Really long post alert!

So, it's been about a year since I've posted here on DM. I occasionally check in to see how my old running pals are doing, and am glad to see you all, for the most part, are fantastic. An aside - what happened to Jeni H (I think that was her name)? Her posts/writing was excellent, and she seemed to be a very committed runner. I hope she's OK.

My year has been...interesting. I fell off my roof shoveling snow last January - sounds like a joke, right? But the snow was real deep, and there was a possibility of heavy rain coming, so I wanted to get it off to prevent a potential roof collapse. I somehow missed the 4 feet of snow that covered the ground when I fell, hitting the ladder first with my left calf and left butt cheek, then the back of my neck and head on the brick sidewalk. Luckily, I was able to walk, well limp really, away with a bruised butt, stiff and sore neck, and some significant swelling in the left calf. Because I am a friggin' genius, I decided to ignore the injury, and though I was unable to run I still kept taking my mutt out for his daily walks/exercise. I also decided that, because I could not run, it would be in my best interests to start lifting a lot heavier. Brilliant.

I hurt my back doing squats or deadlifts a week or so later, and the calf remained swollen, but I still refused to shut down or see a doctor for over 2 months. At that point I still could not run, but was heading to Mexico the next week and was hoping to get some PT so I could run the beautiful beaches in Playa del Carmen. The doc saw my leg and instantly thought deep vein thrombosis, so I was sent for an ultrasound that, thankfully came up negative. Note to self: if you get significant swelling in your legs see a doctor immediately, that DVT stuff is serious. With what I learned about DVT, my refusal to acknowledge the initial injury was incredibly stupid.

I ran in Mexico despite significant pain, and continued when I got home. I was definitely NOT ready to run yet, but it was late March/early April, the snow was melting, and quite frankly, I was really sick of not being able to get out and run. My runs were weak and painful; trail runs in the woods were not bad, but anything on the street really hurt. It got so bad that every run felt like the first time out after a long time, with that pain in the quads afterwards, this despite my running 5+ days a week. Also, runs on pavement deteriorated to a point that, in early June, I could not make 3 miles because the pain was so bad.

In another example of my brilliance, I decided that seeing the doctor, which was obviously necessary at this point, could wait until my annual physical in July - an outstanding idea. Predictably, I did not make it until July. On the day the Bruins won the Stanley Cup (June 15) I had a new 65 inch TV delivered, and when carrying it up some stairs my right knee gave out - I did not drop the TV! I could feel the quad tendon snap, almost hear it, and felt it pull back up my leg. The MRI showed that I had partially torn the quad tendon, tore the PCL, had a meniscus tear that was probably pre-existing, and, most significantly, had acute Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). I was on crutches, and was told by the ortho doc and my physical therapist (an old friend) that I should start to think about the fact that I may never be able to run again. They actually wanted me to buy these weird poles and try cross country walking! Arggh.

Well, starting summer on crutches sucked, and going to the beach unable to surf, run, or play frisbee was a bitch. I went to physical therapy, and was discussing a surgery date for the OCD with the ortho when the swelling in my leg went down. This was a tough stretch. One night after a few beers, however, I decided that trying to swim a few laps in my backyard pool would be a good idea. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Surprisingly, it felt OK, so I started swimming 1/2 mile to a mile every night. After a few weeks of PT and the swimming, I was able to lose the crutches and my swims were getting stronger, so I decided to try mountain biking, another non-pounding activity. This went well, too, so I started walking longer and more technically advanced trails with the mutt. I felt pretty good, and stopped PT with the therapist's blessing - I have a full weight room etc., at home and knew what I had to do. I also blew off my next ortho appointment, the one where I was going to schedule surgery. Before the end of July I was jogging lightly by myself in the woods with the mutt, and feeling pretty good. It seemed that the time off the leg really helped.

Amazingly, I just kept getting better. I could not surf anything aggressively as my right leg would give out in extreme pain if the knee was extended past the toes with any weight on it (this is still the case, unfortunately), but was able to swim, play fris, run, and mtn bike with no significant pain. Being able to do this less than 2 months after hearing the you may never run again speech twice made me very grateful.

Fast forward to today and I am running about 40 miles a week, mostly in the woods with the big mutt, and have no issues except when I try to extend my right leg too far going up a steep hill. My occasional runs on pavement are actually pretty fast, around a 7 minute mile for 5 miles - but I cannot do it often without pain.Still, without pushing hard that pace is more than fine, even if it is only once a week. I also walk another 15 - 20 with my wife and the dog every week, am lifting on a regular basis (albeit keeping the weights low - body weight max on things like squats and deadlifts), and am mtn biking once or twice a week as weather permits (this will be replaced, hopefully, by skiing when/if we get any snow). I never went back to see the ortho, and have no intention to do so. Why would I at this point? I am planning to head to Kauai in the spring and hope to be able to surf with my old buddies when I get there and hike into Kalalau with my son. Hell of a year.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading.

Espero que tengas un próspero año nuevo.