped on the bike and rode. I told myself I'd stop at 30 minutes, then it turned into 35, 40, 45, 50 and I finally stopped at 55 minutes. I had a nice sweat going. It felt good. The rug below was getting wet.

On the bike when I looked down at my legs I didn't recognize them, they were much thinner. It was a great ride, watched a little News, UFC and Napoleon Dynamite. Although it is amazing, if you don't exercise you loose it. Just from the time off of riding because of the weather and then the operation, my butt is sore. It may also be because I lost some weight which caused me to loose "padding". In any event, the only way to fix that it to...ride more.

Afterwards I weighed myself and from the sweating dropped 1.8 lbs. Then I spent a good 15 minutes doing my regular stretches. It is amazing how much more flexible I am and how easy the stretches now are after resting. I also felt my bones "cracking" in a good way.

The tough part is trying to hydrate the lost water as drinking water hurts. In addition to drinking water I also had a protein shake after the workout.

Also, my birthday Presents keep coming. Yesterday a package Alice ordered from Ebay finally arrived. It was an Amstel Light glass (my favorite beer) and Das Boot a German beer drinking boot. The same style as the one in the movie "Beer Fest". I know getting that was Reids idea. Since we got it, all I see is this boot filled with his pop.

It seems the left side of my throat is better than the right. Alyssa told me that happened to her, but it would switch sides each day.

Wishful Thinking...

I thought I'd walk or bike slowly today. Not a chance. Instead of getting better, I feel like I am getting worse. I was able to hydrate well today, but by the end of the day I felt like I was going to pass out.

When I got home I tried eating some bread, no go. I was able to eat pancakes with lots of syrup. It actually coated my throat and it felt better so I ate as much as I could. I then lied down on the couch and the next thing I know was I woke up 3 hours later (combo of pain and sugar overload), with a screamingly sore throat. But...I did catch the winner announcement of dancing with the stars without having to watch the 2 hour special. Bonus!

Now I'm starting to think I should just rest, not pushing myself in any way. Let alone exercise. I don't want this to last any longer than it has to.

I'm also now getting paranoid, the back of my teeth and gums hurt, like they were cut open. I hope I'm not getting an infection. I have been taking the antibiotics the doctor prescribed so it's probably in my head.

My Daughter said she didn't start feeling better for a full 2 weeks. Tomorrow is the end of my 1st recovery week.

Sluggish

I'm still not feeling well. It kills when I swallow (like I got razor blades in my throat). I'm very tired throughout the day and still can't eat regular food.

Power napped for a while, then started playing on the computer and learning about more things I can do with my blog. I can hardly wait until I can start training again....I miss the feelings I get from training.

I was going to go for a walk but it was raining and sleeting outside and I was too tired. Tomorrow I'm either going to walk or do a very very light ride on the wind trainer, just for my sanity.

Man my tonsils HURT!!!!

Every time I try to swallow it feels like I have razor blades in my throat. It is difficult to eat or drink. This morning I weighted myself and I'm down 4 lbs to 175 lbs.

I'm also going stir crazy. I've displaced my exercise energy by playing on the web obsessively and learning all kinds of new tools (It's amazing all the stuff I'm learning about). But after a while my head hurts. My body feels like it is starting to atrophy and I'm worried about having to start over with my training.

This afternoon I couldn't stand it any more, I needed to clear my head, and I needed to get some exercise, so I went for an hour walk. It was good, I could feel the muscles in my back and legs starting to work again. Afterwards, I felt like I had a slight bonk because I haven't been able to eat much, so I forced some vege pizza down while watching the Grey Cup.

It tasted good, but now I'm paying the price. It feels like I made my throat tender and now when I swallow I'm in real pain.

Time for the Tylenol 3's.

I Just WON a $2500 Quintana Roo Tri Bike!!!

I can't believe it! Earlier this week Multi-Sport, who puts on the HSBC Triathlon series, emailed me asking me to show up to the year end Long Draw, so I knew I was going to win something and it turned out to be the top prize. A Quintana Roo Tri Bike.

I almost didn't even go. My tonsils were so sore from Wednesdays surgery, I was semi-drugged up, but I figured I needed to get out of the house. The drive there should have taken me an hour, it ended up taking two hours due to bad traffic and me getting major league lost. I almost couldn't even find the place.

I spent a couple of hours before the draw announcements listening to the seminars in pain. So I really hoped it was all going to be worth the wait. Obviously it was.

I had a good vibe right after they emailed me this week (on my birthday) to tell me I won something. I figured what ever it was, it was a birthday present.

I'll tell you the HSBC triathlon series has been GREAT to me.

At Binbrook, I came in 3rd in the Clydesdale division (even if it was out of 3 - photo above). Then at Cobourg (as a non Clydesdale) my goal was to break 3 hours and I did it in 2:44:51 and finished in 105th place out of 201 (with the 55th fasted bike time). Then in the Wasaga Sprint Triathlon that I raced with my best friend from Winnipeg (after more than a few beers the night before) I finished in 47th place out of 380 with the 16th fasted bike time (36.1 average). Not a bad considering in my first sprint triathlon of the year and my comeback race in Milton, I finished in 549th place out of 613. Then to top it off I win the grand prize for the year end draw. The HSBC Series has been berry, berry, good to me....What a way to top off a great year!

I'm excited to get my new bike and try it out. I'm going to visit my sister in Florida right after Christmas and I'm taking it with me. I've always been curious about the differences between a Tri bike and a road bike. I guess I'll be finding out soon enough.