Did you go back to your surgeon? You may need an MRI to rule out another rupture, or another disc protrusion. Also, sometimes after surgery the nerve roots are irritated, and a short course or two of oral steroids calms things down a bit.
But start with consulting your surgeon.
A related discussion,
my microdiscetomy surgery was started.
Unfortunately I cannot answer question 1
I don't know why you had the surgery but microdiscectomy is indicated for small focal disc protrusions that are thought to be causing neurological disability or severe pain. They mst be small or it will not work. It takes time for the wound to heal, and there may be assocaited muscle injury or strain also.
I would suggest seeing a sports medicine specialist as you are a comeptitive athlete, as well as pain meds a graded physical therapy program will be just as important. Standing 6-8 hours a day will not help too much either, sitting down for some of that may help.
Good luck
I did go back to see the surgeon at about the 10 week mark, and the MRI showed that the area was healing extremely well. I called a couple of days ago, and the doc said that this was just part of the healing process. He said it should be feeling better in a few days. Although the pain has improved since I called on Tuesday, it still lingers, more than it did a week ago.