Never say 'never'

Yesterday was an incredible day! 

The miraculous happened ....I went running! An actual jog that lasted longer than a mile and crossed beautiful terrain on a sandy desert trail. I haven’t been able to do that since before my last knee surgery (almost two and a half years ago)! 

I grew up playing soccer, and even after college found myself running about six miles every other day... just because it felt good. My body needs to fly... to feel free and unencumbered in that way. Three knee injuries (and subsequent surgeries) stopped me cold in my tracks. All of the ligament damage has since healed, but i am left with huge swaths of cartilage missing in my right knee. My bones click and grind over each other with every movement. 

My doctor told me i would never climb again, and would probably never walk without pain (much less run). I know he was preparing me for the worst scenario, but my pain threshold has been maxed out ever since. I am constantly working scar tissue out of my leg, and spend loads of time doing body work on myself. I have to constantly do physical therapy to allow for greater motion.  

All of my hard work is paying off!  

I have tried jogging four times since my last surgery, but always stopped short of a mile with a “I dont know if that was a good idea” feeling. 

Yesterday i ran over four miles! 

Charlie and i set out towards Morning Glory Arch (just outside moab). It is a 2 1/4 mile trail each way, so i was planning to walk most of the way. My body felt the need to run, so i started out jogging .... and never stopped. It felt so amazing and liberating to be able to move my body in that way again. 

I am completely sore today, but I don’t feel like I did anything detrimental to the health of my knee. Charlie had the time of her life! Typically a very clean one, she was raging through the stream crossings, racing up the banks spraying wet sand in my face every time. I didn’t even care. My body was alive, my mind clear, heart soaring in the clouds! 

I dont have any pictures from the actual jog, but here’s one of charlie afterwards .... exhausted and FILTHY!