The road to recovery is not always easy. I had been running half-marathons for about a year and a half and was really enjoying it. Signing up for races gave purpose to my training and helped me push to new mental and physical limits.
That was, until I started to feel a reoccurring and strange popping sensation in my knee. All caused by a silly little cyst that was sitting on a tendon on the outside of my right knee. When all other treatments failed to remove the pesky invader, surgery was the only option.
September 2019, I made the decision to have it removed, in hopes of eliminating my knee-pain. Now, I work with athletes. I have seen FAR worse injuries, surgeries and recoveries. This surgery felt so insignificant to those (this was my first mistake... lesson learned: ask your doctor ALL the questions BEFORE surgery). I thought there would be a small incision in my knee, that the pain would be present but minimal, that I would be back at work in a few days. Coming out of surgery seeing a large incision on my knee, learning I would have to use crutches to get around for a period of time, and I would not be able to go back to work for at least a week was disorienting. There it was. The first setback on the road back to running.
As the weeks passed after surgery, I began physical therapy and would ask at every treatment when I could try to run again. The answer was always that we needed to move slowly and strengthen the deconditioned muscles so my return to running would be safe and successful (Isn't this what I tell my own patient's on a daily basis? Why could I not apply it to myself?) So I worked hard at Physical Therapy and felt stronger each week.
Then, I was cleared. "You can start running today. Short easy distances. No speed pushes. Just get the feel of the motion."
I was terrified. What if my knee didn't support me? What if I fell and re-injured it worse than before? As I started to slowly ease into running I would overanalyze everything. Why is that popping? Why does that muscle feel sore? Can I still do all the same post run stretches? To this day, resting my right knee on the ground in any stretch makes me uneasy- like there is a sense of distrust.
With the help of a great running buddy (Shout out to Sean Jordan) and support from family, friends and physicians I was able to slowly get back into the groove of running. Don't get me wrong, there were many days I felt so deconditioned I wondered if I would ever be able to run the same speed and distance again.
Slowly but surely with cross-training on the Peloton bike, outdoor HIIT training, and long runs in beautiful places I was able to work my way back up to say- I am going to run the Orange County Half Marathon 2021.
Race Day:
The road to recovery is not always easy, but man, when you cross that finish line again, there is no better feeling! Mile 1-6 felt great. I was running strong, had a great playlist, and a running partner to laugh with. Mile 8-9 I hit my wall. My legs felt like Jell-O and I was battling my own mindset of wanting to walk. The largest hill came at mile 11, and I did cave to the "just walk" mindset but as soon as we got to the top, we ran it out to the finish. 13.1 mile completed! It had been a long time since I was able to stand at that finish line, holding my medal, proud of something I worked so hard to accomplish. There were so many days where I had "given up" the idea of running a half anytime soon and now I cannot wait for my next!
So many lessons learned in training for this half, and to run again in general:
1. It is okay to listen to your body. Walk it out when you need to. You may end up finishing stronger because of it!
2. Stretch! This is something I am still working to make the time for in my routine but its crazy how much better your body feels with a pre-run and post-run stretch.
3. Cross-training makes training that much more fun. When I initially was returning to running, I did a lot of work on the Peloton to strengthen my legs so I would feel stronger when I went out for runs.
4. A good playlist can take you anywhere you need to go!
Not sure what your road to recovery or even new road might look like? Let's chat!
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