Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Um...About That Last Post...

Crow Eaters Unite!

I guess I made my bed, now I'm eating crow in it. Or some such mixed metaphor.

Remember that "I'm retiring from running" post I put up back in July? Yeah, let's just forget about that. For now, anyway. Why? Well, I started "running" again about 3 1/2 weeks ago. I was curious to see how my surgically repaired hip was doing. I did a couple of run-walks with my dog. They felt pretty good. I moved up to complete runs (however short) and kept them pretty slow. The left knee started to hurt again, which has been an issue for a few years now. I saw my hip surgeon for a follow-up on the hip, and mentioned my knee to him. A different doctor had done an MRI on my knee a year ago, so he had to go look it up. He said there was no structural damage (cartilage and knee cap look fine), but there's some edema (fluid buildup). He gave me a cortisone shot, and said he could scope the knee before the end of the year if the shot doesn't help. I've since done two runs. Monday of this week, I ran 2.5 miles, and the knee felt a little better. Today, I ran 4 miles at 9:15 pace. I felt a dull ache in the knee as opposed to the sharp pain I usually felt. Although, my hip ached a bit after the run. Maybe I won't start increasing the distance nor the pace for a while.

But, I guess I'm "resurrecting" my running once again. I've lost count how many times this is.

One reason I'm trying to get back to some running is that I really want to do a triathlon next year, even if it's just a sprint. I finally bought a new bike this week — a 2016 CervĂ©lo R3. It's a very nice bike, probably better than I deserve. This was to be my Christmas present last year, but plans changed after I tore my right bicep tendon, which required surgery (and paying a huge deductible).

But, the delayed gratification was worth it. Here's my new baby:

Let's hope this bike is crash-proof. Not sure the rider will be...

I also want to start swimming again soon. Haven't done that for about 5 years!

So, that's the story and I'm sticking to it. Until I do my Brett Favre impression and retire yet again ;-)

Onward, my friends!