A ride, a run, and PT

I decided to skip my meeting last night and enjoy the weather instead by going on a bike ride. I had a very enjoyable ride and it's soon time to start extending the distance of these after-work rides beyond 20 miles. For the first time since I hurt the hamstring, I was able to really pull through the bottom part of the pedal stroke with my left leg. That's certainly progress.

This morning, I ran 6 before work. My stride felt way better than it did last Thursday when I did 8. It's not quite perfect, but it's a lot closer. The run was almost enjoyable.

Then, this morning, I had a PT appointment. I've been switching between two therapists. One has been at the hospital forever and the other is a younger guy who is fairly new. The more experienced therapist, to the best of my knowledge, is not an athlete at all, and I wonder if she understands how athletes think.

I saw her on Monday and she seemed peeved about the workout I'd done on Saturday. I told her that I'd cleared it with the sports doc, but that only appeased her somewhat. Today, my therapist was the younger guy. I mentioned last Saturday's workout and he said that his co-worker was fairly appalled by what I'd done. She doesn't approve of my "lifestyle" apparently. She thinks I should be resting more.

The interesting thing is the quality of service I get with the two therapists. I am scheduled for 45 minute appointments each time. On Monday, the appointment started late and ended early. I got some ultrasound and some very brief massage on the hamstring.

Today, it was ultrasound, then some very deep and painful massage, then some stretching, and then a bunch more massage using Biofreeze. The appointment went a full 45 minutes and the leg got really worked over. The younger therapist is athletic, if not competitive. But, he clearly understands my desire to get to my race next month and he's doing everything he can to help get me there.

I'm not naming names here, but I'm really amazed at how differently two therapists are treating me. Hopefully, no one at work reads my blog.