First race after ACL reconstruction

August 25

It is 4:30am on a Saturday morning in late August.  It has been four and a half months since my right ACL was reconstructed by patella auto graft.  My recovery has gone very well with no setbacks.  Today, Amy (my 16 year old daughter) and I will run the Patrick Henry half marathon in Ashland, Virginia.  We ran 11 miles together a month ago, and then she asked if we could run the half marathon.  Not having any good reason not to, I consented but said it was only going to be a long training run.  Her cross country coach concurred with this.

So, I am lying in bed wide awake, anxious for my first race of any kind since last December.  I have only slept about five hours as my anxiousness is weighing heavily on me.  Questions/thoughts swirl around my head.  Will my knee give me any trouble?  How is my conditioning?  Finally, I am just plain excited to be in a race again, and I get to run it with my daughter.  Amy and I discussed pace on Thursday and decided that we should be able to hold at least 8:30/mile.

We leave the house a little after 5:30am.  The race starts promptly at 7:00am.

Mile 1         8:17

I am running as slow as I can stand.  Amy is ready to run faster as well, but I know we shouldn’t let ourselves get pulled out fast by the crowd of other runners.  The weather is relatively cool, around 68 degrees, overcast, and light rain.

Mile 2         8:18

Another smooth easy mile, as the crowd of runners begins to settle in.  We pass by the first water stop, not even thinking about taking any fluids.

Mile 3         8:17

Our pace is very smooth and comfortable.  We are now leaving the town limits of Ashland and heading into the country of Hanover County.

Mile 4         8:18

The second water stop of the race is manned by the PH Cross Country team.  Her coach kiddingly tells us to pick it up.  It is a huge motivation to see them all.

Mile 5         8:06

After getting cheered on by her teammates and coach, we increase the pace slightly.

Mile 6         7:59

Taking advantage of a slight downhill, we run our first sub-8:00 mile.  I think to myself, okay let’s see if we can hold this sub-8:00 pace for a few miles.  Amy looks good, and neither of us is really breathing hard yet.

Mile 7         7:55

Turning the corner onto Blanton Road, Amy takes a fall.  I think this was helped by a runner who took a cup of water and then proceeded to start walking in front of us, right at the turn.  Anyway, she quickly picks herself up and is no worse for wear.

Mile 8         7:22

After recovering from the fall, Amy is feeling frisky and pushes the pace.  I have two thoughts:  1) Is she ready to hold this faster pace, 2) Can I keep up if she does?

Mile 9         7:34

We settle back down to a more reasonable pace as we are still over four miles from the finish.  The rain is steady, but still light, and we are facing a slight headwind.  The crowd of runners has definitely spread out, and we have been steadily passing other runners since we picked up the pace.

Mile 10       7:37

Another nice hard mile, and now we can really start to stretch our legs.  I mention to Amy that the warm-up is over, and it is time to run.  She says that she isn’t sure she wants to run faster, and I say that is fine.  Then Amy picks up the pace.

Mile 11       6:52

Picks up the pace and starts really moving.  Of course, we are helped by a downhill, but still this is quick.  We pass Eric Winston, who is the dad of one of Amy’s teammates.

Mile 12       7:34

The 12^th mile heads back uphill, and my legs don’t have the same strength that they did before my ACL injury.  Therefore, this 7:34 mile is my split.  Amy is about 30 seconds ahead of me as we start the last mile.

Mile 13       7:09

I have a decent kick at the end, and I feel great, except for the fact that my daughter has just dusted me in this race.

Official Finishing Time          1:41:51

144^th out of 1,195 finishers, 22^nd out of 126 Males, 40-44

Amy ends up finishing in 1:40:53, just under a minute ahead of me.  Considering she made that gap in the last two miles, I would say she had a good kick at the finish.  I believe her last mile was 6:33!  And, she finished 20^th among all females, and first in her age group (F15-19).

My recovery race is now out of the way, and I have some serious mileage to put in over the next 3+ months before Hellgate in December.  Here’s hoping the recovery continues going well.

Never stop running,

Darin