Hernia situation is improving

So it's now Wednesday and the sportive is Sunday. The last log, Monday, said the abdomen was sore and therefore worrying.
Last week was good on the turbo, 1 hour each, twice a day. The weekend, the first day on the road - 3 hours . Monday was ride to work for first time. That was ok on the bike but felt touch and go off it. Today, Wednesday pm and the gut is good, or least much better. It's as if the strain in the abdomen was similar to over use. Hopefully I can handle 4 to 5 hours next Sunday.
It was a fast time to work as well. 30 mins. So I'm happy. Maybe a turbo tonight as well.

Hernia and cycling

The pain was sharp and crippling. It dug straight in the guts and doubled me over. Fortunately not many were in the office at the time but one joker still had me laughing at the pain and causing more. The indignity of it all. The next day the doctor was quite pleased when he was sure he found it. A job well done for him though he was a bit apologetic when he explained that the NHS wouldn't look at it for 6 months. Hernias ain't urgent apparently. Felt like it at the time.
It seems that evolution has made this a problem. Something like 300,000 ops per year for hernias in the UK which is a lot. My first thought was how can I do my training now. Will I have to bail out of the Tour of Wessex?
I was gutted. A few hours had me positive though. If I couldn't do the ToW maybe I can keep fit-ish on the turbo.
I read all sorts on the web about this iguinal hernia and found a few options to get it fixed and a few techniques. The NHS was out, no insurance, so I would have to stump up the Benjamin's myself. The options ranged from £1600 to £2500 and I almost booked one - get it over and done with, pay the cash, a few weeks of the bike then back to full swing in time for the ToW. Then saw another technique. A Canadian one. It seemed better but I was clearly at the mercy of advertising.
Probably the best plan would be to see if the pain could subside. Maybe the doctor had got it wrong. If I could get through the spring and summer then maybe a quick op in the winter.
Originally my training plan was to be have done a couple of consecutive 90 mile training rides in time for a Hell of Ashdown sportive. This sportive was simply an early season training session, at speed, for Wessex. I had 4 weeks left till Ashdown and now I was immobile.

Since then I have taken about 8 days completely off the bike, laying down on my back at night and waiting as the pain did subside a lot. At that point the area was tender, a bit worrying, but no sharp pains. I think I was concerned that it might come back at any moment. But I tried sitting on the turbo. I did 20 minutes of low power and felt pretty much the same when I got off as when I got on. So that was good. For a couple of days I did the same. The pain was not getting worse. Then after nearly 2 weeks I decided to do a proper training session. No too hard, tempo and steady state. No problem. Maybe a bit less pain. The next day I did the same. Good. Then a climbing repeat session. After a few days I was doing 2 hard session per day, with no pain, and I did that for three days on the trot. Excellent. The pain had gone. It was now friday and just over a week till the SportiveStrength and fitness was coming back and the pain was gone.
Saturday. I did a hard 60 miles. The calves struggled, and unfortunately, so did the tummy, but not till later. The tenderness has returned and standing up pulls a bit - so I sit down.

I'm going to keep riding this week, maybe 1 hour per day, most days and see if the pain goes a bit. I can ride through this pain as it isn't that bad. I just don't know if I'm doing more harm. Ok I know I am but ...
Today hasn't been great. It's Monday and I ride next Sunday in the freezing cold wind. It should be dry though. If theres a lot of ice i might bail out as my tummy wont like a crash or two.
So much to look forward to. Why bother? I'm not a pro and I'm not that good.