7.40

I logged 477 miles from January to May of this year to end at 740 completed miles in September before I decided to have surgery on my right knee September 25th for a right knee medial meniscus tear and osteoarthritis clean up/buffering. That's 263 miles that I logged for the summer while injuried and since my last blog post! Yay. My PX-90 New Balance cross trainers with lynco 405 orthopedic inserts have been my go to treads set-up for the year. They have been a great option for helping on knee loads. They have great cushioning and arch stability for the value. I had my left knee meniscus done for a similar tear in 2016 and used a very similar 993 shoe back then for post op rehab. Back then the healing phase went really well and I'm hoping the same holds true now. I also remember returning to work early, going off restrictions and then being forced out of my day job as a CNC manufacturing specialist due to FMLA mishaps on my companies part. While I miss the technical roles of that job, the long days on my feet really did a number on my joints and I now work as a fleet mechanic where I'm much more able to monitor and work with these occupationial related injuries much easier. At least that's the school of thought. My blood pressure continues to deliver right hooks running at crisis levels at rest sometimes now and I've had to go on new medication stacks to reduce organ/vien damage since my most recent surgery. I also have launched a study plan to see how my pro hormone therapy plays a role, if any, in my blood pressure woes. That will kick off when I'm back to the trails in mid October. I plan to continue biking 35 miles a week and kick up running training on soft terrain @ 5-10 miles a week along with my physical therapy and strength training. My goal is to run a competitive 4 mile race at the end of November. No future races are predicted to go over 4 miles and I will only do them 4-5 times a year max now. Another half marathon attempt is always eating away at me in the back of my mind and I even fundraised and prepare for one as early as this last April, but to no avail as injuries once again sidelined me. Biking will now permanently take precedence over running from this year on out. Indoor cycling has become something that I've really enjoyed as I also hope to add in a periodical cardio kickboxing class into my future exercise plans. Happy exercising and remember quitters are haters. :)