Return to Sport: Onboarding Complete
My Roadmap to Recovery ends in Rodgau
Rodgau will be a special place again
This weekend, I will be in Rodgau for the legendary RLT Rodgau 50k ultramarathon. You can read why this is so special to me in these two Das Z Letters:
I won't be running the full distance or a new personal best marathon on Saturday – I'll probably run somewhere between 20 and 30 kilometers at a comfortable pace – but this day is still crucial to me: It marks the end of my post-knee surgery onboarding after 13 weeks.
What knee surgery?
For those who have not followed my disrupted running year 2024 in detail, here are the most important Das Z Letters about what happened:
![[+] The Liminality of Being Injured](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fba64e087-e05e-42c1-b180-dc96691fac13_3092x2792.jpeg)
Why did it take so long?
It didn't really take that long, there was just a lot to do. Here is a visualized timeline of the different stages of the onboarding process.
Disclaimer: This is how I made my "return to sport" comeback with my particular injury. This will not work for everyone, so please trust your orthopedic surgeon, physiotherapist and running coach (or common sense) when tackling your own onboarding.
Day X (10/28/2024)
Knee Surgery.
Week 1
Post-op care, drain removal, wearing a splint, walking with crutches, lying around a lot. Really, REALLY a lot of lying around.
Week 2
No more crutches, start of physical therapy focusing on leg extension and flexion, first strength exercises (leg raises and careful supported squats). Practicing daily.
Week 3
Strange pains in the toes (lasted for three more weeks), water in the knee, but enough leg movement for pain-free cycling, hello Zwift! If only for 30 minutes at low watts.
Week 4
Upgraded strength program (hammie bridges, wall sits, side steps), longer and harder Zwift sessions.
Week 5
Another step up in strength training: literal step-ups and step-downs, Bulgarian split squats and jumps. Oh, how I loved them.
Week 6 – 11k run
More jumps. Then the first run-walks. Plus some pretty challenging Zwift rides. Strength training cut back a bit.
Week 7 – 22k run
First 30 minute run in one go. Slow, shaky, but in one go. More strength and Zwift rides.
Week 8 – 39k run
Five more or less normal runs of up to 60 minutes.
Week 9 – 43k run
Back to structured training. First "real" training sessions (progressive run).
Week 10 – 53k run
First race at the Munich Silvesterlauf side by side with my dad. Also, first long run of 1:10h.
Week 11 –70k run
Back to a normal training routine of 6 runs per week, 3 strength workouts and 1-2 bike rides.
Week 12 – 71k run
See week 11. Different running location.
Week 13 – where we are now
First real long run on sacred ground in Rodgau.
How can I be certain onboarding is complete, and I won't injure myself again?
The honest answer is that I can't be certain. You never can. But what I can say with certainty is that my body is handling the current load and strain very well. Of course, there are aches and pains here and there, and the real adjustment process will take months, not weeks. But none of the minor discomforts feel worrisome.
I don't know if I did everything right in my "return to sport" onboarding. Maybe it could have been quicker. Perhaps a longer period would have been better. I relied on the judgment of professionals I trust, but I also relied heavily on my gut.
If this injury has taught me anything, it's patience. Neither during my conservative approach to therapy nor after surgery did I worry about weeks or even months without running. It took as long as it took, and that was okay.
So not only do I feel physically ready to return to more ambitious running, I feel emotionally and mentally ready as well. I'm looking forward to it.
Yes, but what exactly is it that I am looking forward to?
As always, the really exciting questions are buried a little deeper. On the one hand, I feel ambition and a desire to improve as a runner. On the other hand, I enjoy what I have and what I am doing right now.
Nevertheless, it is in my nature – and by that, I mean both the Levelhead and the Punk in me – to set goals and pursue them with great dedication. The Zugspitz Ultratrail (ZUT) is one of those goals, and maybe it makes sense to subjugate all other bright ideas and impulsive desires to the ZUT.
I'll think about that when I do my laps on the acre in Rodgau on Saturday. There is no better place to come to terms with yourself and find out what you really want from running (and from life). I’ll let you know.
Everything Not Running
Moving homes is extremely stressful. But I'm probably telling the wrong people because you've all been through it, most likely more than once. What makes it extra tough for Lisa and me are our two lovely cats, Harry and Toto.
100% thoroughbred house cats. Neither of them are used to crates, car trips or changing locations. Our old flat in Munich is their world, they don't know or need anything else. From their perspective, there is no reason for change. That’s why we want to make the move as pleasant as possible for them, but it's really difficult to know how.
We are planning everything so that on a certain day (working title: Day Y) they can be driven to the new flat in a special cat express. We hope to put them in a 'made nest', in this case a fully furnished bedroom with plenty of familiar items and at least one person to look after them. From there, they should explore their new home room by room over the following days and weeks.
At the same time, however, we want to avoid them living in chaos in the old flat for days on end, or being exposed to too much moving noise and stress. It's not that simple.
To be honest, nothing worries me more about this move than the well-being of Harry and Toto. That may be irrational to some extent, but I can't help it. It is difficult for us humans to understand and feel for animals, but one thing is certain: from Harry and Toto's standpoint, there is no reason to leave their old home and move to a new, unknown place. I sincerely hope that they will survive the move unharmed and settle in quickly. That's my greatest wish.
On Repeat
I am deeply concerned about the current state of the world. On good days I manage to take the news with a grain of humor, but most of the time I am left with an anxious, threatening feeling.
There is one band that has managed to capture this exact feeling in a song: BITTER END in their intro song Panic. And that already in 2007 on their debut album 'Climate Of Fear'.
It might seem a bit strange to recommend an intro song as a listening tip, but the mood that this song conveys is simply phenomenal. Fear and dread resonate in every single bar. The feeling of losing control and not being able to stop the chaos that is unstoppably breaking out. Panic in the truest sense of the word.
Of course, BITTER END, or any other band for that matter, won't be able to change the state of the world. But every so often it's enough to feel understood. The song Panic does that for me, even without lyrics.
Listen to it. Best out loud.