My Fourth Anniversary

Four years ago today I arrived home from my surgery in San Francisco with my knee looking like this:

It was so painful I could feel my pulse in my knee, and I couldn't even imagine returning to anything.  It was hard enough trying to get to the restroom or take a shower.  Dr. Stone had told me I would be back better than before the surgery, but it felt like that was never going to happen.  It was an extremely challenging recovery, and there were plenty of bad days.  At six months there were more good days than bad, and at one year I had fully returned to sports. 

Four years later I still play hard.  I play ice-hockey two days a week, ride my bike, hike, ski, train, jog a little (no more than 3 miles), swim, and chase my kids.  I'd walk the golf course more if I didn't normally play on the same days as my hockey games, but that will change next season when I move up a level.

I've battled other injuries (my other knee and wrist) that have come from my hard charging, but I have no regrets. As I approach my 40th birthday (next July), I have no plans on slowing down.  I'm very thankful that Dr. Stone put me back together, and Trish helped me get that pesky knee to function with the rest of my self-perceived high performance body.

For those of you who are comtemplating this surgery, do your research, understand the procedure and recovery, and only move forward if you are prepared to work harder than you ever have to get back to "normal."  I'm aware that there is a supposed shelf-life for MT's, but I didn't have this done so I could sit around doing nothing hoping it would last forever.  I know of at least one other person who is still going for it 10 years out!  Find a doc you trust, a PT you trust even more, and have a plan in place for the rest of your life since things won't be normal for awhile.

For those who find this board after your surgery, I hope it helps to know what can be.  Understand it was not all wine and roses, and that the road to recovery is long and not always filled with joy.  Welcome to the small fraternity of MT recipients, and good luck.  I'm more than happy to speak with any of you during your rehab...just send me a message.

So in the end, my Christmas present, my new knee in 2007, has been my best present ever.  Good luck everyone, and Merry Christmas.

FOUR YEARS BABY!

Yeah, so that sucks a bit

I was very excited for this past weekend. Golf on Saturday morning, little league in the afternoon, and Sunday with Mother's Day and a late night hockey game. I played great golf Saturday morning (73-one over par), and squatted (like a catcher) reading a number of "big" putts. Later that day, I warmed up my little league players (actually catching). The bummer is my knees didn't like it. Worse, the non-MT knee is giving me a lot of trouble that past 10 days. It's painful when I get up after sitting, and feels really stiff. It occasionally catches, and I wonder if the tear they trimmed last year started again. I was told no more "catcher's squats" for a year after my MT, and I think that really meant forever. I've been working with my son's pitching a lot the past 2 months, and I'm feeling it. I hung up the gear almost 15 years ago for the last time, and I think I need to leave it on the shelf. More limitations...not what I want right now.

On a positive note, I played hockey last night and had great game. We won, I scored twice, and it was just a blast. I iced when I got home (after midnight), and today I'm feeling pretty good. When I played ball I constantly iced my knees and shoulder after practices and games. I feel like icing kept me healthy. As I've gotten older, I've been lazy about icing, and I think it's causing me some pain. So, I'm digging out the ace-wraps again.

I'm feeling a bit down about my non-MT knee right now...not something I want to deal with.

Hope everyone is healing or healed, and out there doing it!

New Goals

My knees generally don't like to run anymore...it's just a fact that I have come to realize. But my feet are even worse. I couldn't shake the plantar fasciitis, so I stopped running for a few weeks. Sure enough the pain is almost entirely gone.

However, my knees and feet don't mind ice-skating, and after 3 months of practices, I'm playing games with my new team. I still wear my functional knee brace (and will forever), but I seem to have very little pain and no problems ice-skating. So, for now my goal is to make them...every game. I'm skating 2-3 times per week, and playing hockey is a great workout. I love it. I'm still considering an Olympic distance triathlon this year (I know...why), but right now my focus is on hockey, swimming, coaching my kids, and getting back on my road bike now that the weather is good. I don't know that I want, need, or should do any distance running anymore.

I've read a lot of studies that say the MT will last 10 years, and then you either get another one or do a PKR. I'm hoping that study is wrong since I'm having too much fun, but I would do this surgery again for 10 more years of this.

I'm still having a strange "popping out" sensation in my MT knee once and a while. It hadn't happened for months, and then it happened last weekend messing around. It only happens when my muscles are relaxed, and pops back in when I straighten my leg. It's pretty gross, but it doesn't hurt, and it goes back in and I'm pretty much good. Not sure what's causing it or what it even is (seems like my entire lower leg is out of place), but if it happens only 6 times a year I can live with it.

Hang in there...it gets better.

Plans, Adjustments, and Hockey?

The running was going fine up until I started hitting 6-7 miles. I started getting lateral side joint-line pain. Not sure what caused it, but I took a week off from running and it's gone. I've been doing shorter runs, and it doesn't seem to be happening again. I don't think it has anything to do with my MT since that was medial, but I told myself that if I started getting knee pain, an adjustment had to be made to the plan for the Half Ironman. So, after some deliberation, the HIM is off and the Olympic distance is on (1 mile swim, 40 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). The knee was a big issue for me, but my schedule was going to be nuts anyway. Life just got more simple. The swimming is going great, and I think this will be something I do for the rest of my life. I love that it's no impact, and there is an aspect of inner-thought that accompanies an hour of white noise.

Since I have a chance for a little more training time, I've decided to join a beginner adult hockey league. I can't play hoops anymore, but the non-impact of ice skating feels great on my knee. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to continue keeping score in something. This is going to be fun.

6 Mile Run, Check -- PF again, check

My first run in three years was 22 minutes around my neighborhood. One loop...2.2 miles. My legs, not my knees, were sore within a few hours and walking was interesting the rest of the week. I rode the bike the next day, and ran again the day after just to keep it going. Through all my years of sports I've learned you have to get through the soreness by more exercise.

I quickly bailed on the outdoor running, and hit the treadmill to protect my knees. The treadmill, or "dreadmill," can be boring, but it's winter anyway, so the workouts have gone really well. The key is a good Ipod playlist. I used the 10% rule to go from that first 22 minute run to weekly long runs of one hour. I'm running at an easy pace 6.3 mph (9:30 miles), but time is the key right now not speed. The running is coming along nicely, and my change from heel-to-toe running to more of a forefoot running style is going very well. Still a bit nervous at times when I feel any soreness or strange feelings in my knee, but so far so good, and my knee is pain free.

The problem I have is the same one I experienced when training before my last tri (3.5 years ago). I have Plantar Fasciitis again. I actually started noticing it before my running program walking the golf course this summer, but it's worsened or at least become more noticeable since I started running again. The problem with PF is there is no real cure except stopping exercise. So, I'm using all of the stuff I tried before (night splint, stretching, rolling my foot on a golf ball, etc.), and it seems to have quieted down after a week of "treating" it. It's a small hiccup that's not unexpected, and I hope it can continue to be managed without interrupting my routine.

Swimming is coming along great. I'm up to 3,000 yard workouts, and my plan on slow and steady seems to be working very well in the pool. I feel like I could do the 1.2 mile swim right now. I'm not over-confident about the swim as I want to feel great getting out of the water which means you can swim far more than the distance on race day.

There is plenty of time still before the July event, and right now training is limited to creating a solid base for the real training starting in March. Plenty of time to get the workouts, a few days of skiing, and a weekly round of golf in now. It will get nuts come baseball season and managing a new squad.