November 2015: The Post-op Trail to Recovery

1-7 November (Just 2 weeks after knee surgery):

Monday, 2Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track. Nice easy walk, knee felt good.

Tuesday, 3Nov15: Walked 4 miles on FT Dix trails.

Wednesday, 4Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Thursday, 5Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Friday, 6Nov15: Walked the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. I also tested my knee with some very slow jogging. It felt good; no problems. We also saw a shooting star which was a pretty cool addition to a great night in the bogs!

Saturday, 7Nov15: Rested my knee, only did some long slow stretching.

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8-14 November (Week 3 post-op):

Sunday, 8Nov15: Slowly jogged the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. This was my first real test of my right knee and it felt good.
Monday, 9Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Tuesday, 10Nov15: Walked 3+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Thursday, 12Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Friday, 13Nov15: Walked the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my daughter Asia and our dogs Sparta and Honda.

15-21 November (Week 4 post-op):

Monday, 16Nov15: Slowly jogged the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. Once again, my knee felt good but I am still wearing my knee brace on these evenings just in case but I haven’t really needed it.

Wednesday, 18Nov: Walked 3+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Friday, 20Nov: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. It felt really good to be able to run pain-free even if it was slow.

Saturday, 21Nov15: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta again today. Two days in a row with no pain. I concentrated on running smoothly and landing with my feet under me, not in front of me to limit the force on my knees.

22-29 November (Week 5 post-op):

Monday, 23Nov15: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) again today with Sparta. I felt great but still wore the knee brace to make sure it is tracking correctly as it continues to heal. Ran a little faster today. The best part was being pain-free. With both knees fixed and my Achilles reattached, my immediate goal is to run pain-free. Once all works well, I can start actually training toward my real goal of running the Batona Trail 53 miles end-to-end next winter.

Friday, 27Nov15: Hiked a few miles with my kids Asia and Egypt on Mount Olga (site of the former Hogback Ski Area) and on the slick rocks to see the Petroglyphs in my hometown of Bellows Falls, Vermont. The petroglyphs are disputed as to their age, meaning, and creators.  Some say they depict Native American history, some say it’s the site of “evil spirits”, while others suggest alien visitation. No matter what the real story is I’ve always loved visiting them as a kid and I was glad to share them with my kids today. More photos are posted on my daughter's blog: http://www.asiagoesplaces.com/ 

Saturday, 28Nov15: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) slowly with Sparta. It was a nice afternoon run with temperatures near 60F and a constant cool mist falling on my face.

Sunday, 29Nov15: Spent the day relaxing with my family. I did 1 hour of yoga and I felt so good after! It’s been a while and it was much needed. This was a good month and easing back onto the trails felt so good. My dog Sparta looked pretty happy to hit the trails too.

Fall Mountain 03 Aug 2013

After months of knee pain followed by surgery, I finally used my newest pair of Inov-8 Bare Grip 200s last weekend. Now they look just like my old pair, muddy! I love these shoes. They have superior grip and with no midsole and zero drop these shoes offer amazing feel for the trail. This past weekend I returned to my roots in Vermont. As a teen, a couple times each week I’d run from my house in Bellows Falls, Vermont to the top of Fall Mountain ( Mount Kilburn)located across the Connecticut River  in North Walpole, New Hampshire. I would hang out there for hours eating my peanut butter and onion sandwiches and watching the hawks float effortless below. The mountain’s 1120 feet of elevation is not large but the old carriage road has sections exceeding 30 degree inclines to raise your heart rate along with a seemingly endless supply of loose rocks. Inclines of 70-80 degrees await the adventurous who assault up the face. There are lots of single track trails, logging roads, and power lines traversing the ridge but the most popular spot is the Table Rock overlook. It offers close to 180 degree views of the Connecticut River valley and my home town of Bellows Falls. I’ve been disappointed for so long not being able to run but that all changed on this day. It felt awesome to be jogging and to be back on the mountain. I have renewed optimism.  I can’t wait for my next run!

 

My Single Day Run around New England (aka. 30 miles, 6 states, 1 day) 20Oct93

            When I awoke October 20, 1993 I knew it was going to be a special day. Unlike the normal work Wednesday this day I had a goal. I was going to run at least 5 miles in all 6 New England states in 1 day. Since I had decided the evening before to do this it would prove to be a solo adventure. While I enjoy running alone I wasn’t looking forward to all the driving it would require. Other than the loop I ran from home all others would have to be run as out-and-backs. I would pick a landmark and park my car at least 2.5 miles away.

Leg 1: Keene, New Hampshire. I woke up at 4am, got dressed and re-checked the bag I had packed the night before. At 4:30am I headed out to begin run number one. Other than the skunk I came face-to-face with the run went quick and uneventful. Luckily the skunk didn’t mind sharing the road with me as we greeted each other with a quick raise of the head and continued on our own quests, mine being 6 states and his being the neighbor’s trash barrel. When done I showered, ate some breakfast and headed for Vermont.

Leg 2: Brattleboro, Vermont. This run would be on familiar roads. About 6:45am I parked my car at the entrance to the Brattleboro Country Club Golf Course on Upper Dummerston Road. This was also the site of the Red Clover Rover Running Club’s annual Turkey Trot. The road rolls gently past farms and single family country houses. It’s a peaceful run any time of the day. The only memorable thing besides the rain was seeing fellow Red Clover Rover Hank Lange running the other way. Hank Lange is an Ironman triathlete, triathlon coach and personal health, wellness and fitness coach. Unlike the quick raise of the head exchanged with the skunk earlier, we greeted each other verbally as he flew past me. Knowing Hank back then, he was probably completing 30 miles before his breakfast while my 30 miles was going to take all day. With two states done, I ate a snack and then drove south on Interstate 91 to Massachusetts for round three.

Leg 3: South Hatfield, Massachusetts. At 8:45am I parked on the side of the road and used the huge, newly built C&S Wholesale Grocer’s warehouse as my turnaround point. While the rain I experienced earlier had died down to a light drizzle, the wind was picking up some but not enough to make a difference. The run went smooth and I was very happy to be half done. I changed into dry cloths in my car and continued south on I-91 into Connecticut.

Leg 4: Stafford Springs, Connecticut. I exited I-91 at exit 47 and headed east on Route 190 passing through Hazardville (not associated with the Dukes of Hazard) and Somers before finding my next landmark. I drove east on Route 190 (Buckley Hwy) and parked my car in the edge of someone’s dirt driveway. It was a beautiful run down into town and then back up to my car.  I did experience some minor knee pain but nothing to worry about. I changed into more dry cloths and ate a couple peanut butter and onion sandwiches and headed for Rhode Island. As I drove east I was glad I had brought the sandwiches because the onion smell was covering up the wet dog smell coming from the backseat that I realized was actually my pile of sweaty cloths and shoes.

Leg 5: Smithfield, Rhode Island. I drove east on Rte 190 and 197 to Webster, MA where I stopped for a huge juicy cheese burger and fries. Then I drove south on I-395 past beautiful Lake Chaubunagungmaug, or as I called it Lake What-the-F???. Then I turned east again along Rte 44 into Smithfield, Rhode Island home of the Bryant University Bulldogs. My run seemed to fly by as I realized I only had one more state to finish. I hesitate to say the road was hilly since the maximum elevation in RI is a mighty 811feet so I will call it gently rolling non-level. It was a great run.

Leg 6: Kittery. Maine. Now came the longest drive of the day. My plan to cruise up I-295 and then I-95 into Kittery proved to have one slight drawback, Boston home to my beloved Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots I was making great time until I hit the traffic jam from hell. It took over 4 hours to drive just 120 miles. By the time I reached Kittery my knees had swelled and my legs were tighter than a pair of daisy dukes. I measured 2.6 miles from the Kittery Circle to Fort McClary, which was built in 1808 as a coastal defensive fortification. I struggled the first couple miles as my legs felt like they weighed a ton. It was the hilliest of my runs but when I turned around at the circle all the pain went away. I attacked the final hills back up to the fort. I arrived back to my car just before 6:30 pm and cracked open a warm beer to celebrate. My quest had taken me over 14 hours, thanks to the Boston traffic but it was finally over, 30+ miles, 6 states, 1 day. My run around New England was complete.

The inspiration to do this came from my high school running coach. He ran 10 miles in all six New England states in one day. Luckly his wife helped drive so he could rest between runs.