This past fall, I was doing some of the best running of my life. I even managed to get a new PR in the half marathon. I had everything lined out for a marathon PR attempt this spring. Then, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I turned to hang up a pair of pants in my closet and tore my left meniscus. Yep. That's all I did. I had surgery on December 31. The good news is that the surgery appears to have been effective and I am recovering nicely. The bad news is that I am obviously not going to PR at the marathon this spring.Still, as injuries go, this isn't the worst thing that could happen. It's not an ACL. It's not something that's going to knock me out for a year. Assuming the recovery follows a normal path, I'll be back to regular training within three months. So, new goals.
I have wanted for a while to focus on the 5K. I love 5Ks. They get no respect but a hard 5K is so much more satisfying than a jogged marathon or, in the words of the world famous Squirrel, an ultrajog. Given those things, here are my adjusted goals for this year:
January - March: Recover from surgery.
April - June: Rebuild my endurance.
July - August: Rebuild my speed.
September - October: VO2max and lactate threshold.
November - 5K specific focus
December - PR effort.
Will everything work out like that? Of course not. Life never works out the way you think it will. But, this recovery gives me the excuse I need to say, "to hell with the marathon" for a while. Time to run how I really want to run.
See ya out there dammit.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Good luck with recovery!
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
Fundraising Page
I hope recovery goes smoothly. Congratulations on your half PR too. I haven't seen you post here in a while. What brought you back?
Good luck with recovery. I started putting running back into my walking workouts at the 6-week mark after trimming out tears in both the medial and lateral meniscus, and mine had come with a side of acute-on-chronic partial ACL tear (which we didn't try to repair - just PT for the supporting muscles and a hinged brace for martial arts, along with a warning against running downhill).
20,000 miles behind me, the world still to see.
delicate flower
Good luck, LtH. You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll bounce back. Being in great shape heading into surgery will work in your favor. Just follow the protocol and do what you're told. I knocked almost 10 minutes off my HM PR seven months after ACL reconstruction (1:45 to 1:36).
<3
Are we there, yet?
Even at your advance age (), you'll probably recover a lot faster than you think. I suspect the urge to get back out and train hard will be your biggest issue.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Here's to a speedy recovery!
The lesson learned is never wear pants, especially on Thanksgiving weekend.
PRs:
5k - 20:51 - 9/5/15
10k - 47:00 - 5/25/15
15k - 1:10:19 - 11/21/15
13.1 - 1:42:25- 4/25/15
26.2 - TBD (someday)
Hip Redux
Didn't you also tear something sitting in a kid's chair? Your home is out to get you.
Good luck with rehab. My SIL had a meniscus tear too and runs with no issues.
kween
I've had meniscus surgery on both knees and I am still running, though much slower than ever (though I am older than you are).
My advice from my first surgery (right knee, 2006) to the 2nd (left knee, 2010) is ice it like it's your job. I iced my right knee according to the doc's and PT instructions. They said not to ice it too much because it retards healing. But it ended up retaining fluid that had to be drained (horrible).
With my left knee, I ignored the advice and iced it almost constantly for three days. It healed just fine and I had no fluid retention. Recovery was so much faster. I stopped seeing the PT after 3 weeks.
I hope it's not too late for you to ice it till it feels like the inside of an igloo.
Nolite te bastardes carborundum.
race obsessed
Uggg - heal up.
Didn't you also tear something sitting in a kid's chair? Your home is out to get you. Good luck with rehab. My SIL had a meniscus tear too and runs with no issues.
BAHAHAHA! Yes I did. I hurt my back fairly severely heading into my marathon PR. Knocked me out for a week and it has never been quite the same since.