So I was doing something stupid with the neighborhood kids Monday night and ended up tearing my medial meniscus. Surgery is scheduled for a week from now. Needless to say I’m not going to be in Lake Placid. So what to do now? The doc says that after surgery, I’ll be as good as new, and should have no problems doing an IM next year. My plans for next year will probably be an early season 1/2 or full with the idea of getting a Kona slot. So how should I train once the doc says it’s okay?
I’m thinking that for the rest of the summer and fall I should concentrate on riding and weight training, maybe throw in a swim or two and a run or two once a week, but mainly just ride and build up as much base cycling fitness as possible.
So are you planning to race at all for the rest of this season? If not, just have fun. Try new stuff. In 1989 I broke my leg. It was a tricky break and I couldn’t run for about 6 months so the tri season was out. So I rode a lot. I toured across Wisconsin. I rode quite a few organized day tours. I explored much of the area within a 50-60 mile radius of my house. I even tried a few mountain bike races. It was a blast. I returned to triathlon in 1990 and had my best year.
I had an ACL reconstruction several years ago, and while your impending surgery and mine were/are significantly different you will most likely have some level of rehab to follow. Part of my rehab included deep-water walking, progressing to running, then cycling, all throughout was weight training for recovery. I would suggest, but defer to your doc and physical therapist, that you limit your running unless it is in the pool and build up the cycling and swimming portions of your work-outs until you are freed up to begin running again.
