Walk Far,Walk Smooth,Walk Fast

Week Six. Six Miles and climbing.

Modern technology is pretty amazing. The first surgery left two inch-long scars on my right knee and I was off my feet for months. This time around, a poke and a few surgical staples, later, I walked out of the Fremont Surgical Center on the same day.

First of all, for Karen's benefit: before and after pictures :)

The first picture showed the near complete lack of anterior cruciate ligament compared to the post-op cadaver graft in picture two). Dr. Rose estimated that the level of scarring puts the original injury at least 2 - 3 years ago (it was actually 5, but who's counting?). While I was able to work around the ACL tear, the lack of stability wreaked havoc on the meniscus (some before/after pics in the third shot).

For those of you in your mid 20's who had a knee problem and continue to abuse yourself without getting it looked at, take some time to understand how much damage you may be causing every time you tweak it again.  The padding doesn't grow back. A few months off your active lifestyle now means  you won't need as much rehab when you're old and rickety like me.

The good side about going into surgery when I did was that I was really about as strong as I could be. Most people come in fresh off an injury and the swelling prevents them from working as hard at rehab. These days, the ACL reconstruction is so non-invasive, you're walking day two if not the night of surgery. Having a job that involves moving information was a great advantage. Working from home made it easy to be on a knee-bending machine to get my range of motion up to 110 degrees within a week. It also made for a great set of progress photos.

Having been through three sessions of rehab and having a really high tolerance for pain, I knew what to expect. I pushed the physical therapist to define my limits, rather than to follow the schedule. After the second week, I was off static exercises and doing lateral step drills. Week 3 wall slides were supposed to be at 70 degrees for 30 seconds and I was down to 90 degrees for a minute and getting bored. After week 5, Dr. Rose said I could walk, but not run yet.

Yeah, like I ever wanted to run anyway. He also doesn't know how fast I walk.

A week ago, I put on my new Saucony Stabil's and hit the Alameda Creek trail for the first time. It was a perfect sunny day. The first mile was rough while my ankles got used to turning over faster than a limp. Mile 2 made me realize I hadn't put a heel lift into my right shoe - have to fix that or my IT band is going to be killing me next week. I had to remember to lean forward a little, but not enough to put too much weight on my new knee. Roll from heel to toe, push off, keep the hips moving. I made a so many mental notes that by the time I'd finished four miles, I was more mentally exhausted than anything.

Four miles. Just over an hour. A full two minutes per mile off my usual marathon pace.

But I'm back.

Friday's training was 6 miles. Warming up helped me push to about a 14 minute mile. Next up is some light hill training.

The Rock n Roll Seattle half marathon is in seven weeks and if all goes well, I should be doing that at a leisurely pace and be ready to cheer Susan in for her 8th full marathon. I signed up for summer season with TNT last week to do my 10th full marathon at Nike.

Life moves on.

One step at at a time.