5 weeks ago, I ran a 62.8 in my first attempt at a 400m in well over a yr. It seemed that I was on target to compete this indoor season. About that time I stopped cross training on the bike and went to 3 days a week of running, including those wicked hill workouts. That was probably premature.
It is a cycle that goes like: train, feel pain and stiffness next day, 3 days later the pain is gone and can run pain free, repeat. This seems to indicate some healing is still taking place, but never allowed to progress to a permanent level. The 'recovery' is fleeting and really false. Like "your head feels better when you stop beating on it."
I took a week off in mid Dec from running, then went to my parents house and trained once in 5 days. I've definitely lost fitness that I worked hard for, doing those 4 and 5x150s w/ just 30 sec rest. If I pressed on, I could probably tolerate such workouts on turf but at this point, it may harm potential wellness of the joint, expedite arthritis, etc... I had read, it takes really a year to even come close to full weight bearing strength. I've been doing stairs and weight pulls since the summer, only 5 1/2 mo post op. My nature is always to push the envelope.
One of my friends who is not an athlete keeps telling me appropriately that my recovery is 'a marathon, not a sprint.' He's right. If I have any hope of returning to Daegu or WMACi in '27, I need to pull back. I'm about 80% sure I will not compete this indoor season.
Plan is to go back to strength and cross training but need to take a break from anything that challenges the knee for a while and start fresh.
