As most of you were preparing for Thanksgiving, I strategically scheduled my appendectomy for Wednesday so I wouldn’t have to host dinner this year. At least that’s what my brother is accusing me of doing.

My choice was to schedule for Wednesday afternoon or push the surgery out for two weeks. Sorry family, I’m taking Wednesday.

In the days prior to the surgery I reduced training volume, kept workouts aerobic, kept a keen eye on nutrition, cut out fish oil supplement per recommendations from the surgery center and kept the rest of my normal pre-race supplementation.

Yes, I treated the surgery event like a race with the goal of optimal body performance during the event and optimal recovery after the event. I’ll write more about this later.

Right before the surgery the doc asked if I had any questions. Yes, I had two:

1. How is the incision in my colon closed? – It is closed with a staple gun and a series of staples.
2. Can I have whatever part of my appendix isn’t going to pathology for testing in a jar to take home? – Uh, no. We used to let people take gall stones home in a jar; but due to concerns about the spread of hepatitis and AIDS, we aren’t allowed to let people take body parts home.  

Darn. I thought it would be cool to have my appendix in a jar.

That’s what I thought before the surgery.

Turns out the thing was big and the timing to have it plucked out was good. An average appendix is around 11 cm (4.33 inches) in length but they can range from 2 to 20 cm (0.79 to 7.87 inches). Diameter is usually around 7 or 8 mm (0.28 to 0.31 inches).

My appendix was roughly the diameter of a bratwurst and about three quarters of the length of a brat.

Now that I’ve seen photos of it, I’d rather not have it in a jar on my desk.

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   Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

   Comments can be added on Facebook.

   Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

Think about this - you can be fit without being healthy. You can be healthy without being fit. When you are both fit and healthy, it pays dividends.

The main reason to keep yourself fit and healthy by eating right, doing aerobic workouts and strength training is not so that you can do the next event; but it is so you can live your life to the fullest.

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   Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

   Comments can be added on Facebook.

   Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

I’ve had a recent, personal interest in how long it takes to recover from an appendectomy and how much do these surgeries cost? What I’ve learned will surprise you and may have you making a routine doctor’s appointment – today.

Because I have a family history of colon cancer (my Mom is a 40-year survivor!) I started having colonoscopy screenings in my 40s. I’m happy to report at my last screening, about a week ago, there were no polyps found. Yeah!

But…when the doc was cruising around my colon, he noticed what appears to be a mucoidal mass attached to my appendix, right where the appendix opens into the colon. He recommended that I have my appendix removed so that I don’t have a sudden emergency problem. (Which is most likely to occur when I’m out of the country, if Murphy’s Law prevails.) Additionally, though it appears to be a benign mass, it’s always good to be sure given my family history.

That led to making an appointment with a surgeon and immediate doctor-Gale-by-the-internet searching for information. I have watched three YouTube videos of laparoscopic appendectomies. I can say some docs have much more finesse and skill than others. When watching one of the videos I was shouting at my computer, “Take it easy on those innards, will ya?! Geeze, no need to be so rough!”

What I found for typical recovery time is that it depends on your current health status and whether or not the surgery was an emergency situation or non-emergency. Know that a ruptured appendix is life-threatening. Yikes.

While there are no real standards for recovery time and all answers “depend,” I can tell you that a ruptured appendix that spreads infection internally requires a trip to the emergency room, days in the hospital and more time (and money) than a non-emergency situation.

What I found is some people that have had emergency surgeries and some complications can take some six to eight weeks to return to “normal” activity. Yikes again.

Athletes with a ruptured appendix, like Rockies player Drew Pomeranz, may be out for “the rest of the season.” Still other athletes, like former Rockies player Matt Holliday, come back to play just nine days after his non-emergency procedure.

And the costs? There is HUGE variation in costs for appendectomies. A study found costs for a California procedure ranged from as little as $1,529 to as much as $182,955. Some of the cost depends on where the surgery was done and I suspect some of it depends on complications. The study did look at procedures with less than four days in the hospital.

What does this mean for you?

1. Routine health screenings find small problems before they become big ones.
2. Problems caught when they are small require less downtime and less cost.

Have you been putting off a routine procedure? Maybe you should be making a call to schedule an appointment today.

Next blog – what my surgeon says about my personal recovery time.

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   Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

   Comments can be added on Facebook.

   Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

The next couple of months are tough on athletic goals. The weather is changing and this weekend our daylight hours are shortened, forcing many of us back to the gym after work.

Ugh.

While you may not be ready for the gym, don’t wait until there is a waistline crisis to make a plan. Decide now how you will survive – no, thrive – during the next eight weeks. Your plan can be as simple as “I will workout four or five days each week” or it can be more detailed.

Give yourself some room for interruptions. For example, if you’re planning to strength train then make your goal to get to the gym two or three times per week. Plan to ride (inside or outside) two or three times per week.

By creating a goal range, you can still succeed in weeks when your personal and business life is very busy.You can also feel good about the weeks when you can achieve the top end of your goal range.

If you spend the next eight weeks backsliding, you will spend a minimum of the first eight weeks – maybe more like the first 12 weeks – of next year trying to get yourself back in shape. With awareness and planning you can be ahead of the game.

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   Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

   Comments can be addedon Facebook.

   Ironman andhalf-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

A triathlete that I’ve coached for years (one-on-one personal training, then consulting/advising him on self-coaching questions) wondered what’s next after Ironman? He told me he needs a new drug. Maybe you need one too?

How about:

USA Cycling time trials in your area?

How about long distance cycling goals? (Bike tours or long-distance events.)

Aiming for Team USA in triathlon or duathlon? (There are sprint, Olympic and long distance options.)

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Comments can be added on Facebook.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

Off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

Q.   I’m a triathlete trying to improve my swimming speed in the off-season. I use your Workouts in a Binder cards when I swim on my own and I also swim with a masters group. I’ve just moved up to a new lane in my masters group and I’m struggling. The lane typically swims on a 1:40 send-off time. Yesterday we had 6 x 100 on 1:40 as the first part of the main set. I made the first three (just barely) send-offs and came in on the 1:41 on number four. Should I have just pushed off and kept swimming what would amount to a steady 300 or should I rest a 50? What is better for me?

A.   As a triathlete you do need the endurance to swim long distances at a steady pace. But…too many triathletes settle for slogging it out in all the main sets in a masters swim and they end up swimming continuously. If you are going to improve speed, over a long distance, you need both endurance workouts (working on continuous swimming or broken swims with minimal rest) and workouts intended to increase the speed you can average during long swims (these are sets where you get rest and swim a faster average pace).

So, the answer to the question of “What is better for me?” depends on what you’ve been doing in training and what you need to improve. If you’ve been doing long, continuous swims or broken swims with little rest – sit out a 50 and aim to keep the speed high during these sets. If you’ve been doing a good number of broken swims with plenty of rest, go ahead and aim to finish the main set even if you’re dangling at the end of the lane and doing a continuous swim.

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Comments can be added on Facebook.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

Off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

Looking for a fast lunch recipe? I’ve got one for you using pre-cooked rice, steamed veggies and chicken. The seasoning is likely something you haven’t used before…

First, if you keep cooked rice on hand it is easy to throw together a fast dish. Second, sometimes you have leftover baked chicken and you’re tired of salads. The third major ingredient is any veggie(s) you choose. If you have fresh ones, great – but – if you don’t and you’re in a big hurry, use the frozen steamer bag kind.

Use any volume of each ingredient you please. This allows you to adjust carbohydrates, fats and proteins to fuel a balanced lunch or one with higher carbs for a recovery meal.

Combine the rice, veggies and chopped chicken pieces in a bowl. Season to taste with olive oil (or butter or any other oil you normally use) and tamari soy sauce. The final ingredient…Mongolian Fire Oil.This yummy oil packs a punch of spice in small amounts so begin sparingly.

Of course you can use any protein or tofu rather than chicken. This easy, flexible recipe helps you eat healthy to fuel your training.

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Comments can be added on Facebook.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

Off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific cycling and more triathlon plans found here.