It’s been a full month since I last posted and a lot has happened in that time. I just got back from my second Westward Adventure trip, though this time I headed out to New Mexico and Oregon for even more running and hiking fun! In early August I was cleared to start playing pick-up soccer and got put on a 4-week training plan to get me up to full-speed soccer. The goal was to have me ready to play by the beginning of September when the woman’s league started. 

Unfortunately 4 days after I officially graduated my physical therapy training program, I was playing pick-up and felt another pop in my the same knee, just a week and a half before I was scheduled to leave for the Ragnar trail relay in Angel Fire, New Mexico. 24 hours later I was back at the physical therapy office. They used some ultrasound on my knee and got me on the stationary bike trying to work out some of the swelling and get some range of motion back in my knee. When I mentioned I had a race the following weekend, they looked at me like I was crazy and said “we’ll see” at which point I said “did I mention I’m going to New Mexico for this race?!” They were not very encouraging about the race, but told me to come back a few days later and see how I felt then. 

After a few days of rest, I was able to walk normally again and my second appointment went much better. They even let me run on a treadmill at a 12:00 pace and told me to take it easy over the weekend. By early the next week, they were able to fully test my knee and decided I still had enough of an ACL to keep my knee from moving the way it’s not supposed to, so I was cleared to run the two races that I had signed up for, which was good because I was leaving in two days! 

Stay tuned for a full recap of Ragnar Trail Angel Fire, New Mexico, Oregon and the Hardesty Hardcore trail race!