Yesterday I met with my orthopedic doctor to talk about my knee and whether surgery was needed. The plan up to this point had been to hit strength training hard to figure out if I could train and perform at the level I want without having surgery to fix my knee. I followed a weight routine, added in yoga and pilates and made a point to adjust my diet so that I was taking in more foods known for their healing properties. I even started wearing a Power Balance bracelet that I got in the goodie bag at Ironman Texas. Yesterday, after speaking with my doctor I decided to schedule the surgery.

My decision was made based on only a few things: 1. I want to continue to train and push for success in triathlon, but I can’t do that without fixing my knee. 2. Three different periods over the last 10 years have been specifically focused on strength training to fix my knee and avoid surgery, but none of them have eliminated the pain completely or prevented it from coming back eventually. 3. I’m tired of being stressed about this knee. I’m ready to put this behind me and start looking forward.

Surgery wasn’t the route I wanted to go, but looks to be the best option for the goals I want to achieve. The operation is a meniscectomy. Instead of trying to repair the torn cartilage they’ll simply cut out a very small amount around the tears so when my knee moves and flexes the torn sides don’t rub any more. That rubbing is what causes the pain. It will only take about 15 minutes and they said that I’ll walk out of the building and be up walking around the next day. They want me on a stationary bike a few days later. The rehab plan will be slow and steady but by the time it’s finished I’ll have a fully functional, pain free knee to train and compete on!

After I made the decision I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed but at the same time I felt a lot of relief. No more worrying about the knee pain coming back during my peak training time. No more frustration from holding back during a race when I know I could push harder with a healthy knee. I can focus on bigger and better things now. First, rehab the knee. Second, Kona in 2013!