The Last Race of 2010

Last Thursday, my friends Conrad, Sarah, and I, and their very cool son Anthony, piled in the van and headed into downtown Pittsburgh for the annual Turkey Trot run, held in a bone-chilling rain. At 5.5 months post-op, this was going to be my first true test of the success of my ACL surgery. With tongue-in-cheek and some stubbornness, I also decided THIS was to be the last race of 2010, not the Capon Valley 50K I did back in May!

Evidently, things are on schedule with my recovery. I felt physically strong. There was no tentativeness loading the knee and cutting on it. Mentally, I was thrilled to be throwing the throttle open. I kept visualizing how strong the knee was as I ran along and was silently thrilled to feel the burn in my lungs again. When I came around to the finish line, I was sincerely emotional and humbled. All the hours of therapy, all my insecurities and doubts, were washed away in a simple race that I ran solely for me.

My official finish time was 36:17. My Garmin had the course at 5.21 miles and claimed I was moving along at an average (moving) pace of 7:03 (6:58) (in fact, to my complete surprise, this was good enough for first place in my age group).

I understand that, at 46, my fastest runs are probably behind me. I understand that there is a bell-curve of talent in running and that my times would be laughed at by those who reside out in the left-tail of said curve. I understand that I completed the Pittsburgh Turkey Trot fun run, not the Olympics. I understand that a knee reconstruction would be close to last in a list of problems people are facing on a daily basis all over the world. But my gosh did that feel good!

Formal physical therapy sessions ended about 2 weeks ago. For the next 3.5 months, Rob has me doing a 30 minute "trail runner's routine" twice a week that consists of plyiometrics and agility drills.

I have been swimming three times a week, one of which is a formal lesson with Beth. As of now, I am working on everything from speed to endurance to flip turns. The progress is coming but it is slow going. I'll just keep patiently practicing technique and form and do as much learning as I can.

Beth has completely reconfigured my weight lifting; that is to say, now I'll be doing things the right way. I have been doing two whole body routines a week incorporating a myriad of routines. Again, technique and form are important here. Already, the joints in my upper body feel better.

Finally, I have managed to get to a point where I am running 18 miles a week. But the wind direction is starting to change. Next week, I'll reconfigure my running schedule towards the classic 3-run mid-week pyramid with a Friday rest and a weekend "long run". Rather than the short workouts on Tuesday and Thursday being junk miles, I plan on incorporating tempo runs, and fartlick speed work (hill repeats have to wait).

Now that the "return to racing" box is checked, I can start daydreaming about the next rung on the ladder. I don't know where this is all heading because I don't know what my knee is capable of withstanding. Given no big setbacks, I believe a fun-filled racing schedule is on the horizon for next year. All I can do is try to be the best runner I can be, and take it one hour at a time ...

There is much to be thankful for in my life as we end the Thanksgiving holiday; my sister and her family, great friends, improving health, a job I love, and on and on.