“Good things come slow – especially in distance running.”

[LSUlakes]

Hello folks and welcome to my training journal! The title of my journal comes from Bill Dellinger who was a runner and a coach. I feel like there's a ton a truth to this quote that can apply to everyone.

A little about me, I ran XC is high school and then did a decent amount of running 2010 to 2018 ish. Things got busy and I then the excuses piled up for not running. Early into 2022 I ended up in a ER with Afib which was plenty enough to get me to start going back to a healthy life style. After a few months, I was off the medications and told I can run again by the doctors. Started c25k and after about 4 weeks I started having knee pain. Well, I have been fighting that issue for several months without getting to run. Things felt better in February and started c25k again. Nearly done with the run I feel/hear a pop sound in my knee. I tore the meniscus and it required surgery which took place this March 2023.

This journal will cover my recovery, c25k, weight loss, and staying with running for longer runs. As the thread title says, good things come slow. Each of these steps will take time, but it will be worth it!

I look forward to interacting with anyone interested in following along.

Upcoming Races:
Date - Race - Goal Time - Result
6/4/25 - Hump Day 2 Miler #1 - 14:00 - TBA
6/18/25 - Hump Day 2 Miler #2 - 13:45 - TBA
7/16/25 - Hump Day 2 Miler #3 - 13:30 - TBA
7-30-25 - Hump Day 2 Miler #4 - 13:15 - TBA
8/16/25 - Q50 Bleau Moon 10 Miler (Trail Night Run) - 1:20:00 - TBA
1/11/26 - WDW Marathon - 3:30:00 - TBA

Past Race Since Starting This Journal:
8/17/24 - Q50 Bleau Moon 10 Miler (Trail Night Run) - 1:59:59 - 1:53:43
11/28/24 - Turkey Trot 5k - 24:00 - 24:26
12/14/24 - Golden Fliers 10 Miler - 1:30:00 - 1:31:16
1/4/25 - Wilderness 10 Miler - 1:30:00 - 1:31:30
1/19/25 - Louisiana Half Marathon - 1:55:00 - 1:54:38
3/16/25 - Zydeco Half Marathon - 1:42:00 - 1:43:51
4/12/25 - Fat Boy 5k - 23:30 - 22:23

 

[nancipants]

Hope recovery goes well!

 

[azrivest]

Yes, hope your recovery goes well. And diet and PT aren't boring! Things runners neglect much too often.

 

[LSUlakes]

3-15-23
Day one without the crutches. I hated having them and while my stride isnt 100% its getting much better. I decided to start weighing myself this week to get a average weight as a starting point. So far the weight range is 257.5 to 254.5 as the high and low. I will really focus on diet starting on Sunday and controlling intake. This will mean fewer weekends cooking in our outdoor brick oven / pizza oven. That was a covid project inspired by the brick ovens at Epcot at Via Napoli. I can now cook a pizza in 90 seconds, only takes 2.5 hours of burning wood to get to that temp plus 24-36 hours to make dough lol. We had a lot of free time during the weekends of covid. Since I'm on the food ramble, looks like we will have our first crawfish boil of the season this weekend. Always a fun family activity!

Hope recovery goes well!

Thank you for the comment and following along!

Yes, hope your recovery goes well. And diet and PT aren't boring! Things runners neglect much too often.

You have a very good point! Not trying to get into to much detail here, but I'm a talker lol. The last time I started running it was for weight loss and I was taking in 1500 to 1600 calories a day. Everything was fine until I started training for a marathon and on my first run of 15-16 miles I hit a wall about a half mile from the end. It was crazy and looked just like those pictures of runners doing marathons. I didnt know why and asked some of my running friends and they brought up diet. The night before I ate a chicken breast and some veggies. I did not have breakfast and only had water to drink during the run. I then learned I needed some carb before and a lite breakfast. Additionally I learned about GU and how I should have some sport drink during those long runs. Complete game changes and never had that happen again.

 

[nancipants]

You have a very good point! Not trying to get into to much detail here, but I'm a talker lol. The last time I started running it was for weight loss and I was taking in 1500 to 1600 calories a day. Everything was fine until I started training for a marathon and on my first run of 15-16 miles I hit a wall about a half mile from the end. It was crazy and looked just like those pictures of runners doing marathons. I didnt know why and asked some of my running friends and they brought up diet. The night before I ate a chicken breast and some veggies. I did not have breakfast and only had water to drink during the run. I then learned I needed some carb before and a lite breakfast. Additionally I learned about GU and how I should have some sport drink during those long runs. Complete game changes and never had that happen again.

I never lost my baby weight entirely, and what I did lose, I gained back another 10 or so pounds in the last year or so. I didn't start running to lose weight, but to improve my fitness, which is good because I need to eat a lot more to have energy to run. I am trying to focus on eating different kinds of food, though, and thinking of food as fuel is helping in this aspect. I never want to completely limit what I eat, though. Sometimes I just want chips or popcorn. Or like today when my kid was home sick and we got McDonald's for lunch.

 

[LSUlakes]

I never lost my baby weight entirely, and what I did lose, I gained back another 10 or so pounds in the last year or so. I didn't start running to lose weight, but to improve my fitness, which is good because I need to eat a lot more to have energy to run. I am trying to focus on eating different kinds of food, though, and thinking of food as fuel is helping in this aspect. I never want to completely limit what I eat, though. Sometimes I just want chips or popcorn. Or like today when my kid was home sick and we got McDonald's for lunch.

Good points and who can turn down some good ole McDonald fries! (The best fast food French fries IMO) The last time I did this I went from 255 to 205. Stayed mostly around 210-215. I would like to get back to the 210's again. I'm 6'-5" for reference. From what I recall the biggest struggle was more mental than anything. Just like with running, once I was able to control the mental side of things (like go ahead and get another serving or stop running you are tired) things got a lot easier. The weight loss goal is mainly to make the running easier on my body. Running at my current weight is going to cause more joint damage down the road. The difference this time is I have learned from pass mistakes. Plus, I'm certainly not going to turn down dole whips on our next trip to WDW or a trip to Gaston's Tavern!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Excited to follow your journal! So how you feeling about the Derek Carr pick up!?!

 

[eminemilie]

Good points and who can turn down some good ole McDonald fries! (The best fast food French fries IMO) The last time I did this I went from 255 to 205. Stayed mostly around 210-215. I would like to get back to the 210's again. I'm 6'-5" for reference. From what I recall the biggest struggle was more mental than anything. Just like with running, once I was able to control the mental side of things (like go ahead and get another serving or stop running you are tired) things got a lot easier. The weight loss goal is mainly to make the running easier on my body. Running at my current weight is going to cause more joint damage down the road. The difference this time is I have learned from pass mistakes. Plus, I'm certainly not going to turn down dole whips on our next trip to WDW or a trip to Gaston's Tavern!

Maybe PT will help a bit with the joints? I suspect they will have you doing a lot of walking and maybe that coupled with your approach to looking at diet will make bigger strides than if you were starting off trying to run. Just spitballing though.

 

[LSUlakes]

Excited to follow your journal! So how you feeling about the Derek Carr pick up!?!

Thanks for following along! Not a huge fan of pro sports. The college level is what gets the blood flowing for me lol. Having said that, I watched a little bit of the Saints season last year and it was bad. It’s safe to assume I hope it will improve with a new QB. I’m actually more excited that Joe Burrow is getting a decent LT!

 

[The Expert]

Glad to see you back! I'm betting you can get creative and still use that amazing pizza oven. Cauliflower crust is a thing, and is actually quite tasty if you like a crispy crust. Load on the veggies and use olive oil or hummus instead of cheese - voila!

 

[col1]

Good luck with the recovery, I was out for months, focussed on exactly the same areas and was glad I did as when cleared to run it went so much better than expected. You got this

 

[LSUlakes]

Today is 2 weeks post knee surgery. Over the weekend it felt fairly decent, but a little tight. Between PT and working on it at home, most of that tightness is gone. However, something is still soar or something in there. For now I'm assuming its still healing and I am not going to be overly concerned with it. Taking steps up or down is still a issue that causes discomfort, so I guess thats going to take a little more time as well. Other than that, everything is going as planned. Not going to be a whole lot going on this weekend since its going to rain most of it. Around 32 days or perhaps less till I start c25k... not that I'm counting or anything

 

[LSUlakes]

Monday afternoon updates.

Had PT again this morning and after discussing some issues it looks like PT my get extended to help.
The second part, which completely goes against the first part, I registered for a 1/2 marathon in January today. It's our local race so it's not a huge financial commitment that includes travel, hotels, ect. I am also registered for a 5k at the end of April. I signed up for that one before my knee was done.. actually did that the morning I hurt me knee. Lets hope a pattern doesn't emerge.

 

[LSUlakes]

I am now 3 weeks post surgery and still having some minor issues. Going up steps is still something I am unable to do at this time. Hoping that changes soon!
I did some upper body weight lifting on Monday and Tuesday. I also rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes yesterday and that went fairly well on the knee. Based on my highest weight over the last month, I am now down 5 lbs as of today. Bad/Good news, the pizza oven is getting fired up this weekend, so probably gonna have a little set back, but its a fun time and it wont take long to get back to it. Hopefully no more than 3 more weeks before I can start training again.

 

[LSUlakes]

Week 4 post surgery today! My knee was starting to feel much better, until I had to unexpectedly replace our dishwasher. Apparently my knee was not a fan of getting up and down off the tile floor multiple times. It has since started to feel a little better since then. I have also started using the stairs at work again, although very slowly, but progress is progress. I really hope in another two weeks I will be ready to start c25k.
Hope anyone who is reading has a great weekend and Happy Easter!

 

[LSUlakes]

Week 5 update. Progress is being made! I no longer have a limp while walking, taking the stairs is less painful and I even managed to mow the lawn yesterday afternoon with zero issues! Doing a little low impact cardio here and there to get a small head start for when I can run. I am hoping by next week there is no pain doing anything and I will be able to start c25k.

 

[LSUlakes]

A late Week 6 update: Houston we have a problem! Did some stuff at PT last week to really try to help the knee get to the final point and it backfired I guess. I am closer to week 2 post surgery and basically cant take the stairs at work any more. I was supposed to start c25k today, but thats not going to happen and I'm not sure when it will at this point. I do have a appointment with my doctor Friday and hopefully I will have some answers going forward from there. I'm very doubtful I will get any answers Friday or be any closer to running by then either.

 

[Cajun Firefighter]

Hang in there buddy

 

[LSUlakes]

Week 7 Update: The ole knee is still in pain I am going to see my doctor Friday morning to see what he thinks and wants to do moving forward. I probably wont get any real answers tomorrow but who knows. I just hope it isnt another long drawn out process. My biggest concern at the moment is that I will have to end up having another procedure done and thus delaying things by 2-3 more months.

 

[eminemilie]

Hope you are able to get some answers or ideas to relieve the pain tomorrow!