More Progress?

Truth be told, feeling a bit like a broken record at the moment. Nearly every day I’m asked how things are going. My typical reply is “Yeah, feeling a bit better. Making progress. Almost ready for a proper run.” The reality is, days have turned into weeks, weeks have turned into months, and I’m still not proper running at the moment. But… I am seeing signs of progress.

Last Tuesday I had an appointment with a local orthopedic surgeon. The examination went well, and the x-rays showed nothing untoward, at least from a bone-on-bone standpoint. Next step is an MRI to determine if there’s a meniscus tear, scheduled for later this week and postponed from earlier this week due to a machine malfunction. Just my luck, but waiting another 4 days at this stage isn’t a big deal I guess.

I’ve been diligent with the physical therapy exercises and the RockTape RockFloss seems to be helping with range of motion and flushing any gunk out of the knee joint. For $18, it’s definitely a good investment for future maintenance.

On Friday I flew to Texas for the Rocky Raccoon 100. Sadly, my attempt at a 5th finish and the coveted 500 Mile Buckle and Jacket will have to wait for another year, but I was able to put the trip to good use and crew for wife Ally and good friend Roy who were taking part in the inaugural 100km event. I thought I might be sad to miss out, but in all honesty I had a fantastic time. Crewing was a lot of fun, and to witness the race from the other side was very inspirational. Bonus was meeting a lot of good people and somewhat surprisingly I logged over 26 miles of walking/hiking over the weekend, with zero knee issues I might add.

Here’s how the week panned out:

• Mon – 2.1 mile walk (500 ft gain)/2 mile walk (530 ft gain)
• Tue – 2.45 mile walk|jog (595 ft gain)
• Wed – 2 mile walk (570 ft gain)
• Thu – 2.5 mile walk|jog (600 ft gain)/1 mile tire drag
• Fri – 1 mile walk|jog
• Sat – 24.3 mile walk|hike
• Sun – 2 mile walk|hike
• Total – 8.7 miles running/30.4 miles walking (2,795 ft gain)

What next?

More of the same this week – walk/jogging and physical therapy for sure, and if I feel like I’m ready for a proper run, I’ll likely take the chance. MRI is scheduled for Friday, then I’m sure it will be a few days before I can review the results with the doctor. So if anyone’s interested – yes, I’m feeling a bit better. Making progress and almost ready for a proper run.