My Inspirational - I Hope - NSV.

bregalad5

About 11 and a half years ago I dislocated one of my kneecaps. About a month later, I dislocated my other. For 11 years, with more dislocations than I can count, several orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists told me I would never run again without surgery. I stopped playing soccer, I stopped running (not that I was ever good at it, but it kept me out of trouble, y'know?), I got anxious, depressed, fat...

Ok, stupid background story over! On to the encouraging inspiration/NSV part!

On September 10th I decided to try the C25k program, just for kicks. I honestly thought I'd wind up with yet another dislocation, but meh, it was worth a try. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy, so after week 2 I made another stupid decision, and decided to see how far I could run without stopping. I made it almost 2 miles. Hm. Interesting. Stupid decision #3: I signed up for a 5k to be held on October 15. :noway:

Fast forward to today: Only 34 days of training, a few super ugly blisters (no blood, so blisters will have to do), a TON of sweat, and yes, a few tears (joy, pride, blisters that felt like razor blades cutting the bottom of my feet, excruciating knee cramps at night sometimes), and today I ran a 5k. My goal was simple: to finish without walking unless absolutely necessary. All I wanted to do was cross the finish line, having run the whole 3.1 miles, and not cross it on a stretcher with two knee immobilizers on (I'm dead serious when I say that, too :laugh: ). I DID run the whole thing, and when I saw the sign with the big green 3 on it, something snapped in my head and I sprinted, as fast as my tired little legs could take me, the last tenth of a mile to the finish line, fueled by people screaming, “WAY TO FINISH STRONG, 144!!!” It took me about 41 minutes. Would have taken a bit less if there weren't several big hills that I had to run up. For a couple of them, I probably would have been able to go faster if I walked instead of running, but I was determined! And....... I wasn't dead last!!!!

I have to run with a patella stabilizer on one knee and an Ace bandage on the other. I'm pretty slow. But, I'm running. If I, someone with a chronic knee injury, can do this, anyone can do this. I set my mind to it, and I accomplished it. And hey, you know what? My next goal is to try the Bridge to 10k program. No rush, I just want to give it a shot

I'm done with excuses. I'm done letting my condition hold me back. I'm done playing the victim. I'm done having a defeatist attitude toward my physical health because of my stupid knees. I now try to figure out ways to accommodate myself in situations where I can't do everything like I'm supposed to, like in Zumba classes. I do what I can do, because something is better than nothing. Like the saying goes, "No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch"

Here's me before the race, trying hard not to freeze to death! My roommate tried to get one of me crossing the finish line, but it didn’t come out. I can't believe I managed to do this. I never thought I'd be running again, let alone running an entire 5k! :bigsmile:

Tracey_Tee

Absolutely amazing hun ..... very proud of you ! Well done :drinker:

aqua_zumba_fan

Wow that's incredible - well done Amazing perseverance!
I go to aqua zumba and some of the women there have knee problems and say it's a lot better cos it's less jarring on the knees. So if you could find something like that, or anything in the water, it might be worth a go Still burns a load of calories!

CarlyC08

Awesome!!!! Way to go!

dlaplume2

That is some sweet success.
Congrats. :flowerforyou:

ycc1964

Wow that was one of the best NSV's I have read. Very inspiring keep up the good work.

avaloneternal

I am a Marathon runner and you have me tearing up girl. Finishing that 5K was your Marathon and I am so PROUD of you. Stories like yours remind me why I run. You are seriously INSPIRATIONAL. Friend me if you like, I would love to have you on my team

wbgolden

Nice work, my friend. Very inspiring!

Johnnyswife

Thats an amazing NSV!! I have a crappy ankle that I've sprained twice. I try the cto5K on my elliptical and even that can hurt. Good luck training for your next race!

Choltor

You are truly awesome! Your story is exactly the kind of thing which inspires me to stick to my own workout schedule. Hopefully, I'll be able to run a 5k like you by the end of the year. Thank you for posting this!

bregalad5

Thanks everyone! I'm glad I can serve as an inspiration. This was a huge step for me today, and while my knees are absolutely HATING me right now, the rest of me feels amazing!

Wow that's incredible - well done Amazing perseverance!
I go to aqua zumba and some of the women there have knee problems and say it's a lot better cos it's less jarring on the knees. So if you could find something like that, or anything in the water, it might be worth a go Still burns a load of calories!

I do actually do Aqua Zumba, or will again now that I was able to renew my gym membership. We have 5 classes a week - 2 regular, 2 toning and 1 aqua. My teacher has a chronic back problem, and has also her her knees in the past, so she helps me figure out ways to accommodate my issues

daydream58

Great NSV and you're a really good writer too!

bregalad5

you're a really good writer too!

Thanks :blushing:

krysydawn

AWESOME JOB!!!

JoyfulSparkle

That is so wonderful. My favorite part is that you are planning on furthering your running career

Spedden

That was VERY inspiring!! Thanks so much for posting! :flowerforyou:

DisneyMommy

Such an inspiring story! Way to go on that 5K! Great job! I can't wait to hear how your next race goes :happy:

Jewels211

Wow that was one of the best NSV's I have read. Very inspiring keep up the good work.

I totally agree w/ ^^^^^^^^ !!! You go!! :flowerforyou:

LexieSweetheart

I am super proud of you friend!! you did great and are very inspiring

MrsWibbly

Great inspiration - I am starting C25K tomorrow. I had loads of problems with my knees as a teenager and into my early 20's and have avoided running every since (over 20 years!!), but being on MFP has given me the courage to give it a try. Stories like yours really make the point - never say you can't until you've tried :happy:

Annec0911

I just joined this morning....after blowing off a training run cos it was raining....reading your inspirational story has me scheduling a lunch hour trot to make up for this slackness....!

bregalad5

Great inspiration - I am starting C25K tomorrow. I had loads of problems with my knees as a teenager and into my early 20's and have avoided running every since (over 20 years!!), but being on MFP has given me the courage to give it a try. Stories like yours really make the point - never say you can't until you've tried :happy:

Finding out what's wrong and figuring out a way to work around it is definitely key! You don't want to hurt yourself, but sometimes you have to put up with a little pain in order to get to your final goal Good luck!

I just joined this morning....after blowing off a training run cos it was raining....reading your inspirational story has me scheduling a lunch hour trot to make up for this slackness....!

*busts out the whip*

nonafit

You are amazing. This is exactly what I need. Now I have no excuses if with all the knee injuris you can make it. I will push myself a bit harder today for my 1st ever 5k run on 8th Jan 2012.

mstawnya

You rock! Congrats!

cutiepie2628

About 11 and a half years ago I dislocated one of my kneecaps. About a month later, I dislocated my other. For 11 years, with more dislocations than I can count, several orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists told me I would never run again without surgery. I stopped playing soccer, I stopped running (not that I was ever good at it, but it kept me out of trouble, y'know?), I got anxious, depressed, fat...

Ok, stupid background story over! On to the encouraging inspiration/NSV part!

On September 10th I decided to try the C25k program, just for kicks. I honestly thought I'd wind up with yet another dislocation, but meh, it was worth a try. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy, so after week 2 I made another stupid decision, and decided to see how far I could run without stopping. I made it almost 2 miles. Hm. Interesting. Stupid decision #3: I signed up for a 5k to be held on October 15. :noway:

Fast forward to today: Only 34 days of training, a few super ugly blisters (no blood, so blisters will have to do), a TON of sweat, and yes, a few tears (joy, pride, blisters that felt like razor blades cutting the bottom of my feet, excruciating knee cramps at night sometimes), and today I ran a 5k. My goal was simple: to finish without walking unless absolutely necessary. All I wanted to do was cross the finish line, having run the whole 3.1 miles, and not cross it on a stretcher with two knee immobilizers on (I'm dead serious when I say that, too :laugh: ). I DID run the whole thing, and when I saw the sign with the big green 3 on it, something snapped in my head and I sprinted, as fast as my tired little legs could take me, the last tenth of a mile to the finish line, fueled by people screaming, “WAY TO FINISH STRONG, 144!!!” It took me about 41 minutes. Would have taken a bit less if there weren't several big hills that I had to run up. For a couple of them, I probably would have been able to go faster if I walked instead of running, but I was determined! And....... I wasn't dead last!!!!

I have to run with a patella stabilizer on one knee and an Ace bandage on the other. I'm pretty slow. But, I'm running. If I, someone with a chronic knee injury, can do this, anyone can do this. I set my mind to it, and I accomplished it. And hey, you know what? My next goal is to try the Bridge to 10k program. No rush, I just want to give it a shot

I'm done with excuses. I'm done letting my condition hold me back. I'm done playing the victim. I'm done having a defeatist attitude toward my physical health because of my stupid knees. I now try to figure out ways to accommodate myself in situations where I can't do everything like I'm supposed to, like in Zumba classes. I do what I can do, because something is better than nothing. Like the saying goes, "No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch"

Here's me before the race, trying hard not to freeze to death! My roommate tried to get one of me crossing the finish line, but it didn’t come out. I can't believe I managed to do this. I never thought I'd be running again, let alone running an entire 5k! :bigsmile:

u did so good .... im totally proud of you.... doctors dont know everything and im glad that u didn't take ur diagnosis and give up.... i can tell that ur a fighter.... so continue to fight for ur life.....:drinker:

DWilbanks

Awesome story, I might just have to get back out that Zumba tape and have another go!:flowerforyou: