Walk Far,Walk Smooth,Walk Fast

The Road to Rehab
(because I used to write a lot more and I kinda miss it)

It's humbling - learning how to walk for what, the sixth time in my life? One broken foot, a badly twisted ankle and four knee surgeries later, I find myself on the couch with my old friend, the ice pack. Near as I can figure it, this latest episode of temporary convalescence was caused by a twisted landing after a block in volleyball. Those who know me now wonder how that's possible. I haven't played volleyball in 5 years.

Well, that's when it happened - mid November 2005. I distinctly remember landing awkwardly and thinking "this is likely the last time I'll be playing". I loved the sport for 15 years but looking back I was never good enough to compete for anything more than a t-shirt and a cheap plastic trophy. I remember the days. I had a 32 inch vertical leap. My reflexes were good and it was great to play with my brother and friends from high school. It was lifetimes ago.

It didn't help that I walked my second full marathon in Honolulu just two weeks after that injury. That's another story all together.

Fast forward to November 2009, after nearly 5 years as a marathon walker, I thought about improving my time by adding some interval running. I started training in early November the week after setting my best time for a half marathon at just under 2:51. Training with the East Bay run team for the winter season seemed like the best way to get going. East Bay has the best coaches I've ever met.

Unfortunately, after the second week or track workout, I knew something was wrong. My knees always healed after a few days but not this time. My right knee, reconstructed with a patellar tendon graft 20 years ago, was fine. My left knee, tweaked those 5 years ago, started showing tell tale signs of cartilage damage. This time around, I was with an insurance program that got me into an MRI quickly.  The scans showed a disturbing lack of black bands where my anterior cruciate ligament should have been. It was time to get this fixed.

Ugh.

I got that news in early January. I knew it had to happen, so Susan and I made some resolutions. Other than staying healthy and keeping our marathon schedules going, we vowed to drop 15- 20 pounds each by May. I'd been struggling to get under 180 lbs for as long as I remember. A few sensible diet changes including calorie counting, a regular workout schedule got me down to just over 170 in two months. We had already planned to do the inaugural Rock n Roll Mardi Gras marathon in New Orleans at the end of February. Dr. Rose, my orthopedic surgeon, didn't see why I couldn't finish it as long as I didn't do any jogging. Not a problem. The time limits for RNR events are in the 7 - 8 hour range. Even without jogging, I dropped my best time for a full marathon by over 8 minutes to 5:49. I was arguably in the best shape I'd been in 15 years.

On March 24th, three weeks after RNR Mardi Gras, I was getting my knee shaved and writing "YES" on my thigh so the doctor knew which knee to cut into. I was scheduled to get a cadaver ligament graft and get any loose cartilage shaved or stitched up. My wife and parents were there as I was wheeled in under sedation. Counting down from 100 wasn't even necessary. I was out before I even got a change to get cold in the chilly operating room.

Gotta go scan the pics during the operation. Back in a few days. :)