In addition to reminding you of trips to
places you’ll probably never get back to, ex’s you’re no longer with and
relatives and pets who have passed, Facebook will also remind you if you have a
blog that you haven’t written in for some time.
The reminder is not much. Facebook
is not pushy but Facebook IS persistent.
Just a little reminder every day that says, You are lazy.
So
I am returning.
Reasons:
1)
I miss it. There are parts of me that
enjoy writing (my fingers do not enjoy it, which makes typing awkward)
2)
I’m attempting to do something difficult in my life and can use the blog to
keep me honest.
3)
It’s my sister’s birthday. She’s the one
who inspired me to start distance running in the first place and continues
to
inspire me to run today.
So I had stopped writing for a few reasons
but did not stop racing. One of the
reasons I stopped writing was because I hadn’t really been training. Training is what happens between races. It’s the hard part that no one wants to
do. It’s fairly difficult to keep
writing I didn’t get to the gym/run today
but will try harder tomorrow. Rather
than train so I had something to write about, it was easier to stop writing
about it. I kept racing because racing is
fun, I just wasn’t putting in the work in between to make sure I had the best
races I could.
My race schedule for 2015 (when I last
wrote) was light mostly due to my toddlers.
Lack of time, lack of money, lack of sleep. I did however complete two marathons, New
Jersey in May and New York in November, both of which were new personal bests
for me. These two races sandwiched the Walkway
Marathon in Poughkeepsie which will go down in the books as a DNF. Race day was extremely humid which didn’t
help but more importantly, I wasn’t locked in mentally. The more you train, the harder it gets to
quit but I wasn’t training. I also had
some stuff going on at work which was distracting me from being in the
moment. Somewhere around mile 11 I
realized that although I could probably make it another 15 miles, I wasn’t sure
that I wanted to wander around Poughkeepsie for another 3+ hours. I walked into an aide station and announced
that I was giving up. I regret it and
will go back for round 2 one day.
The 2016 race schedule has been light as
well. The first race of the year was
cancelled due to weather conditions. My
third race of the year, which will always be known by me as the Coogan’s Run
although NYRR calls it something else, seemed like an easy race to finish and a
quick way to pick up credit for the 9+1 to run the NYC Marathon in 2017. I had been experiencing some issues with
numbness in my left leg from the knee down.
I was diagnosed by Dr. Internet as having piriformis syndrome, a
numbness in my lower leg due to an unexplained compression of nerves in my hip
socket. I rested for a week or so before
the race and stretched to try to free the nerve. Going into the race, I had
also been experiencing what I thought to be a hyperextended knee caused by a
vigorous session on an elliptical machine which will remain nameless. I was beat up but figured I was capable of
completing a 5K. My running style has
been self-described as “Grim Determination” so a short distance like this one,
even injured, was of no concern.
I arrived in Washington Heights ready to
run. When I run, I know two times: my
personal best for that distance and my personal best for that particular
course. My 5K PB was recorded during a
race at MetLife Stadium which makes sense as I was amped because the race is
finished by scoring a touchdown (running into the end zone) and because the
course is very flat through the parking lot outside of the stadium. In comparison, the Coogan’s course is
incredibly hilly and less likely to result in personal bests. Also, I wasn’t in as good shape as when I got
the PB in New Jersey. I started out,
felt good and was enjoying my race. At
some time toward the end of Mile 2, I felt numbness in my left leg. Looking at my watch, I was also on pace to
set a new PB for the course. I continued
to run although I couldn’t really feel my foot.
I felt relatively okay for the next week and then fell asleep on the
train the following Friday. It must have
been the way my knee was bent but when I woke up 25 minutes later, I was in
intense pain and was having a hard time walking. I made appointments with an orthopedist and
an MRI was ordered. They found this:
There
was a sleestak living in my knee.
Okay, I have already used that joke. From the picture you can see the spot the
arrow’s pointing to, there are some whitish spots which indicate a wintry mix
of ice and snow and as always, there is congestion on the Cross Bronx
Expressway. If you study the picture
long enough, you’ll believe that the guy sitting next to Jesus is actually Mary
Magdalene.
Actual diagnosis: partially torn ACL, torn
meniscus, torn cartilage. I also had an
impressively large (doctor’s evaluation, not mine) Baker’s Cyst on the back of
my knee which was largely responsible for the lack of flexibility. I also found out I have discoid meniscus
which is the awesomest name for a band ever.
I was told to see a PT and do rehab for
five weeks and then a decision would be made regarding surgery. I didn’t quite make it to a therapist but
after the initial pain subsided and some mobility returned, I started walking a
lot during my lunch break at work and eventually returning to the gym. I switched orthopedists and after looking at
my MRI, my new orthopedist recommended microfracture surgery. He rattled off a few athletes who had the
surgery including Alan Houston and Mo Vaughn.
If my memory serves me correctly, both had their careers cut short by
knee issues. Also, my knee didn’t hurt
that much. There was still some pain
from time to time but it was more reminiscent of tendinitis than an injury
which required surgery. After looking at
my MRI, I wondered how similar my healthy knee would look. Was this damage new or was it something I’d
been living with for some time that only came to light because I had my first
MRI on my knee?
Long story short, I decided that if I was
going to have the microfracture surgery, it was going to be because I was in
pain or because I couldn’t run anymore.
I finished the Queens 10K with no knee pain during the race or in the
week after. I didn’t set a PB for the
course or the distance but I ran it faster than other 10Ks I have run while healthy. I decided that it is not yet the time for
surgery.
Since then, I’ve been formulating
a plan to get myself in position to run a few more races this year specifically
the Chicago and New York Marathons. If I
had the surgery, I wouldn’t have been able to participate in Chicago and New
York would have most likely have been a DNF as I’d have no time to train and
about 4 months of limited activity prior.
There are 71 days until the
Chicago Marathon. My plan is to drop
weight and do as much as I can to strengthen my legs to take pressure off my
knee while not making the injury much worse.
That’s a good plan for life in general, I think.
Anyway, welcome back.
