Recovering From Microfracture Surgery

AM - A large group for the Sasha UHM. We had Michelle, Jamie, Tom and Daniel at the start. Daniel only ran for 1.5 miles and then turned back. The rest continued on for the whole adventure. It is nice to have a group like this to run with. The left knee felt a little better today after a day off yesterday which is a good sign. However, it is still bugging me and still hurts a good bit going up stairs and walking. So I will not do any faster stuff or tempo work until it feels better. I am glad that I can at least run on it with only minor issues that don't seem to be getting worse for now.

PM - Ok, I decieded to not run tonight as my left knee was hurting all day again today as I walked around and was especially noticable going up stairs again. I can run with minimial pain and was torn between going with James and Jared and not running. However, I guess I need to play it smart and see if not running tonight helps. I will stay home and start the ice and ibuprofin routine tonight and see how things feel tomorrow. As usual it is really hard for me not to go run when I know that I could if I really wanted to. I usually just run through most issues that come up but this one is making me a little more nervous than most so I better play it a little on the safe side for now.

AM - No run for me. I decieded that I would not run this morning as the knee was not showing any improvement and had bugged me all day yesterday. It still hurt a little throughout the day but not as much as yesterday.

PM - Went for 4 miles with James and noticed that the knee hurt the the most during the first mile and then lessened a little after that to the point that I only felt it every once in a while during the last 2 miles. However, when we finished and it was time to stop it was hard to slow down and stop as the pain really kicked in. So it seems that once I am up to speed the knee seems ok except a few twinges every once in awhile but the knee does not want to stop and walking still hurts a lot more than running does. So I guess I just need to run everywhere! :-) I am just kidding but it seems that way. I will continue ice and ibuprofin and see how things progress. I will attempt to just cut way back on the volumne and intensity and see if that works as I really do not want to have to stop running all together. If it does not start getting better or I notice it gets worse then I guess I will have no choice. I hope it does not come to that!

To those that have had these symptoms I appreciate the advice. Also, has anyone used a knee strap for similiar conditions with any success? I am thinking about trying a Cho Pat type knee strap or brace but I am not sure it would do any good as I have never really known anyone who has used one.

AM - Met Sasha at 5:00am and it was cold out today. It was 25'F when we started and 23'F when we finished. Today went ok I guess. Some good and some bad. The first 1/2 mile was the bad. The knee really hurt even a little more than usual the first mile and I was actually considering calling it quits. I even stopped and stretched a couple times. I think it had something to do with how cold it is. However, the good was that after the first mile things gradually got better and better. In fact from 2 miles on it did not bug me too much. I could tell that the knee was not normal but it did not really hurt. We did keep it at an easy pace with an average of around 7:40 and I don't think we ever went under 7:00. I still notice the knee more when walking and it still bugged me when I walked up the stairs at my house. So I think I will try the easy running at reduced volumes for a little while and see how things progress. Hopefully this works and I can return to normal training in the near future. I may also try a knee strap during the day while walking and see if this helps. So mixed feelings about the knee today but at least I was able to run.

On another note I have been working on putting together a Utah Race / Running Calendar. I am trying to compile the most complete, comprehensive calendar for the state of Utah. I have found it that it seems that there is not one truly complete race calendar for the state but multiple calendars out there and multiple sites with a variety of races. If one wants to find races currently it seems you have to do a lot of searching. So for the last week when I have found some spare time I have been gathering data and putting together what I hope to be The Utah Running Race Calendar. I hope to finish it up for the most part over the Thanksgiving Weekend and give it to Sasha to put on the website. So far I have found 320 running races in the State of Utah. This was much more than I first anticipated as I did more searching I kept finding more and more sites with races. I am sure when I am done I will have missed some local races as well. So when Sasha puts it up we will have to ask everyone to look it over and add to it any other races that may have been overlooked. Do you think this is something that if published in a paper version with detailed race information such as a Utah State Race Directory and offered in local running stores people would be willing to buy? If so I guess it could be another way to generate a small income for the FRB. It would take a lot more work to get it to that point but I may continue to work in that direction if it seems worth while. Just some thoughts for those that actually read my blog! 

AM - Ran with James for 4 mile Thanksgiving race in Orem. 1 mile warm-up then paced James for a 26 min 4 miler. He struggled a bit but it was still a good tempo for him. Then helped Jared and Jordan in kids races. Jared ran his 1/2 mile in 3:40 and Jordan (3 year old) ran his 1/4 mile in 2:40 and was the fastest 3 year old. Then I helped rabbit the kids mile. James ended up pulling things together after the 4 miler and ran well winning with a 5:45 mile. Ran another cool-down mile with James and Sasha. The knee was still hurting until I got going during the 4 miler. Other than the knee I actually felt great. Even the 5:45 mile felt like I was jogging. Now if I can just get this knee healed up!

AM- 10 easy miles with Sasha and James and found Adam on the trail. Left knee actually felt ok today until about mile 8 or so when I stopped to go and it acted up on the transition from run to walk. Just keep it easy and reduced miles a little longer and hopefully things will heal up. Adam and I were talking and it may actually be ITB problems vs. chrondomalcia. Either way it is not gettting worse and today actually seemed a little better for the most part.

No second run just rest the knee. 

AM- Today was the Game Ball Run day where the ROTC programs from the U and BYU run the game ball from The U stadium to Cougar stadium. U of U hands the ball off to us at the point of the mountain and we run it in from their for 25 miles.  The cadets take trns running and jumping in and out of the van. I drove the first 5 miles and then jumped out to run with the cadets from the 5 mile mark. The plan was to run as long as the knee did not hurt. I made it the rest of the way to the stadium without much problems. The knee still hurt a little but not bad. So I got in 19.8 miles at an average pace of 7:40 with two faster miles playing catch up after a bathroom stop. I had to do a 6:15 and a 5:45 mile to catch up. Then I spent the rest of the day at the game. A long day but a lot of fun as well.