Racing and Cars

You might remember that I hurt my knee last spring, tearing my meniscus. Popping out my knee and injuring myself is something I’ve done since I was 12, so that was hardly new. But this time, I didn’t bounce back like I had in the past. Tearing the meniscus left me off of my feet and unable to walk even a mile… for months. I was in such pain. I saw an orthopedic doctor, thinking that surgery was in my future; but he told me that there was nothing he could do.

His final verdict was: “Maybe you can take up swimming? I’m sorry to say, but your running days are over. There’s just nothing that we can do. You won’t run again. It’s time to find something else that you love to do. Your knee is just what it is.”

I was devastated. And honestly really confused… It’s a humbling thing to be told – in your 30’s – that you won’t ever run again. You all know that I joke about not growing up, but I left his office feeling 10 years older. Not only had my favorite form of exercise (and an important mental-health activity of mine) been taken away, but I also couldn’t help but look ahead to the future… Would I not be able to hike with my kids? Would I not be able to play tag or sports with them? It was a huge blow!

BUT… I started to hear stories from others who had been told the same and who worked extremely hard to turn a diagnosis like this around. I was also encouraged by physical therapy who did not agree with his findings! They told me that I was young, and they felt that – with the right conditioning – I could run again. They did not believe the pain was arthritis (as the doctor had claimed), and they did believe that strength training and proper rest would strengthen and heal my muscles to the point where I could run once more.

It has been quite the year. For months after my injury, I could hardly walk 2 miles. But little by little, with lots of stretching and physical therapy, I gained strength. Since January, I’ve pretty consistently run 2 miles, 4 times a week. And today? Today I ran my first 5k in years!

*I’m smiling even as I type that*

I woke up early this morning a bundle of nervous energy. I had a long drive to get to the race, so I wanted to be fueled without overly full. I poured my usual bowl of cereal, but I added sliced banana and a small handful of cashews to it. It was delicious and really did give me energy that lasted! I can’t do much coffee before a run, but I did sip on a small iced coffee with breakfast.

The quiet drive was SO beautiful! The sun was just coming up, the clouds were alive with color, my worship music was playing, and I was alone with my thoughts. It really felt healing! Then I picked up my friend Arielle at a supermarket not far from the race, and we drove the rest of the way together.

We picked up our racing bibs and got into line, and – as we were waiting at the Start – Arielle asked, “Did I mention that the first mile and a half of this course is all uphill?”

“Hmmm, no, you hadn’t,” I replied.

“Oops”, she said with a grin.

Ha, ha, ha!!!

She was NOT lying!!! The first mile and a half was brutal. The hills were endless and some were quite steep. She and I kept a steady pace though; and because some people had started too fast, they had to start walking and she and I were able to pass them. (At one point, we even passed a bunch of kids from the highschool football team who looked quite sheepish to be passed by two moms. HA!!!).

Slow and steady wins the race, my friends!

There were definitely times when I felt like quitting, although not because of my knee. My knee actually felt stronger and more secure than it had in years. But my lungs screamed, as did my legs. This was my first time really pushing myself in a long time, and I felt it. (I haven’t trained doing 3 miles, AND I definitely had not trained for hills like these). There were definitely points where I wanted to quit and start walking, but I refused. She and I kept each other accountable and moving at a really brisk pace, even through those hills.

And then, when I thought I couldn’t run another step, we saw the Finish line up ahead. And she and I just booked it and started to run as fast as we could. As I stepped through, this wave of emotion just raced through me, as I realized I had just done it. I had run a 5k!!!

She and I placed 420th out of 1,575 runners, which was just fantastic!! Although we didn’t even come close to placing, we outran over 1,100 runners; which was just a huge accomplishment for us. Also I hit a new PR, beating my last 5k time by two minutes! So these scores were just incredible, and we couldn’t have been more excited. I love that we pushed each other and challenged our paces. I definitely would not have run so well had I attempted this alone!

You guys, I did it!! 🙂 Just over a year ago, my doctor had said, “You’ll never run again.” Talk about words that fueled me and motivated me to truly fight! 🙂

And to celebrate my great run, my husband bought me a new car!

Okay, fine, he was planning on buying me a new vehicle already… But doesn’t that sound good?

If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you might remember that my first car was bright yellow. And it was my baby! 😉 BUT when a real baby came along, the two-door car wasn’t practical; so we traded it in and bought the Jeep. Our Jeep served us really well over the years, and we absolutel loved it! But it’s starting to run rough and need repairs, and it’s just not worth throwing a lot of money at.

I’d say that my one “complaint” about the Jeep wasn’t even it’s fault. 😉 It just always felt masculine to me and never really felt like mine, even though it technically was supposed to be. This time, Nate really worked with me and let me help pick out something that was practical for the family, in our budget, but also bright and upbeat like I love.

After lots of research, we decided on the Nissan Murano, and I am obsessed!!! It’s so sporty, a candy apple red, and I just love it! Ooh, and it has a sun roof, which was a major surprise when we went to sign the papers yesterday. Nate hadn’t told me about that ahead of time so that I’d have a bonus surprise! 🙂 The Murano is just so fun, and I’m really excited about this new vehicle. I might love it almost as much as I loved my yellow car. Ha, ha!

What a PERFECT day!!! 🙂