Screeching Halt!!!

I knew when I went in for surgery on February 12th that my journey was going to be sidelined for a while. What I didn't know until I went back for a "post op" meeting on the 22nd was that it was going to come to a screeching halt. The surgery was pretty uneventful I thought and when I got home with the post op instructions there was nothing to indicate that it was anything other than routine and the doctor didn't tell my sister, Donna, anything to indicate otherwise.

The first night was rough because I had decided that I wasn't going to take any pain pills. Big Mistake! I was in pain and awake all night long and din't want to take anything on an empty stomach. When I shared this with a friend who had ankle surgery not long ago told me the best advice he was given was to, "stay ahead of the pain". I wish I had received the same advice because once I did get started on medication the pain was much more manageable and became less every day.

My release instructions said, "use crutches with partial weight bearing as tolerated for 2-7 days". After about a week I started using just one crutch and then just a cane. I even did some walking around the house with neither. When I got to my "post op" meeting the first thing out of the doctors mouth was, "where are your crutches". I went through what I have just written with him and he was emphatic because of the additional surgery that they did when they were in there, "micro fracture surgery" he wanted me on crutches at least until he saw me in six weeks. WHAT? Where were the instructions for post op that included this additional surgery. I did some research online and my big hope now is that I didn't mess anything up by being off crutches too soon. They took an X-ray that day but nobody told me anything about it. They just said to make an appointment for 6 weeks out so that will be April 4th.

Thus the title of this post, "Screeching Halt". Additionally one doctor told Donna and another told me that I probably shouldn't run in the future. I guess that decision will be made, "in the future". Today I take the next step and meet with the Physical Therapy people to set up appointments for 3 x a week for the next month. Once that is decided I will start going to Planet Fitness in Turlock and doing what I can to try to maintain or regain some type of fitness.

Here is a graph from my phone that shows my 'activity' up to and after surgery.

Oh yeah and the Broncos won the Super Bowl!!!

And I guess we need to find humor and moral support where we can? 

Journey Interrupted

While I shouldn't be anymore, I'm always amazed when I read something that just seems to speak to me when I need to hear it most. I've had everything put on hold initially because I was waiting to get an appointment to get my knee surgery and then once the surgery was scheduled I made a decision, a poor one I think now, to not plan any traveling until after the surgery and finding out what the doctor's instructions were going to be. As a result, I've been climbing the walls and feeling out of sorts. People might find it odd that I plan travel and races so far ahead but it helps give me something to look ahead to and that's a big reason why I do it. All of that has always been on hold.

I do have one race scheduled in mid May because I signed up for it a long time ago. Obviously I'm hoping to be running enough by then again to do it. It is the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. Anyway, back to what I said about reading something. I picked up a book that I had bought quite a while ago and decided to read it. It was, Hiking Through - One man's journey to peace and freedom on the Appalachian Trail by Paul Stutzman. It was written by a man who decided to hike the AT after his wife passed away from cancer. It was close to the end of the book when I read this: "Satisfaction in reaching goals does not lie in the speed with which we achieve them; sometimes the satisfaction rises from overcoming obstacles and gaining wisdom in our journeys. How often do we dream of a goal, finally reach it, and then wonder, is that all there is? Don't forget to live on your journey".

And how did that apply to me? I still have the goal of running 200 races between my 60th and 70th birthdays. Presently I have finished 174 so obviously I have only 26 left and prior to getting injured that seemed simple. It may still be but now I have to step back and realize that there is no guarantee that it will happen. The important thing going forward is to appreciate each race that I do get to run and take each one as it comes. While it is still fine to have long range goals, it is equally important to not focus just on the finish. I have said since I started this quest that I had three goals; get to the starting line, get to the finish line; enjoy it as much as possible during the race. I think I need a fourth and fifth, enjoy the buildup experience as well and appreciate each race for a while before looking ahead to the next one.

Anyway, the surgery is scheduled for February 12th and the post op session is the 22nd so hopefully after that I'll be able to get an idea of what the future may hold. The main thing I have to remember is that there is plenty to look forward to but not to look so far ahead that I don't enjoy what's happening when it's happening.

The biggest thing that I've been doing here this year so far is being a dog sitter for Shorty. She had to have her second major surgery and obviously had to be kept separate from the other five dogs. She was ordered to two weeks of bed rest. Donna set up a small kennel in the living room and she had to be taken in and out for the bathroom. It wasn't a problem and that was one reason that it was good I wasn't traveling. We got the staples out yesterday so she seems to be back to normal.

The biggest negative for not being able to travel is that I haven't taken a trip to Florida yet to see my newest grandson Donovan. The plan as of now is that it will be the first trip I take. Then I can hopefully see my sister Carol when I'm down there as well.

And I've used the time to get a lot of work done on my Sierra Coaching Blog. I've finished  the first 11 years.

So for now I've got to be patient!