Boston 2017 – Thirty One and Done?

A little over a year ago I had one of my best runs - a 3:19 at the Marine Corps Marathon. It was my 2nd fastest out of 28 marathons but it was my fastest if you age-graded it. In spite of my time, a part of me was actually a little disappointed as I truly believed I had an even faster time in me. But all was good – as I often told my kids, “I wasn’t getting older, I was getting better” and I truly believed it. I had yet to reach my full potential as a marathoner and I was thriving on challenging myself, training with my buddies and competing for age category prizes.

But on an absolutely beautiful day in March, while training in Arizona for Boston 2016, everything changed.

About 5 miles into a 10 miler I got a little pinch in my knee. I made a slight adjustment to my stride and foot plant and the pinching went away. The next day on the same route and around the same spot, it started pinching again. But this time I couldn’t get it to go away. Part of me wants to say foolishly I didn’t stop. But in hindsight, I’m not sure stopping would have made a difference – and in spite of the pinching, I crushed the finish with a pace I haven’t come close to since. So the other part of me doesn’t regret pushing through at all but rather cherishes that final stretch…. the last time I truly felt like a competitive runner.

The next day I couldn’t run 20 yards with my wife. I went back to Massachusetts and started doing whatever I could to make the knee better. I actually did rest but I also had it drained, got a cortisone shot, tried therapy and even ultra-sound treatments. It took a lot but I made it to Boston, modified my goals and just ran to finish while enjoying the crowds for the 13th time.

After Boston I rested some more and then got an MRI. The results were not good. Thirty five years earlier I had torn my ACL and as a result I always knew I would one day have arthritis. According to the MRI and 2 doctors, “that day” had arrived. They both told me my marathon days were over and for that matter; my days of running at all were coming to an end.

However, I felt both of them were focused solely on the MRI and they weren’t listening to my symptoms. In all the research I did – and trust me, I did hours of research - I never found anything describing arthritis as a pinching sensation like I was having.

So I found a physical therapist that gave me hope – he listened to me and he focused in on a slight tear in the meniscus that the MRI also revealed. So I began rehab for the meniscus – over an hour a day working my ankle and knee, trying to retrain my mechanics to offload the pressure near the tear. I did this all with the goal of running New York City in November with one of my daughters. I had already paid the entry fee and I didn’t want to give up the chance to run with her – running marathons with your daughters don’t happen often.

I made progress but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, what if it is the arthritis? What if I am done? But I refused to call it quits and I kept trying every home remedy I could find. I would ice the knee. I would heat it. I wore a copper infused wrap!! I started taking turmeric and I even started drinking a concoction of hot water, cinnamon and honey! I got myself to the point where I could run without any pain but I would experience the pinching sensation after running when walking around. So while I was making progress something was still not right and I decided to visit an orthopedic over an hour away that had taken care of my other knee 20 years earlier. I wish I had seen him when this first began! He is also a runner so he totally understood my mental state and he actually listened to me. He was worried about the arthritis but believed he could scope me, fix the tear and clean the joint up some to make me feel better and most importantly, buy me some time. So we scheduled the surgery for 3 days after New York!

Well I made it to New York and while I knew I didn’t have the training in me, the competitor in me decided to shoot for a Boston Qualifying time none-the-less. My time didn’t really matter. It was my 30th marathon, I knew I wasn’t going to get a PR and no other time really mattered so why not just go for it? Well, I ran a great 20 miles and then the wheels fell off! The finish was pure hell but I finished with no regrets.

Three days later I had my surgery and while it went well, the doctor informed me that the arthritis was even worse than the MRI revealed and in time I would be a candidate for a partial knee replacement. But he couldn’t tell me how much time or how many miles I have left in me. Not the news I wanted to hear. On a positive note though, he believes I will be a candidate for those new lubrication injections they have and when I do start experiencing more arthritic symptoms those will hopefully buy me some more miles.

So, while we all know we are not invincible and we all know the end will someday come for each of us, I’m now in a position where I can’t deny it – sorry kids I have to admit, I am getting older and I might not be getting better anymore!

And while all this was going on, registration for Boston 2017 opened. Although I had no clue what my running future had in store for me, I couldn’t pass up registration. Maybe it was selfish on my part. I’m not happy with the current registration process and how many runners who work so hard to qualify can get shut out of Boston. And I know that by me taking a spot I am blocking someone else out of fulfilling their dream. But this could very well be my last – I have to give it a go – yes, perhaps I am being selfish but I want to experience Boston…. one more time.

And so now, 9 weeks out of surgery and 15 weeks out from Boston….what may very well be my final journey begins. The knee is not doing the best but it is coming around and I will get myself to Hopkinton and I will run Boston 2017 one way or another. My theme may be, “Thirty One and Done” and if that turns out to be the case, I can live with it. Sure I want to dream of new PR’s and glorious races still to come….but we have to play the cards we are dealt…. and so I will.

At the Marine Corps Marathon in 2015 my wife ran the 10K and met the wife of Vince Pavik, the author of “Four Seconds from Boston”. It’s an inspirational story of a runner chasing the holy grail of qualifying for Boston for the first time. It’s a great read for anyone who is or ever pursued a dream with passion.

So with Vince as my inspiration, I will be documenting my story – what it is like on the other end of the spectrum…. trying to get myself back to Boston …. one last time.

I hope you read along.