While the knee isn’t 100%, I have to say it does feel a lot better and gets stronger every day. I finished my rehab and have been getting out in the morning and walking. I also hop on the bike from time to time, but there aren’t any really good paths around and too many young, distracted drivers out so mainly I stick to walking.
I had one run slated prior to my surgery that I had already paid for which was the Nashvillle Fourth of July 5K/10K. I was signed up for the 10K and wasn’t sure if I was going to just do the 5K and be done or do the full 10K. When I checked in I asked what the course time limit was for the 10K and they told me 90 minutes. OK I thought, that’s a 15 minute a mile pace, I should be able to walk that.
The weather was nice and cool this 4th of July and my knee was feeling good. The race started and it really sucked “walking” while I was seeing everyone else running. I logged the first mile just around 15 minutes so I figured I might be able to pull off a 90 minute 10K.
Prior to the surgery I was hoping to be around 55 minutes for this race, now I was praying to finish within the course time limit. I hit the 5K mark at 47 minutes and figured what the heck, I kept going and tried to pick up my pace. For the majority of the race I was in last place, but at the 5 mile mark I caught up with the group ahead of me and for a bit wasn’t actually in last place. Then in the final stretch those “walkers” jogged it in and passed me up…all but one. That made me the 2nd to last finisher!
Finishing a 10K in 1 hour and 34 minutes wasn’t what I had in mind but it did feel good knowing I didn’t quit at 5K and actually finished the entire course! Now looking ahead to next year’s Country Music Marathon, the course limit for the 1/2 marathon is 4 hours…hmmmmmm. I have a lot of walking to do until then and I’ll have to see how things go this fall with the walking. I plan on getting back to the group at Main Street Strength and Conditioning this upcoming week so hopefully that will strengthen up the knee even more.
While I could probably start running again, I really am not looking for my next knee surgery which is a full replacement. The knee feels good now and there’s no reason to “rush” any unnecessary wear. There are few other races this month that I’m going to consider going out for as there still is nothing like lining up with a bunch of other runners and hitting the pavement. I doubt I’ll ever get a mud run in, but that 4 hour 1/2 marathon sounds tempting!
Oh, I’ve still been able to maintain the weight loss and have actually met my final weight goal of 220! I’m at 215 and down to a size 38 pants. That’s a weight loss of 135 pounds, 5 pants sizes, 4 shirt sizes, 1 shoe size and two ring sizes! At my lowest in high school, the smallest waist I ever had was 40! I just spent a week up in Ohio for work and it was interesting seeing how many “hellos” it took some of my co-workers to realize who I was. I also got to get out to Cedar Point for the first time in about 10 years and I was able to ride some rides that I had never been able to because I was too big. Let me say, Top Thrill Dragster is a rush!
So tonight was my first day back at the gym since my knee surgery. It was good to see Ronnie and crew at Main Street Strength and Conditioning again. If you’re looking for a great place to have some group or one-on-one training, come on down for one of the classes. You can try it out for a week for free and they currently have a Groupon going on for 10 classes at $39. Can’t beat that with a kettle bell!