Tales of a One-Kidney Fencer

Yesterday, I had my second lesson with coach, and then went to practice a little. The lesson demonstrated that I have a lot of work to do to get my cardio back. My HR chart compared with the perceived output really shows that I’m starting from scratch. A few hours later, I went to the club to get a practice in and managed a single bout. I stopped when it hurt. So, I have some work to do on that too.

The good news is that the day after, I am not feeling any worsening of the pain. The pain itself is an odd thing. I was told last night that my recovery is atypical. A club mate with a couple of friends who have gone through the kidney donation process said that at the 7-8 week mark, their pain was gone. However, my transplant time has stated that this is normal and expected. I know recovery is personal, but that is a bit frustrating. However, with no worsening of the pain the day after, I’m much more comfortable slowly ramping up now.

My practice last night was horrible. I was hobbled by the fact that I wasn’t willing to push myself. I will also point out that I fenced with an experience and very good fencer. However, its been close to four months since I practiced, and I felt like I simply forgot how to fence. I have a ton of work to do before I can get back to anything close to where I was. This work is not just cardio, but distance control, strategy, opponent anticipation, the ability to adjust, all of it. Its simply gone right now. My hope is that I get better exponentially as I slowly remember what I forgot.