Knee Surgery = Don't do an Ironman
So I think the title of this post says it all. I am stubborn and the first question I asked my doctor when he said I needed surgery was can I do my Ironman on September 9th. He looked at me, pondered for a minute (I don't know if he knows what an Ironman actually entails), and responds that yes, I should be able to do one. As soon as he said that, my mind was set.
Hindsight is always easier and I know that. The last 3ish months have been crazy and stressful. Recovering from knee surgery is hard enough (I pretty much lost my mind for a month). Recovering from knee surgery while training for an Ironman is chaos. I would fully recommend NOT to do this. Maybe if the Ironman is 6 months out it might be feasible, but 3.5 months out of surgery just isn't enough time to prepare.
I went into surgery in great shape (at least biking, I had already stopped running because of the pain). I was biking 80 miles with an average speed of 19. I truly believe the great shape I was in before surgery is making it somewhat more feasible to do this Ironman. If I didn't have that base, I would have given up already.
The main reason for not doing an Ironman this close after surgery (I am sure this extends to other surgeries too) is that it is too stressful. I couldn't do the mileage that I should have for Ironman training. My team was at 100 miles and I was back for my first ride at 30. I have two rides over 56 miles and only one walk over a half marathon. Basically, this means my body is going to hurt a lot during the race and I don't even want to think about after the race.
Now of course, I never listen to my own advice and I will be competing in Madison. I guess I want to prove myself wrong by completing an Ironman with only 2 months training. I am going to prove that you can be out of shape and still finish an Ironman. It won't be pretty and it hasn't been fun, but I will give it my all.
For anyone out there considering pushing your body to do an Ironman after surgery, take my advice. Rest up, rehab correctly, and get back into the sport slowly. If you rush it, your love for the sport turns into anxiety and pain which is never a good thing. Oh and you could hurt yourself again (cross the fingers this won't happen to me)
11 days!!!
Hindsight is always easier and I know that. The last 3ish months have been crazy and stressful. Recovering from knee surgery is hard enough (I pretty much lost my mind for a month). Recovering from knee surgery while training for an Ironman is chaos. I would fully recommend NOT to do this. Maybe if the Ironman is 6 months out it might be feasible, but 3.5 months out of surgery just isn't enough time to prepare.
I went into surgery in great shape (at least biking, I had already stopped running because of the pain). I was biking 80 miles with an average speed of 19. I truly believe the great shape I was in before surgery is making it somewhat more feasible to do this Ironman. If I didn't have that base, I would have given up already.
The main reason for not doing an Ironman this close after surgery (I am sure this extends to other surgeries too) is that it is too stressful. I couldn't do the mileage that I should have for Ironman training. My team was at 100 miles and I was back for my first ride at 30. I have two rides over 56 miles and only one walk over a half marathon. Basically, this means my body is going to hurt a lot during the race and I don't even want to think about after the race.
Now of course, I never listen to my own advice and I will be competing in Madison. I guess I want to prove myself wrong by completing an Ironman with only 2 months training. I am going to prove that you can be out of shape and still finish an Ironman. It won't be pretty and it hasn't been fun, but I will give it my all.
For anyone out there considering pushing your body to do an Ironman after surgery, take my advice. Rest up, rehab correctly, and get back into the sport slowly. If you rush it, your love for the sport turns into anxiety and pain which is never a good thing. Oh and you could hurt yourself again (cross the fingers this won't happen to me)
11 days!!!