11 months Post ACL Reconstruction: Alcatraz and Beyond

Knee is doing great.  I don't worry about stability.  Still gets sore after tough runs.  Speed not quite back yet.  However I am constantly pushing the envelope.  Here is my last couple weekend workouts...

Memorial Day Weekend:
Saturday: Latigo and PCH in Malibu ride 3.5 hrs, followed by 1 hour run.
Sunday: Alcatraz Challenge: 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz to Crissy Field in SF.  ( More like a 1.7 or 1.8 mile swim for me due to the less than optimal route I took.)
Monday: Laguna Hills Half Marathon.

June 5/6 weekend:
Saturday: 5 hour ride PV-Manhattan Beach-Marina Del Rey X 2
Sunday: Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon Relay. 

The highlight of Memorial Day weekend was the Escape from Alcatraz.  I enjoyed the swim so much that my first reaction after getting out of the water was "Let's do it again."  Of course there was an initial shock to the body from the 55 degree cold water.  Then the waves caused a few unintended gulps of saltwater.  There was the occasional slaps from other swimmers.  But all in all a nice swim in cold water.  Kudos to wetsuits, neoprene caps, earplugs, and my Vibram Five Fingers.

The highlight of this past weekend was the Marathon Relay.  Teams consisted of 4 runners.  My team consisted of co-workers.  We had a Speed team and an Easy-go team.  I was on the Speed team.  I was afraid our team might not live up to its name and be a minor embarassment.  Boy, was I wrong.  We finished 3rd in the All-Men's Relay division.  And we were the 7th Overall Relay team out of almost 200 teams.
Even our Easy-go team took 10th in the Corporate division.

Our Ironteam is going on its annual San Diego 100 miler this Saturday.  Unfortunately I'll miss it.  I have another busy weekend planned however.  My sister is getting married Saturday evening.  But Saturday morning I'll be running in the Xterra Marin Headlands 21K.  This is one of the Top 10 trail runs according to Runner's World magazine.  I'll write a race report next week.  Stay tuned.

8 months Post ACL Reconstruction: Desert Triathlon

Well 8 months later, I'm back to Triathlons!!! Yeah!  I competed in the Desert Tri in La Quinta, CA last Sunday.  This was an International Distance Tri consisting of a 0.75 mile swim, 24 mile bike, and 6 mile run.  The swim was awesome.  I felt so comfortable; unlike last year when I thought I might drown and felt like I couldn't breathe in my wetsuit.  This time after a bunch of open water swims under my belt, the long hours in the pool this past year, and a new sleeveless wetsuit, I managed to improve my swim time by about 15 minutes.
My bike time was about the same as last year.  However this year it was raining and windy.  Last year was sunny with clear skies.  Also my legs were more tired going into the bike, mainly because we had a 3.5 hour bike ride under windy conditions the day before. 
Now for the run...  Last year I ran 8 min-miles, this year 10 min-miles.  Yikes!  That meant that I gave up almost all the time that I had gained earlier in the swim.  The net result was that I beat last year's time by less than 2 minutes.  Well a PR is still a PR.

My run was hampered by "dead" legs that just did not want to go any faster.  On fresh legs in the gym ( treadmill)  I can run 8 min-miles, but due to some lingering Right hamstring weakness from my hamstring graft, my Right leg gets fatigued more easily and I cannot sustain a faster pace for a longer period.

As you can tell by reading my earlier posts, I have already completed a half marathon, 2 full marathons, and an Ultra marathon of 50K since my surgery last July.  I can handle these "slow" long runs.  I just need more time to get the speed back for the shorter distance races.

My next objective is the Wildflower Triathlon on May 1st.  That will be a Half Ironman Distance Tri.  I have 2 months of training with the Ironteam to get ready.

25 Weeks Post ACL Reconstruction

An update on a recent Physical Therapy appointment I had:

ROM: Excellent.  Full range of motion.
Pylometrics:  Poor.

Pylometrics: a type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power, esp. bounding, hopping, and jumping.

My hopping and jumping on the operative leg is only 30 to 50% of my good leg.  I really haven't been working on pylometrics.  Instead I've been so eager to get back to marathons and triathlons that I've pretty much ignored it.  I thought that running would be good enough.  WRONG!!!

I will need to incorporate this into my workouts.  Without adequate muscular strength in the hamstrings and buttocks, I will be putting more stress on the knee joint.  Although I have enough strength for "slow" marathon running and biking, I definitely do not have the strength for high impact sports such as basketball, football, soccer, skiing, etc...  I will have to put aside any plans of skiing or pick-up basketball until late 2010 or 2011.

3.5 months Post ACL Reconstruction: Nike Marathon Weekend

It's finally here. Sunday will be the Nike Women's Marathon. When I signed up for the random drawing in March, I convinced my sister and her girlfriends to enter the draw with me and if chosen they would be running their first half or full marathon on Oct 18, 2009. Well, we got chosen. From that group, I know one girl had to withdraw due to medical issues. I was not sure that I would be participating so soon after ACL reconstruction.

But I used this as a target date, a goal to shoot for during my rehab. I trained hard to maintain my cardiovascular fitness by swimming, biking, and later the elliptical machine. When I could, I started walking from a couple miles at first to over 18 miles by mid September. When I got the go ahead to run a couple weeks ago, I started by jogging at 13 to 15 min/ mile pace. This week I ran at 8 to 12 min/ mile pace for over an hour on the treadmill. I have also been on the roads training, my last long run-walk 12 days ago was a 20 miler. I have been working on my hamstring curls to regain strength in my hammies. Although I'm no where near 100%, I am ready to at least walk a half marathon and if my leg holds up run or jog the remaining miles of the full marathon. My goal is to finish before the 6.5 hour marathon cutoff.

I will be flying out to SFO tomorrow and hit the Expo at Union Square. Then its home to the Eastbay and get together with my sister and my parents. Sunday morning I will walk the first 12 miles with my sister. At this point the Half marathoners will head for the finish, while the Full marathoners continue through Golden Gate Park and then out to Lake Merced, before returning for the finish along the Great Highway. If I can get to mile 12 in 3.5 hours, I hope to run the next 14 miles in under 3 hours.

Weeks 10 and 11 Post ACL Reconstruction

Well, lots of progress, with a few setbacks. PT is going well. My therapist helped me get that last few degrees of flexion. So for the first time since my injury in April, I can actually kneel down completely on my knees now. While standing, I can lift my leg back and put the heel to the butt. Extension is pretty close to my "normal", just a slight difference. My quads are strong and muscle tone is coming back. My calf is coming back. However my hamstrings are still pretty meager. I need to work on my lunges with the elastic band and perhaps more work on the elliptical targeting the hammies. My therapist also wants me to start working on agility and she has me jumping side to side, from one leg to the other and back.
In terms of marathon training. I did a 16 miler ( walk, fast-walk). That went fine. Then a few days later, I tweaked my knee going downhill ( walking) during a 7 miler. I have slight anterior knee pain. I've been resting the last couple days. Perhaps I'll spend more time on the elliptical and in the pool this week.