The photo attached was taken last Fall at the end of the "Bird In Hand Half Marathon" in Lancaster County, PA. The plaque I'm holding is the "Road Apple Award," given to runners who complete both the Garden Spot Half Marathon and the Bird In Hand Half Marathon in the same calendar year. And yes, the "road apples" - or dried horse droppings - on the plaque are real.
I credit the team at Rothman Orthopaedics for getting me back on the road and allowing me to continue dodging the road apples in Lancaster Co. every day!
In March of 2015, I was diagnosed and repaired a torn meniscus in my left knee. Since I told my physician I wanted to continue running, he was careful to save as much of the healthy meniscus as possible. It took me a few months to get back to running and when I did, I came back as strong as ever -- I thought...
I called in November to say that I was having excruciating pain just below my left knee -- and I secretly questioned whether the meniscus repair really worked. He ordered an MRI over the phone, read it from Philadelphia, and let me know that I had a stress fracture of my medial tibia... probably from running too much, too soon after surgery, on my perfectly healthy meniscus.
I took my physician's advice and rested for six weeks, built up my walking and running mileage much more slowly the second time, and haven't had pain in my knee since. In 2017 I competed in two 5-K's, two 5-milers, and two half marathons -- and my knee still feels great. (Or at least, as great as the rest of my 56-year old joints feel after running 15 to 25 miles per week.)
I've already signed up for two more half marathons in 2018, and I don't see any reason to quit.
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