Belated 'year in review' post, I've just returned from 4 days down at Bunker Bay.
2009 was obviously a breakthrough year for me.
The springboard was good fitness coming into the year. This had been a weakness in previous years, and I used SixInch 08 as a goal to help this.
Jan/Feb - A very solid training block (including 42 consecutive days). Matilda Bay (38:21) 10k PB
March - PB for HM Darlington (1:23:06). Running in my best form ever at this point
April - Canberra in April (DNF) was a disappointment - perhaps a case of getting ahead of myself.
May/June - some good training interrupted by an ankle sprain and a flu
Jul - Perth Marathon (3:04:08) was also a bit of a letdown, despite being a 10 minute PB.
August - City To Surf Marathon (2:57:51) was the clear highlight of the year,
Septmber - a 10k PB at Freo (38:03) capping things off
October - light/rest month
November - Everest Base Camp trek with Clown was a non-running highlight.
December - third consecutive SixInch trail Marathon was a nice way to finish off an all round great year.
2010 has got off to a bad start. On Tuesday morning I felt a few twinges in my left knee. That evening the knee joint developed an effusion (fluid on the joint). Since then I have been unable to run for more than a couple of hundred metres.
It appears I have torn my lateral meniscus (cartilage) in the left knee. Most of the time this does not heal itself and requires surgery - Henry/Homo went though this a couple of years back.
I'm not sure where this leaves me. First up I need to see a specialist, probably get an MRI and discus the options. My initial thought was that Boston was off the cards entirely. More research suggests that I should wait and see. People have got bak running a week after this type of surgery.
Most famously, Joan Benoit won the 1984 Olympic Marathon Trial only 17 days after this type of surgery in 2:31, then 4 months later went on to win the inaugural LA Olympic Womens Marathon.
Update in a week!
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8 comments:
Yes, 2009 was a great year!!
Wow, that's news. Don't discount Boston yet (especiall if you pay for airfares/hotels already), at least you can do it as a 'sight-seeing' run.
Hope it's not that serious and you recover soon.
Congrats on a great 2009.
Echo Slings comments and hope you are up and running very soon.
Terrible news about your knee - do you know what caused it or did it come out of nowhere?
Best of luck getting on top of it quickly - the Joan Benoit story is promising bur obviously it will be better if you can avoid going under the knife.
Hoping for good news in your next post.
Congratulations once again on the breakthrough sub 3 last year, and on your sustained level of commitment, during much of that year. There is much more to come, if you can come through the obstacles.
Sorry to hear about the lateral Meniscus. Ouch! I have carred a small meniscus tear in my right knee since May 2000 without surgery on it, but I did have surgery to fix a Meniscus tear on my left knee in late 2000, so I guess it depends on the location and severity of the tear. Obviously that fluid on the knee is an issue that needs resolving, and icepacking will assist. All the best with that, and hope you can keep the Boston dreams alive for 2010, if not reload for another year. Joan Benoit is a well known name.
All the best! in 2010.
Swimming,surfing,cycling might be a good option too. Bunker Bay must have been cool! Friends of mine went there for part of their honeymoon. I'm thinking I may try and get the ACL tear in my left knee (since October 2000) corrected in early 2011 by the knife if I can hit some big PB's, and get a better day job in 2010. All the best! Sure there is many more inspirational/outstanding moments to come.
Epi -
It may resolve itself. As you know, I was booked in to have my left knee done and then pulled out a week before because I had recovered. Mind you, I've never put your kind of mileage in.
The important thing is to keep moving, however not necessarily with running - too much stress on the knee joint.
Lots of swimming, riding and gymwork is in order. I would suggest seeing a physio for particular exercises to keep the musculature supporting the knee intact.
However, seeing an orthopod and getting an MRI is definitely worthwhile, if only to get a baseline for the future.
Keep us posted.
Thanks guys.
Homo, I went back through your blog to remind myself of your journey with the knees.
Anyway, I've managed to get a quick MRI - tomorrow - and will review the films with the radiologist straight after, so I should know what I'm dealing with then.
Great year with a wonderful run at City to Surf setting a new standard. Fingers crossed for the MRI and hopefully it's a quick fix. All the best.
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