Over this last 4 day I went to the doctor and got the snippy snip as I commonly call it. It was just supposed to be a meet and greet with the doc about the procedure and all that stuff. Shawna almost didn't go because it was just the meet and greet. I told her that we should both go so we would hear the same info and we would both be able to ask questions if we had any. We didn't have any questions, and at the end of the talk with the doc, he asked when I wanted to get it done. I said today, since if I waited until next week I would only have 3 days off of work to recoup before having to come back. The doc looked at me "Seriously?," Yeah buddy, if you got time, lets get it on. I turned to Shawna, who was a little shocked, and she was like, ah yeah, I guess. We had talked about getting this done since we found out about the last pregnancy, so it wasn't a shock. Just the timing and the pace of the appointment was kind of shocking. The doc checked the computer schedule and said that we were a go if we could do it right then. After paying my copay, and insurance payment I was in the room getting a shave down.
The entire procedure went down fairly smooth. The only drugs that I was given was the numbing drug down below (I'm assuming it was Lidocaine) before the procedure started. The only 2 times I had pain, or even any feeling down there was that initial needle stick for numbing me up, and then one other time. The doc had already finished work on the right testicle and had moved onto the left one. He clamped a hemostat on the left side and I felt that one. "Oh," I said. The doc asked if I felt that, and I said yeah. He told me that it was the hemostat clamping onto the Vas Deferens. I told him that my Vas Deferens didn't like it. He removed the clamp, numbed me up some more and then finished his work. I gotta say, it is a little disconcerning to smell the burnt flesh and see the smoke coming from your crotch. First off, the smell of burnt flesh is absolutely horrible. Secondly, the amount of smoke that was coming up was a little alarming. I joked with the doc and Shawna that usually when I see that much smoke I want to suit up and go to work.
The procedure took maybe 20min, and 5 stitches to complete. I got home and told the kids that they were not allowed to jump on me, or wrestle with me for a week. I also can't pick them up for the first few days following the procedure. I'm now at day 5, and it's slowly feeling better. The original day of the procedure had me walking very gingerly around the house and keeping ice on the area and 800mg of Motrin every 6 hours. Day 2 was better, but still sore. Day 3 and 4 were consecutively better than the previous day. Now at day 5, I'm still feeling it; but it's better. I'm at work today, and trying to just not think too much about it. My left testicle is the sore one, and I'm not sure why. I don't know if it has anything to do with the hemostat or not. Doc said I can't work out for at least a week, and while I feel pretty good, I'm keeping to the 1 week off, and will go from there. I got on the bike today and did some soft pedaling for maybe 10 max while I was trying to get the new bike computer to work and connect with the sensors. There was no pain, but it wasn't comfortable either. Didn't matter that I had my thicker chamois bibs on, or that I was soft pedaling. It just wasn't comfortable.
So while I can't work out, I've been trying to catch up on some reading about working out. Namely my newest book, "Power, Speed, Endurance: A skill-based approach to endurance training. It is written by the Crossfit Endurance founder, Brian MacKenzie, and basically goes over the basis behind his programming for endurance events and the skills/drills to help you become a more efficient athlete.
I'm thinking that with how crazy my schedule has been as far as getting workouts in, I should do the intelligent thing. The smart thing would be to really work on form over this off season, knowing that form will ensure longevity in the sport. Being more efficient will ultimately make me a better and faster athlete. The frustrating thing though, is in the short term, it will mean going slower. Slower now, and possibly slower for the next season. Granted I have 25 weeks until the Ironman Boise, which is the official start of the season for me. That's 6 months. I'm thinking that if I take the next 2 months to really work on the skills, I'll still have 4 months to get after the speed and volume of training to be successful. From what I've read so far, the emphasis is on: form, intensity and then volume (in that specific order). Which goes against the standard endurance programming, but funny enough, is how virtually every other sport trains. You don't move into intensity until your form is spot on. With the intensity ratcheted up, you go until your form starts to break down, and then you back off. Then you can increase the volume of your training.
I'm not saying that I will use every single thing that the book goes into, but it will still be the basis of how I'm going to train. I still need to be functionally strong for work. My emphasis on this off season will be with the swim and bike portion, as I feel that I have the biggest opportunity to make up time there; but in reality, all 3 sports will be improved upon. Even if it's just my form for running.
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