Return to Running

Cyclocross and another try at running

2011-11-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

As I wrote in my last post, I decided my knee needed a break from running, so I haven't run at all since 9/8/11.

I have tried cyclocross racing, and have had fun doing it, although it's been pretty humbling, since I have been at the tail end of the race in all 4 races I have done. Bike racing is pretty different than running, in that everyone out there is pretty serious. In truth, my fitness is not very high, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised to be bringing up the rear. In today's race at Shedd Park in Lowell, I was DFL, although I guess I can say I beat the 7 DNFs.

But I do miss running. The knee feels OK now, so I think I'm going to again give it a go and see what happens. Indeed, I entered a Thanksgiving Day race today, the Fisher Cats 5K in Manchester, NH. It will no doubt be a bit of a struggle on zero miles of training, but maybe the cycling will help. I'll post a post-mortum after the race.

MRI result

2011-09-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

I finally got a call about my MRI result yesterday (it was 16 days after it was done). The news wasn't that good, if about what I expected.

It showed that the grafts on my patella and trochlea are intact, but there was a significant amount of edema under the patellar graft. One would hope not to see that 4 years out from the surgery, since it suggests that the quality of the cartilage in the graft isn't that good.

I didn't speak to the surgeon himself, but rather his assistant. She told me they didn't think I should be doing high impact activities, like running.

The plan is to repeat the MRI in 6 months, and if it looks similar, to consider taking a look arthroscopically to see if the graft is soft. But I'm not really sure what could be done about that - I didn't think to ask.

So, the return to running is on hold. Maybe permanently. However, I think I will continue to update the blog with my progress on other activities. I will concentrate on cycling, and I am now planning to make a serious attempt to improve my cross country skate skiing over this coming winter.

MRI postponed

2011-09-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to have my knee MRI last week, but I was postponed, a bit to my surprise.

The week before, we were on vacation in the Canadian Rockies, which was wonderful. We did a Backroads family multi-sport trip, with cycling, hiking and a little rafting. My knee actually felt OK, but I would add the qualifier that it wasn't all that rigorous, being a family trip.

Anyway, on the way home, I tweaked my back lifting luggage. As a consequence, I was taking some ibuprofen. The MRI needs to be done with intravenous contrast to get a good look at the cartilage. Very rarely, intravenous contrast can cause serious kidney problems, although this happens almost exclusively in people who already have serious kidney disease. Medications like ibuprofen can in theory cause kidney dysfunction, although probably not in reasonably healthy people (I think I am in that category). At the MRI, I had to fill out a fairly long questionnaire, which includes questions about recent ibuprofen use. Since I had taken some that morning, they cancelled me. Kind of ridiculous in my opinion. Fortunately, it's not exactly urgent that I get the scan, and the facility was right on my way to work, so it wasn't as annoying as it could have been.

The knee feels quite a bit better than it did when I first made the doctor's appointment that led to the MRI, but I will still go ahead with the scan this coming week, since I would like to know what's going on in there. If it looks good, then I think I will feel I can try to up my mileage & see how it goes. I only ran 23 miles (but cycled 272).

Update - MRI scheduled

2011-08-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

I'm overdue for an update.

I saw my orthopedist in mid July, since I was worried about the knee pain I have been having.

He told me he thought it could be the patch over the cartilage graft having come loose & causing trouble. Or deterioration of the graft (which would obviously be a bad thing). So, I'm scheduled for an MRI the week after next; it was delayed because of my vacation plans.

While vacationing in northern Michigan, I was pretty active, and the knee didn't feel too bad, so maybe things aren't too bad after all. But I am interested to know what the MRI will show.

It's kind of a rainy Sunday morning, not very good for riding the bike, so will probably head out for a short run in a bit.

Schofield school 5K

2011-06-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Contrary to my post earlier today, I didn't jog the race with my son, as he ran with my wife. I ran it myself, although I hesitate to say I raced it.

Warming up, my knee was sore, and I entertained the idea of not running, but figured it would feel better once I was running, and it did.

I finished in 24:22, not my slowest ever 5K, but pretty slow. Looking back, I ran the same course in 19:39 in 2002. I did my typical a-bit-too-fast 1st mile, then ran an 8:03 2nd mile over the hilly mile of the course. From my Garmin .

It was a nice day to run, and the knee didn't really bother me. I had an average heart rate of 166, so I wasn't taking it easy; just not in very good shape...

knee pain

2011-06-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

I am having some issues with pain/stiffness in the knee. This past weekend (Memorial Day), I went up to Acadia National Park with my family. Our activities included some hiking, which did not agree with my knee. I even had a little swelling. The trails we hiked were steep & rocky, at least in spots. It was also damp & foggy, making the footing slick. The hikes weren't all that long, though; only 4 or 5 miles.

I was definitely aware of the knee on 3 short runs I have done this week.

I am signed up to run a 5K later today, but I think I am going to run it with my 11 year-old son, who hasn't ever run a 5K, so I expect not to run very fast (I imagine we will be doing some walking). That's just as well, since I am pretty sure I couldn't have run very fast given my limited training.

stress fracture update

2011-04-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

I had a quick visit with the orthopedist today. He did locate a very tender spot on my shin which is where I think one of my osteotomy screws was. He thought it would be very unusual to develop a stress fracture in that part of the tibia, even with a hole there, as the bone is very strong in that location. But he told me he couldn't really think of another reason for the pain there. He advised me to stop running until the tenderness is gone.

He thought an x-ray would be reasonable if the pain persists, but we didn't get one today.

So, it looks like I will be sticking to the bike for a little while.

Stress fracture?

2011-04-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

Last week, I started to really notice pain in my left leg. It wasn't the knee, but just below it in the top part of my tibia. In fact, it felt like it was right about where the screws were from my tibial tubercle osteotomy (which were removed at the end of May, 2010). By the end of the week, I could really feel the pain while walking, and I started to think it could be a stress fracture. In hindsight, it had started just after I ran the Shamrock Shuffle race on 3/27. At this point, I haven't run since 4/2. On that run, the pain actually seemed to get a bit better as I went, which really wouldn't go with a stress fracture. Over the weekend, I rode my bike, which did not cause any pain.

There's a thing called the "hop test", which is supposed to be helpful in deciding if a stress fracture is present, and my hop test is negative. I've arranged for my orthopedic doc to take a look at me tomorrow to see what he thinks, but I'm now not sure sure it really is a stress fracture. However, I think I will likely skip the BAA 5K this weekend, which I had signed up to run.

Anyway, I'll post an update with the orthopedic doc's thoughts after I see him.

March Update - Shamrock Shuffle

2011-03-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

This morning, I drove up to Manchester, NH for the 1st annual Shamrock Shuffle, a 2 mile road race that went up Elm Street along the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade (being held 10 days late this year).

I arrived about 40 minutes before race time, found a place to park not too far from the start, and picked up my number with no problems. I did a short warm up jog, noticing that there was a pretty good headwind that we would have for the first half of the race. It was cool, just above freezing. The course was a mile down Elm, then turn around and come back the same way.

I picked out a reasonable place to start, not in front, but not to far back. The start was uneventful; not too many slow runners in the front. I felt OK, but not great. I had ridden about 33 miles on my road bike with a (fit) friend yesterday, and so the legs were perhaps a bit tired. No pain from the left knee, although it's a little stiff as I am typing this. The mile to the turnaround seemed longer than a mile to me. As I approached the turnaround, the fast runners came by on the other side of the street.

The 2nd mile felt a little better than the first, owing to the tailwind. I had hoped to push the 2nd mile, but found I didn't seem to have the legs or fitness for that, so I just ran at what seemed to be an OK pace. I finished 156th of about 1200 in 14:12 (7:08/7:04). I was 14:14 officially, but 14:12 on my Garmin, which I think was more accurate. After the race, I ran into old friend Dave Quintal (1st master today) and jogged a warm down with him, enjoying a bit of a chat.

Overall, an OK effort. It's the fastest 2 miles I've run since my surgery. I am registered for the BAA 5K in 3 weeks, so expect that will be my next race.

Skiing in Crested Butte

2011-02-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

I have been on a vacation ski trip at Crested Butte this week. I've been very happy with the way my knee has reacted to the trip. I've now skied 4 of the last 5 days, and the knee feels fine - no swelling at all. I have pretty much been doing whatever I want - a fair bit of bumps & steeps, so I haven't gone easy on it.

I had been a little concerned, as my knee had not felt good during a much more modest ski trip last winter. My guess is that my generally improved leg strength is a factor, and maybe one more year of healing, although I am now at 3 years and 10 months post-op, so not sure if there's really more healing going on at this point. Whatever the reason, I'm happy about it.

I haven't done any running while I've been here in Colorado, but I figure the break is OK. The base of the resort is at 9400 feet, so I think I would have found it challenging. Next week, it will be back to some running; maybe the week at altitude will give me a boost.

2011 Weston Winter Triathlon - race report

2011-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

I competed in the Weston Winter triathlon this am. I felt it went better than my winter triathlon debut a few weeks ago at Gunstock, but it was a much easier course.

The weather was quite nice for the event - overcast, mid 20s at the start, with no wind.

The Weston ski track is less than a mile from my house, so no difficulties getting to the start.

I'm not sure how big the field was, but I would guess 70 or so. We lined up just after the planned start time and were off at 8:05. The run was 2 laps around the perimeter of the golf course on a groomed ski trial. I wore my Icebug shoes, which are lightly studded, and those were fine. There was a short section of the course on a snowshoe trail which was a bit narrower and had some areas of softer snow. The hills were very mild (especially compared to those at the Gunstock event). I was mindful of the fact that I was going to be going for an hour and a half or so, so tried to start conservatively. The run course was supposed to be 5K, but was a bit shorter than that (2.7 on my Garmin).

I made a not-so-speedy transition to the bike. Since the bike course was the same as the run course (but 3 laps instead of 2), I knew what to expect. The snow was pretty firm, so traction was good. The only tricky part was the segment on the snowshoe trail. On the first lap, there was some congestion there, and I had to clip out a few times, and had trouble getting going again., On the second lap, in the same spot, I slid a bit & clipped out, and felt a sharp pain/pull in my right calf, which worried me a bit, but seemed OK when I got pedaling again. The bike was supposed to be 7.5K, but it was also a bit shorter at 6.5K by my Garmin.

After another slow transition, my skis were on. This was the part of the race I was most concerned about, as I am not a good skate skier. The course was 2 laps on a zigzagy course. The course was well marked, although I almost went the wrong way out of the transition area (helpful volunteers got my attention with shouts). The ski course was challenging to me, as there were a good number of hills (small ones, but I don't skate well uphill). Toward the end of the 1st lap, there was a hairpin turn I did not quite negotiate, and I fell. The fall caused my right calf to cramp/spasm big time. I lay on my face in the snow for a minute in pretty serious pain, not sure if I'd actually really hurt myself and would have to quit. I took off my skis and stretched for a moment, and it felt better, so I decided I could continue. I think I actually skied the 2nd lap a bit better than the 1st. Ski was supposed to by 6K, and it came in at just over that (6.3K).

Right now, the calf feels OK; hopefully it will fell OK in the am...

Overall, I had fun and will look forward to trying it again next year.

Here's a link to my race data:

weston winter triathlon by djs60 at Garmin Connect - Details

2011 Gunstock Winter Triathlon

2011-01-24T08:24:00.000-08:00

I tried something new yesterday and competed in the Gunstock Winter Triathlon. It was tough - much more so than I expected.

I had signed up for the championship course - 4K run, 7K mtn bike, 6K ski. As the race approached, I had 2nd thoughts about my ski ability, so changed to the "short course", which was 4K run, 3.5 K bike, 3K ski. Good thing, as I was plenty challenged by the "short course".

The day was cold, with the temp around 15F at the start. No wind, though, and I really did not feel cold during the race. I didn't do much of a warm up, but did ride my mountain bike briefly to make sure my seat height was OK. I had never really ridden on snow before, and my very brief warm up ride showed me it was going to be harder than I thought.

There were about 60 competitors who lined up for the start. For the run portion, I wore my Icebugs, which are running shoes with spikes. They did help with traction. The run course was two loops of about 2K. It was quite hilly. There was a guy in front of me who would walk on the really steep parts, but I was moving so slowly I couldn't catch him.

After the run, I changed to mountain bike shoes & shed my sunglasses (I was sweating a lot even with the low temperature). Since the mountain bike leg followed some of the same trails as the run, I knew it would be tough. Also, the first couple of bikers had passed me on my 2nd run loop, and even the front guys were having to get off their bikes on the steep parts. So, my bike loop was really tough. I think I was off the bike as much as I was on it.

When I came into the transition area, I was really glad I didn't have to do a 2nd lap. I changed into my ski boots and started the ski leg. The 1st portion was pretty steeply downhill, which worried me since I am a very bad uphill skate skier. Sure enough, it was again a hilly loop. I was stressed out about getting in the way of stronger skiers on the uphills, especially since some areas of the trail were pretty narrow. There were only a few areas of relatively level trail where I could get a decent rhythm going on the skis. As I neared the finish, there was a slightly tricky downhill, followed by an uphill into the finish. Embarrassingly, I managed to fall right there, 50 yards from the finish, and had some trouble getting back up on my skis.

I finished in 1:33:34, which seems to have been 8th of 14 in the "short course".

This am, I am sore from the unusual muscle activity, although my left knee feels only minimally sore (and no swelling).

All in all, I actually enjoyed myself. I am tentatively planning to try the Weston Winter Triathlon on 2/13, which is a whole lot flater (but there's not "short course" option :-)). Before then, I have the Super Sunday 5K/10K on my schedule.

Needham New Year's 5K

2011-01-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

I ran the Needham New Year's 5K race yesterday. It was similar to my other races since starting back to running: kind of slow and tough. I went out too fast, running the 1st mile in 6:52. My final time was 23:36, which was kind of disappointing.

On review of 2010, I ran a total of 186 miles, so there's a lot of room for improvement there. On the plus side, I had 36 miles for December, which is my highest monthly total since my surgery in 4/07. I also rode 2775 miles in 2010. a bit more than in 2009.

I've had a bit of a nagging problem with my right knee (which is the "good" one). I have pain behind the knee, which I'm assuming is a muscle pull. It doesn't really bother me when I run, but feels tight/stiff afterward.

Longest run since aci knee surgery

2010-12-19T13:14:00.000-08:00

I ran 5.7 miles yesterday, which is my longest run since my surgery in 4/07. Previously, my longest was a 5 mile race in July, which was kind of a disaster, as I felt awful.

Yesterday, I just decided I would go out and run 2.6 miles, then turn around & head home. I wound up going a little further, since I was feeling OK.

A little ironically, my right knee (which is the good knee) was bothering me during the run, and it feels a little sore today. The left knee is minimally sore.

I am picking up my new orthotics in 2 days, so I am interested to see how they work out.

I've decided to run a 5K race in Needham on New Year's Day. Prior to that, I have 3 days of downhill skiing planned at Jay Peak on Dec 27/28/29. That will be a good test for the knee.

Thanksgiving - Boston Volvo 5K

2010-11-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

I toed the line today for the Boston Volvo 5K. It was a bit cold at the start, right about at freezing. The start was a bit odd; I heard no warnings, and suddenly we were running. I wasn't even sure the race had started. I have a little bit of a cold, and I felt a little sluggish on the small hill that starts the race. I had intentionally tried to start slow, but still had a first mile split of 7:27 (this was from my Garmin; the race did not have any splits or mile markers!). Second mile was 7:32, third mile 7:38, so I ran pretty evenly. My finish time was 23:23 on my watch. The official time was 23:59, but I lost some time at the start due to not starting right away. This was slightly better than last year's time of 23:34.

This was my first race since turning 50. I was 13th of 58 in the 50-59 age group.

My knee felt fine - I really wasn't aware of it. What I took away from the race is that I need to train more to increase my fitness. I'm not sure when I'll race again. Perhaps some time in December. I am planning to do the Weston Winter Duathlon in early January, which involves a 4K trail run/6K ski/4K trail run.

a few small injuries

2010-11-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't do much running this week due to an injury I incurred on my cycling vacation last week. On the last day of the trip, I noticed a "cramp" in my right quad about 40 miles in. It didn't go away; in fact, it got a little worse. I was able to finish the ride (110 miles), but when I tried to ride again two days later, it was moderately painful. So, it was a pulled muscle, not a cramp.

I took 5 days off, and when I ran 3 miles yesterday, it did not bother me.

I've also had an odd pain in my right foot for a month or so. It's in the mid-foot area, more toward the top of the foot than the bottom. Oddly, it doesn't really bother me when running or cycling.

I read an interesting article in the New Yorker about Al Salazar, Dathan Ritzenhein, and whether one's natural running form can be changed. Well worth a read.

So, it's on to more running next week. Hope my foot is OK with that.

October update

2010-10-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have not updated the blog in a long time, as I spend August/September/October concentrating more on cycling than running. This was because I decided to go on a cycling vacation to mark my 50th birthday after seeing this article in the Sunday NY Times.

The trip was great: the cycling was spectacular, and my knee seemed fine. As I type, my quads are moderately sore, so I think I will limit my running to a short jog later.

I am planning to run the Boston Volvo 5K race on Thanksgiving, although I may also try to find another 5k to try in the next couple of weeks.

July update

2010-07-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

I ended up missing about 3 weeks of training after my pneumonia experience, and I still felt a bit weak for another week or two.

On 7/3, I ran the North Andover 3rd of July race. It made me feel old in the sense that I ran in the first race back in 1979, so 31 years ago. In those days, it was a 10K, and I ran a respectable 36:28 in 1979. It was a whole different story in my 5K race in 2010, which was arguably my worst race ever: I ran 25:21, and felt dreadful doing so. At about the 1.5 mile mark, I found myself walking, as I felt my legs just didn't want to continue. While it was quite hot, I recognize that the main problem for me is a lack of fitness and not enough training runs.

I am signed up to run the Marathon Sports 5 miler in Weston on 7/22/10. I'm a bit worried about that, as I have not yet run as far as 5 miles since returning to running (I think my longest run is about 4.7 miles). I think my strategy will be to make my goal just to finish, rather than to try to race at all. I'll run it at a very slow pace, and then push the last mile if I actually feel like I can.

My knee has not been feeling that great lately; it's a little stiff & sore. I have not been doing any quad strengthening, so I think I need to get back to that and see if that helps.

Pneumonia!

2010-05-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

On May 4th, I abruptly got sick with a high fever (103.3) and total body aches. I had a little bit of a cough. I thought I had the flu (although I was a little surprised, since I got the vaccines this year and there really isn't much flu around). I proceeded to spend the next 3 days totally incapacitated in bed. When I still had a fever last Saturday (5/8), I thought that this probably wasn't the flu and started to wonder if I had pneumonia, so I went to the emergency department, where a chest xray confirmed that I did indeed have a pretty large left lower lobe pneumonia.

I missed a couple more days of work, but by Wednesday I felt moderately better, so managed to get through the rest of the work week. At present, I'm still feeling more tired than usual, and have a very annoying cough. I haven't done any exercise since the morning I got ill. In fact, I feel a little short of breath if I walk at a fast clip, so I probably still have some recuperating to do. I think I may start with a walk later today.

Looking at the bright side, I had very little appetite for a week, so shed the extra 10 lbs I've been carrying around for some time.

Out of Shape

2010-05-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Just back from a (short) run, and I was really shuffling along. It was perhaps the first semi-warm day of the spring (78 degrees). I had done a 41 mile bike ride yesterday with a friend who is a lot fitter than I am, so it was at a quicker pace than comfortable for me (although he did 90% of the work on front). At the end of the ride, I was pretty beat, and couldn't even stay on his wheel the last few miles.

So, I greet the month of May with a continued lack of fitness.

Knee surgery #4 has been scheduled for Friday, May 28. I don't expect to lose any significant training time, as the doctor told me it would be maybe a week off running, and I'm guessing I might be able to bike in 24 to 48 hours. I'm very interested to see if my shin pain goes away when the screws come out.

A Bit Discouraged...

2010-04-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

I ran the BAA 5K today, and I'd have to say it did not go well. I felt pretty unfit from the gun, and struggled to the finish in 23:53. As I look back on it, I probably should have started a little slower, as I hit the mile in 7:13 and showed down from there. The race started near the Boston Public library, then looped around the Common and back to the start area. I felt so rotten I seriously thought about just stopping there, but decided that would just make me feel worse, so I continued to shuffle along.

My knee didn't hurt (although it feels a little stiff as I type this), but I guess I just am not running enough miles to expect to be able to race.

Having said that, I think I will try again on June 6 at the Schofield School 5K (my son attends Schofield).

Maybe the problem was the barefoot running. The day before the race, I went to a barefoot running demo at City Sports in Boston, which featured Dr. Dan Lieberman of Harvard and Chris McDougal, author of Born to Run. I recommend the book, if you haven't read it; it is a very good read. I found the session very interesting, and we did go for a brief barefoot run.

Looks like nice running weather for the Boston marathoners tomorrow. I am going to the Sox game, but will head over to the race course after to watch for some friends who are running.

mid April update

2010-04-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

I saw my orthopedic surgeon today. I asked him about my screws, which have been bothering me when I run (seem to cause dull pain in my shin). When he pressed on them, they really hurt, so we agreed that they should come out. That will be a minor surgery (to be scheduled), making operation # 4 on the left knee.

I also asked him about upping my mileage, and he thought that was fine.

I had an xray done, which the doctor pronounced as "excellent", although of course the cartilage doesn't show up on an xray. But the patellofemoral joint looks nice & normal.

I am planning to run the BAA 5k this weekend in the Back Bay. Weather forecast is not looking so good right now, but we shall see what is actually happening in 2.5 days...

2010-03-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty good week running this week - I cracked the 10 mile barrier. Perhaps more importantly, my knee doesn't really hurt & isn't swollen. I am having some pain in my shin where my screws are, so I'm planning to ask my surgeon about removing them when I see him next month. I have signed up for the BAA 5K race the day before the marathon, so that's what I'm pointing for right now. I ran tonight in the wind & rain and felt a little sorry for those training for Boston who had to do a long run this weekend in these difficult conditions.

February update

2010-02-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

I ran the Marathon Sports Super Sunday 5K on 2/7/10. It was not a good race for me, as I ran 23:59. This was my slowest 5K ever, discounting the Komen's 5K in Sept, where I did not really put out a full effort. My knee felt OK, so I think the conclusion to be drawn is that I'm just not in very good shape.

I did a 3 miler yesterday and felt like I was shuffling along very slowly.

So, my goal for March is to average 3 runs a week, which will - embarrassingly - be an upgrade in mileage.

End of January Update

2010-01-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I updated.

Over New Year's weekend, I went skiing at Jay Peak in VT. The knee didn't react all that well, as I had swelling & stiffness. The conditions were very nice, as there was new snow. We were in the trees a lot, which is tough on the knees, as it's bumpy and quick turns are sometimes needed. So, it took about a week for my knee to feel OK again.

Then we went skiing over MLK Day weekend at Saddleback in ME. Great place to ski, by the way, although it's about 4.5 hours from the Boston area. Oddly, the knee felt better this time.

I didn't really run much in January - only 5 times. Not sure what to blame that on, although work has been pretty busy.

I am planning to run the Super Sunday 5k/10k in Boston (5K for me) next weekend. Will post an update after the race.

mid-December update

2009-12-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly increasing my running. My tally for last week was 9 miles (in 3 runs), which was actually my most in a week since my surgery. Kind of pathetic, but I'm still moving ahead.

My knee was a little swollen yesterday, which is a bit of a worry. I had gone to the gym the night before, and had upped the weight on my leg press, so I suspect that's the culprit. I had also done a treadmill run, but it was short & not particularly fast, so doubt that did it.

With the snowstorm coming tonight, I will dust off the xc skis and I'm looking forward to getting out tomorrow for a bit of a ski.

long run

2009-12-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

I did my longest run since my surgery today - 4.6 miles. The knee didn't bother me at all, and I didn't feel too bad.

Here it is in Nike +:

http://bit.ly/5RNUA6

So, I will continue to inch up on the miles. Perhaps another race in January or February.

I'm planning a few days of skiing at Jay Peak in northern Vermont at the end of the month, which will be a good test for my knee. Prior to my surgery, skiing really perturbed the knee (lots of swelling) so I hope it will be a different story now.

Thanksgiving Race, 2009

2009-11-26T15:09:00.000-08:00

I ran in the Boston Volvo Village 5K today. I would characterize it as real struggle - I really felt out of shape & like I was struggling the whole time. When a guy near me started walking at about the 1 mile mark, I was very tempted to join him.

I finished in 23:37, my 2nd slowest 5K every (on the plus side, it was 1:23 faster than my race last month, my slowest ever). So, I think I need to get some miles into the legs before trying another race.

It was a pretty good turnout for the race - over 1100.

It was 20 years ago that I ran one of my more memorable races, the Feaster Five of 1989, which took place in a blizzard. I recall driving over the race, slipping & sliding on the unplowed roads. I assumed I'd get there and find the race was canceled, but there were several hundred other crazy souls. I recall that it was difficult to decide whether to run in the deep snow, or in the tracks from the few cars that had been on the roads, although the tracks were quite slippery. As I went around a corner onto the last straightaway, I actually slipped & fell pretty hard, but the snow was deep & soft, so no harm done.

Setback?

2009-11-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

I was concerned to notice my knee was a little swollen last night. It didn't hurt, but this is the first time I've noted swelling in a while.

I've been very active over the last 4 days while on a mini-vacation in Tennesee. I did a 21 mile backpack over 2 days on moderately demanding terrain, and then did a _little_ trail running yesterday while on a hike.

I had planned to do a treadmill run this am at the hotel, but decided to skip it when the swelling developed.

The last time I had selling was after a 300 km bike ride in June. That was similar to this: no real pain, but it makes me worry that all is not well in there.

Anyway, I'm still planning to try a 5 km race on Thanksgiving, so we'll see how the knee reacts to that.

A Good Run Today

2009-11-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty encouraging run today. I did a little 3 mile loop I've been doing recently, and ran it almost 2 minutes faster than I did last week. For whatever reason, I felt decently strong while I was running. I think that's the first time I can say that since starting back this year.

a look back at October

2009-11-01T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the positive is that October was my highest mileage month since my surgery in April, 2007. But it was only 20 miles, so obviously I'm not too far along on the road to being in shape. I am planning to run a Thanksgiving race (perhaps the Boston Volvo 5K, which I have run before), so I'd like to get those miles a bit higher.

I think I'm going to head out on my bike this am for a ride - I ran yesterday, and I'm kind of avoiding running consecutive days for now.

Back on track

2009-10-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

My back seems OK now. Just a bit stiff, but not enough to bother me.

I ran 3.2 miles tonight, which is my longest since starting back to running. Felt OK, but still not fit. While I ran, I wondered how it was that Papelbon couldn't get any of those last five guys out...

Moving forward

2009-10-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

My back is almost better. I still have a little stiffness, but nothing like last week. I went for a jog this am, and my back didn't bother me at all. I'm going to try a "long run" this weekend, a long run for me right now being more than 5K.

Back Pain!

2009-09-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to run since the race on Saturday because of back pain.

I had a bit of a cold, and on Monday am I was coughing and suddenly felt pretty significant low back pain. A pulled muscle.

It remains pretty bothersome 2.5 days later. Quite stiff, especially if I don't take ibuprofen.

I'm guessing I may be out of commission for another week.

Race - Komen 5K

2009-09-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well I'm sitting on the deck in my back yard enjoying the nice sun after the Komen 5K today.

I was pretty happy with how it went. I ran 25:00 (strip time). Since I knew I'm really not in shape, I lined up pretty far back at the start. Probably too far back, since I wound up doing a lot of weaving and slowing to get around slower runners. Because it was a very big field (2,000 +), things never really thinned out, which in some ways helped (I was passing other runners most of the way).

I believe that time is a "personal worst" for me for 5K, but now it's going to be a personal best, as I'm starting up a new set of post-surgery PRs. I did not get any splits on the course; if there were mile markers, I did not see them.

I didn't have any knee pain, although I was a aware of the knee, with a kind of slight stiffness/lack of fluidity. I really can't say if that's just 3 years away from running, or that the knee isn't quite right.

So, my plan at this point is to try to do 2 or 3 runs a week for the next month, and then maybe try another 5K some time in October.

Return to Running

2009-09-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

I am entered in the Komen Race for the Cure 5KM in Boston in 2 days, on September 24th.

This will be my first race since November, 2006, and my first race since my big knee surgery (an autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) of the patella and trochlea in April, 2007).

I fully anticipate I will run a "personal worst" since I really haven't run much at all since I was given the OK by my surgeon to try some running at my 2 year followup visit this past April.

Indeed, my longest run has been 5K last Saturday (so at least I know I can make it 5K).

Having run competitively or semi-competitively from age 15 to age 46, I've really missed it.

But I also have some anxiety about it, since I'm by no means sure I'm really going to be able to successfully return to running.

So, I've decided to share my story in this blog. I'm hoping it may be of interest to others who may be trying to return to athletic activity after a surgery, and injury, or just a long layoff.