Getting back on track, doing first half marathon

kattle32

I've done the lose/gain/lose/gain cycle and know how common it is, so I'll skip that part of he story.

About 6 years ago, I started walking to get in shape. By the time I hit 5 miles, i was walking over and hour and realized I needed to kick it up a notch. At age 40, I decided to started a walk / run program on my own. After 6 months of slowly working my running distance up, my husband suggested I do a 5k, set a goal. I walked that one more than I ran but at least I finished it.

4 months later I ran my second one and my time improved. I was hooked. The next year I ran 8 more 5ks. I was finally seeing improvements in my health and weight that were sustainable.

The next year in March I decided to set my goal as a half marathon (in November). One week later, my knee began to hurt. A week's rest didn't improve it.

After seeing an orthopedist and getting an MRI, it turns out that I had a medial meniscus root tear. His only option for me was to have the whole meniscus removed, give up running and prepare for a total knee replacement in 5-10 years. I decided to do my research and found a procedure to repair the damage and keep me running. I found two doctors in my state who didn't the procedure and chose the one with the most experience.

The surgery was in July and went well. I had to be non-weight bearing for 6 weeks - crutches only. I modified my diet and did my rehab. As things improved I was able to use a stationary bike to keep from gaining weight. By November, i started back on a walk / run program. It was very discouraging. I had to start all over again. I attended my half marathon (that I couldn't get a refund on) and cheered my husband on to his first half from the side lines.

5 months later I did my first 5k, followed another, a 8k and a 10k. That November I decided to run a 10K while my husband ran his first ran his first marathon. While the race went fine, I had been eating like I was training for the marathon. I lost track of things and had to realize that in 2 month, I had gained 10 pounds.

So here I am, using MyFitnessPal to clean up and track my diet. I know the weight loss will help my running as well. My goals are to reach my weight goal, train for my first half marathon this November and not lose track of my eating while I train!

Thanks for listening to me ramble!

Kat