62 Days

Today marks 62 days post knee surgery and the first day I have been cleared to go for a jog. Now, in the past six weeks, I have been doing PT for upwards of two hours per day, an hour of which has been on aerobic machines, the other hour dedicated to strength and range of motion work. I have become a master at the elliptical and treadmill walking. Look out!

So today was my big day. I was actually really anxious to see how my jog would unfold and really bummed that I was only cleared to go for ten minutes. Where would I go in that ten minutes? It was going to take me longer to get undressed from work clothes and into running garb than my actual time on the road. I planned my route and away I went in the snow. Before I knew it I was back at work, had barely broke a sweat, and was thinking about my next big ten minute jog on Thursday (can't go tomorrow, I have to recover from today!).

I am happy to say that the only discomfort I felt was in the front of my knee at one of the scope sites. No worries, all my scope holes are still sore. In the morning I will report back to my PT and spend another hour on the non-impact machines getting ready for my next big ten minute jog!

Season Ender

Well, It's been quite a while since I have posted. Not that I'm a consistent blogger or anything. It's just been a tough season with some health issues and finding something really motivating to write about has been a challenge. But here is an update for the few that do read my blog.
As November approaches, I have been battling a mystery knee problem for almost a year. I was able to race this season with some OK results but was unable to run any ultras or do any long training runs in the back country with my buddies. That is more of a bummer than not racing.
So I decided a few weeks ago after my second MRI in ten months, which only showed knee history and a "gray, unconvincing spot" and total frustration with my situation to get my knee scoped. My Doc was focusing on the entire knee but had a gut feeling that I probably had a meniscus root tear, posterior. The plan was set in motion. Worst case with a root tear repair would be six weeks non weight bearing and possibly running again in 3 months.
I arrived at surgery yesterday morning and was on the table at 7:30 sharp. The next thing I know is that I'm waking up in recovery. The first thing I asked was what time it was? 11:30 am. Right then I knew I had a tear and that they fixed it. A few minutes past, my wife showed up and then the Doc. He started explaining what he had found. It then turned to shit!
In 2002 I suffered a full ACL tear in the same knee. That ACL had a "10% tear" spot on it. He fixed it. That's good. He found signs of arthritis. This is to be expected, I suffered juvenile rheumatoid arthritis as a young child in both knees, I was just hoping it wouldn't start to show up until later in life. He then got to the real shitty news. He confirmed that yes the meniscus root had torn and that he repaired it with three sutures (for added strength). He and the other Ortho assisting him felt they had nailed it. They then did a range of motion test, a simple flex of the knee to an angle common of spinning on a bike, and all three sutures ripped through the meniscus. This then resulted in meniscus removal. I'm still pretty groggy as he is explaining this to me but awake enough to know that I'm fucked. He backed all this information up with photos of the procedure. Not that I didn't believe him, but it was good to see the pictures.
My Doc explain to me that this tear was most likely a result of my ACL tear from 2002 and that for the last seven years I was hammering it with the running and that it wasn't until a year ago that it finally got so fucked up I finally started feeling the pain. He did give great credit to my ACL Ortho but told me that seven years ago, they weren't looking for tears like this with an ACL tear. But that now, it's standard practice with an ACL tear to look for meniscus root tears. That's the short story.
So, of course the question was will I run again. He said yes, to my surprise. Will I run another ultra? Most likely not. Will I run another road marathon? Absolutely not, no road running at all. He told me I will be able to run, but that I need to take a more focused approach to my training and save the efforts for racing. He also very clearly warned of downhill running that that is where I will experience the most discomfort and do the most bone damage. What do you think of when you hear that? True mountain running! Euro style - Climb, Climb, Climb! We also chatted about the arthritis developing in my knee and that hard pounding efforts is just going to speed up that process. We even discussed using cadaver meniscus to do a full replacement. In all honesty, as much as I love to run, that is not a route I'm crazy about taking. I may have a different feeling about that idea if I was a collegiate star looking at a pro career.
So, my season comes to an end. I now need to recover from the knee intrusion and get on some rehab and back to the strength training. Time to start researching mountain bikes - maybe do some endurance mountain bike racing? Nordic season is right around the corner and that's always fun. And as soon as the La Sportiva Mountain Cup races get posted for 2010, it'll be time to make a plan. I'm also undertaking race directing for 2010. Check out www.sunvalleyrunning.com for some new Sun Valley area races. Starting to ramble - enjoy the fall, be sure to get out and do something!

My Wasatch Experience

Not a race experience but a crewing experience. I was originally on the entrants list but had to pull due to a knee problem which prohibited any type of ultra training. I then felt good enough to offer my services as a pacer to friend and training partner Hank Dart. This would also cut AJW's pacing leg in half. I was jazzed. Training was going well and I was confident I would be able to take Hank from Lambs to Brighton for the hand-off to AJW. Well, on our last outing together, the Saturday before the big day, my knee went south and never recovered. Feeling horrible to have to pull from my pacing commitment a few days before the race, I felt at least I could come down and crew for He and AJW. A new plan was hatched.
I went to SLC with Hank on Thursday, did all the pre-race "stuff" and finalized my plan on how to best help Hank through the aid stations in a timely manner.

Aid one - Big Mountain - funny, I was anxious. Did I have everything he might need? Should I have more. Can I take pictures and still assist (no!). What kind of condition is he going to be in? Lots of questions. Hanging and waiting at Big Mountain was fun, even using the Little Dell Interim lot was fun. Everybody doing the same thing - last checks of drop bag stuff.
Hank came into Big Mountain and was looking great considering a rough start. We got him topped off with refills and he was off in a matter of a couple of minutes. All the hype and it took all of a few minutes to get him going. Next stop Lambs.

Lambs was interesting. A huge viewing point for many yet the area was being guarded by want-to-be Police Officer EMT's. While I understand the job they had to do at times they took it a little far. One EMT actually threatened to pull second place Mandy due to the fact that there were poeple cheering for her that were not in the designated area. Give me a break! Lambs was a long waiting game and the point where AJW was going to pick up Hank. Andy and I had our plan on how to limit the time in Lambs to the minimum and it worked just fine. Hank came in, no time wasted, and he and Andy were gone.

I then traveled back to SLC to grab some food. I was actually looking for coffee, but pizza sounded good too. After dealing with the unorganized pizza folks and worrying I was going to miss Hank and Andy at Mill Creek, I finally made it to the top of Millcreek with about five minutes to spare before they would arrive. Again - it was quick - they came in, no sitting, grab some warmer layers, top everything off and they were gone. Next stop would be Brighton.

Down Millcreek and over to Brighton. By now I'm tired and I haven't run a step. I arrived at Brighton and got set up. Actually moved the car about four times so I could be close to the hill leading to the check in point. Out plan (Hank didn't know this at the time) was to crew Hank outside of the lodge so he wouldn't get sucked into the "comfort" of Brighton then bring him in to check in and grab some food - then get out quick. A few hours passed and around 11:15ish they arrived, a few minutes later they would be gone and I would be heading back down Big Cottonwood Canyon toward SLC. My plan - go back to the hotel and get about two hours of sleep before heading back through Parleys Canyon to the Homestead Resort - the finish!
My alarm sounded at 3:15am - that sucked! Jumped in the car and made my way to the finish. I actually got there pretty quick and was able to sneak another hour nap before Hank and AJW would come in.

Hank crossed the line in 25:34ish! Very cool to witness, a job well done!
It was a completely different perspective not being the racer. I now have a new understanding of what the crews go through. Would I crew again - you bet. Do I want to race more than crew - absolutely!