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Hiking the Black Mountain Firetower Loop – 9.20.20
Yesterday my friend Frank and I drove up to the Lake George area to hike Black Mountain, one of the Lake George firetowers. It was a chilly yet sunny day, perfect weather for hiking! Some of the leaves were even starting to turn. The last time I attempted to hike Black was back in July—4.5 months after ACL surgery—which proved to be too much for my knee. We never made it past the Lapland Pond lean-to. However yesterday was a much different story. It’s crazy how much of a difference 2 months can make. Granted, the hike isn’t difficult, but it is the longest hike (in mileage) I’ve done since…
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ACL Recovery Log – 6 Month Post Op Update
I can’t believe 6 months have passed since my surgery. Like usual, not much has changed since my last update. Overall, my knee feels the same: strong but weird. I’ve resigned to the fact that my knee won’t ever feel normal like my other knee. It’s just different now. It feels tighter because it is. I still have a slight clicking when I extend my leg and not sure if that will ever go away either. Biking I’ve been biking a lot! I feel like my mountain biking fitness is equal to my pre-injury fitness at this point. A few weeks ago, I did a big ride at Elm Ridge…
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ACL Recovery – Hiking Hurricane Mountain 5 Months Post Op
Sunday marked another huge ACL recovery milestone…a mountain summit! Hurricane Mountain is one of my favorite hikes in the Adirondacks and I figured it would be the perfect mountain for first real hike post op. Jordan and I met some friends at the 9N trailhead at 10:30 am on Sunday and off we went. I remember the trail being in great shape—not too rocky and not terribly steep—good conditions for my first real hike with elevation. I was nervous at first because I thought I might be getting in over my head. But the trail was wonderful. I just took it slow and hiked at my own pace. I felt…
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ACL Recovery Log – 5 Months Post Op
Whelp, I’ve officially been discharged from physical therapy! Five long months of rehab and surgical post-op appointments are over! It feels surreal to be done. Of course, I still have plenty of work to do to continue strengthening my legs, so I’ll continue my at-home workouts. Last night at my final PT appointment, my therapist said my rehab was one of the best she’s seen in an ACL reconstruction patient that didn’t play sports. That made me feel pretty good—although I’d argue that even though I don’t play actual sports, I am still an athlete. Today I also had my final follow-up with the surgeon. He said everything looked great…
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ACL Recovery Log – 4.5 Months Post Op
Well, it’s been a while since my last update! At the end of June, my PT office closed and I had to find a new facility to finish out my rehab. I started going to a place in Albany that has an alter-g, an anti-gravity treadmill. The treadmill is great for rehab since it removes some of your body weight to take the impact off your joints. I imagine it’s what running in space feels like! Every time I go to PT I get to do a run/walk session on it. This will hopefully make my transition into regular running easier. My new place is pretty nice, but I do…