Running after ACL Surgery

Running,

I have a very strong love/hate relationship with running. I love it for various reasons:

• It’s a great cardio workout – I can really get a great sweat and work my legs as well as my stability for rehabbing my knee.
• It is me vs myself – I am competitive and I love breaking my own personal records, or challenging myself to push out more.
• The runners high – nothing like it.
• The perks of toning! – I love having track legs. I want them and need them in my life for vanity reasons.

I dislike it for various reasons as well:

• It is very uncomfortable when you first start – those first 2-3 minutes always get me.
• It makes me make oo ahh sounds – When I am pushing myself hard, the sounds just come out. Ha! I pray everyone wears headphones
• It makes me sweat – I dislike sweating, but there are worse things
• It is me vs myself – that little voice that wants comfort, she talks to me on the loudest volume setting in my brain. Trap music usually helps soften her voice. If I pretend I am trapping, then I hear her less.
• It takes up most of my gym time – I run on my lunch break, and I have 1 hour to do whatever it is I need to do in the gym. 30 minute runs are the max that I can get in.

So as my recovery continues, I try to put a day in between running due to it not being 100% the muscles around the knee have to be strengthened and it takes a long time for it to happen. I typically limp the following day after running, and I incorporate some deep stretching to assist with my recovery day. I still go to the gym and focus on other muscle groups for variety.

I will say that I get stronger each week, and I am happy that my therapy is working out. This journey has me questioning if it will ever be 100%. Maybe and maybe not. I am okay with whatever, but I know I am determined to remain active.