Sunday 3 November 2013

Confessions of an overweight runner

I got a meniscus arthroscopy done on my left knee in August after perhaps being the first patient of my Doctor Friend and neighbour Sanjiv Marya, who had pushed him to operate when he said I could wait for some years.
I had a very minor niggling ache occasionally the back of my left knee during a couple of runs. Nothing major, but something I had never experienced before. Also when I bent my left knee to stretch, it would pain. So I had an MRI done and asked Sanjiv

"Will this get better through medication, diet or exercise?"
No.
"Is this reversible through stem cells etc?"
No.
"Is this a serious issue?"
No.
"Will this interfere with my trying to run faster?"
Yes.
"How long before I could run again?"
6-8 weeks.

The next run I was going to run was the Delhi Half Marathon in December and then pacing for the slow 5:30 bus in the Mumbai Marathon in Jan - so there was plenty of time for my running to get back into shape, and I had to be able to walk up and down the sloped for our Shimla Half Marathon end of September. So then I decided to push for surgery asap and get onw ith it.

The surgery was fine, I went back home and was extra careful about everything. 6 weeks later I was able to walk the steep paths in Shimla and be on my feet for our run, but no running myself. I started driving again. All this was fine but I was eating and beering just as much as I used to earlier, and I could feel a few inches being added on in the wrong places.

Today on Diwali, I realised I was 5kgs heavier than what I should be, went for a haircut and as I sat with my chin down, saw the double chin ever more pronounced, and decided to eat in a controlled fashion and start running again. I had just been for a 4km run and walk with more running than walking and felt reasonably good. So I am committed to losing at least 2 kgs before Dec 15th and another 2kgs before the Mumbai Marathon in January.

And then a couple of kilos more over the next few months in 2014 as I resume more regular training - which is the reason why I accelerated this meniscus surgery in the first place.

More soon and enjoy your run
Rahul


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