A ruptured disc is an Annular event

Workouts this week (hybrid fitness machines): 3 sessions, 8 miles total

Well I'm back to weekday workouts and I feel better than I have in months. I suspect one reason for that is because I've added three more workouts to my weekly schedule. I've been testing fitness equipment and those sessions are providing me a lot of of additional energy. Committing to this testing forced a level of discipline that I really need right now.

Another reason I'm feeling good relates to the recovery progress I'm having with my disc problem. I finally had a conversation with my orthopedist who read my MRI and confirmed both a ruptured disc and torn annular ligament. The rupture may not completely heal, but the inflammation seems to have abated. The soreness is almost gone and I have no ill effects when or after using these alternative running machines.

I've done workouts (treadmill, elliptical, test units) almost every day for the past two weeks. Last weekend I had success running on pavement and on the track. Not quite where I want to be, but it was a big gain over the previous weekend. I'm planning to do a neighborhood run tomorrow morning and hoping to see even more improvement. I won't say much about the testing I'm doing except to note that the experience of running is very hard to duplicate on a machine.