Looking Forward

To say this was a tough year would be an understatement. It was not the year I envisioned at the end of 2016 and it wasn't the year I wanted. Obviously I took a step back from blogging (both writing and reading), and there were a few reasons for that. The first major reason was that I struggled with enjoying lighthearted hobbies when they began to feel frivolous in the face of...everything that happened in the US this year.

I have little hope for 2018 politics-and-justice-wise, but I do have some hope for the year running-wise.

Top 9 pictures from Instagram this year. Fewer running pictures than in the past. I had my lowest-mileage year in ages.

After the fasciotomy on my right leg I was able to get back to running using intervals (3:1) but always had to stop at about 2 miles because my left leg was still exhibiting symptoms. But the right leg's success made me excited to have the left leg done. My insurance made us wait to move forward with that surgery, so I was basically fully recovered on the right side by the time I had the left done.

Here we go again.

I had my left leg's fasciotomy on November 30 and have been recovering very well. At first I had more pain and discomfort than in my right leg, but I am only four weeks post-op and already my incisions look even cleaner than the first set.

Two days post-op, I had a ton of bruising. This is normal, but I didn't have it with my right leg. I found out after my post-op that I had bled more in this surgery and that explains the higher pain levels and bruising.

About 9 days post-op, when they removed the steristrips. Incisions looked good!

I am experiencing some calf stiffness in both legs, in the left due to surgery and in the right due to inactivity (I think); it will be another couple weeks before I can truly begin running again, but I did jog for three minutes on Christmas morning and it felt good to get moving.

Merry Christmas to me - a 3 minute slow jog on my parents' treadmill.

PT is going well. I have a couple more weeks of it to go. My therapist is confident I'll be able to do a 5k in late-February, which is my "comeback" goal - to run/walk the Fort Lauderdale A1A 5k (maybe with Kristina?!). I've done the half and full at the race over the last few years, it's always my birthday weekend, and it would be literally a year since my last race and REAL run/training, so the significance is huge. I'm feeling hopeful.

My left-anterior incision is still a little lumpy (that's where I had bleeding) but the posterior is already almost less noticeable than the scar on my right leg.

I am looking at 2017 as the final chapter in the first half of my running "career". I began running with no clue about what I was doing. I had no idea what intervals were or even what appropriate shoes were. I didn't even know races existed.

I plan to use 2018 as a chance to start totally fresh. I will pick up running from the beginning, but with the benefit of the knowledge I've gained over the last 9 years. I know there will be days when I really struggle, and there will be days I lament my lost fitness, but I hope this experience will serve as a reminder to never take it for granted. I hope that I'll be able to put this all behind me and focus on my running goals with renewed vigor and dedication.

I hope this blog will become something I'm excited to pick up again. I started it in 2012 with the intention of keeping myself accountable, and I don't think that's necessary anymore, but as an outlet and a place to track my journey, progress, setbacks, and victories...well, I hope it will become that again. I have no way of knowing where my mind will go as my recovery continues.

It's hard to start completely over, and I refuse to fall into the comparison trap while I build myself back up to where I once was, and maybe even beyond, so I know I'm not ready to step back into the runner-blogger community...but I feel like I'm standing at the threshold of a doorway that is slowly opening, and sooner than later, I am going to step through.

I am desperately excited and anxious to do so.

So, here is to the new year, my new legs, and a Part II of my running journey.

ABK

Recovery Rundown

There have been a few factors in my stepping away from this blog, but I felt I had to write this post. For posterity, or something. It's been a month and ten days since my surgery. In that time, I've gone to and graduated from physical therapy and started running again. I'll see my surgeon October 16 and will book my left leg's surgery on that day.

In physical therapy, I did a variety of exercises which helped strengthen my calf while improving mobility post-surgery. I did leg lifts, heel and toe raises, squats, leg presses, and lots of fun balancing exercises. (I think the therapists liked challenging me because I always rose to the occasion and they aren't used to having a willing guinea pig.) Each session always ended with a massage and 10 minutes in an ice boot while receiving TENs stimulation.

They put me on the bike early on and started working short treadmill runs into my routine about four weeks post-op. Everyone at PT seemed impressed by two things:

1. How quickly I was recovering. I've always been a textbook healer and when something is serious I take my orders seriously. Meaning, I actually obeyed orders, didn't run or overdo my stretches, moisturized, elevated, iced, and compressed. I wasn't surprised when I bounced back fairly quickly.

2. The precision of my incisions. Dr. Guerra is an artist! My scars are very thin and flat. They're still red/purple, but I know that will fade in time.

After a night of dancing at a friend's wedding, my right leg was super swollen, so I am still wearing compression socks daily.

My last physical therapy appointment (for this leg) was October 9; my PT told me that because I've begun running on my own again, from a PT standpoint there's not much more they can do for me. But I'll see them again once the left leg is done.

You can see where my right leg lost quite a bit of muscle.

I've done a couple short runs on my own using 3:1 intervals and my right leg is feeling amazing. Yes, it feels a bit weak, but it is pain-free. My left leg is another story; it is still tightening up badly. This is kind of a good thing because it makes the path very clear for me: the fasciotomy worked on my right leg and I need to repeat the process on my left.

A real run! 

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the little runs I can, get back to the gym, and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.

ABK

First Irma Update & Good News

While we are not home yet to see the extent of the flooding, I do have some good news to share. First of all, thank you to everyone who has reached out to offer help in the coming weeks if we find extensive damage in the house, and thank you to those who offered good thoughts Sunday as we waited to see how the storm would turn out.

For us, Irma has passed. It is still going to bring dangerous weather to other cities, but I hope it peters out quickly and more damage is avoided.

A friend was able to get close enough to our intersection to get a photo of our house. It looks like the water is sitting just below our garage in front; we aren't sure how high the water got before receding to this level, but I am hopeful that if we had flooding, it only came in from the back into the sunken living room, which we emptied and prepped. Knowing how our backyard floods, that is still a possibility.

Our neighborhood has no power and the estimation is about two weeks before it comes back on. With temperatures in the 90s, we are not anxious to get back to an AC-less house, but we are anxious to see if there is interior damage. Our roof looks intact from the front view, at least.

We got lucky; the areas south of us took the hardest winds and the storm surge, and by the time the hurricane hit us it was a Category 3 instead of the anticipated 4. By the time it got to my parents' house, it was a 2. (They never even lost power!) My brother's apartment made it through; my sister is on her way home to see how hers did. My friends and colleagues are safe and most sustained minimal damage to their houses and yards, but the downed trees, debris, and downed power lines are a concern.

A colleague sent me this still shot of her house. All the houses are on personal islands due to flooding; she's not sure about internal damage  yet. 

I am honestly weak with relief. It could have been so much worse for us and millions of others. The path Irma ended up taking was very lucky because she lost power as she stayed inland.

I've seen quite a few heartwarming stories that remind me that we are all in this together, and we will be able to rebuild.

Video of several Key Deer who survived. @CBSMiami #BigPineKey pic.twitter.com/styxZ22nTP

— ｄａｖｉｄ ｓｕｔｔａ (@SuttaCBSMiami) September 11, 2017

Click here for the whole story.

 I think Kristina's home got through the worst of it intact as well!

Thanks again for your support!

ABK