In the winter of 2007 I was starting to ramp my running in preparation for the 2007 CDA Ironman.  I ran the Hagg Lake 25km, which is usually a complete mud-fest.  I post-holed in a couple of mud puddles that were much deeper than I anticipated, hyperextending my knee and then slamming hard.  The following weekend I went out for a 12-14 mile run in Tryon Creek park and could barely jog the hills.  My left knee hurt like hell going up any incline.  It wasn't something I could run through and if pushed it would just give out completely.  For several weeks thereafter anything that engaged my left quads was extremely painful.


I did the usual ice, elevation and rest, but nothing calmed it down.  Finally booked an appointment at Sports Medicine Oregon in Tualatin, and in just a few minutes the doctor looked at the lack of 'float' in my patella and recommended a lateral release.  I wanted to be as conservative as possible, and if you've read some of the forums such as kneeguru.com about lateral releases, you find all kinds of horror stories.  People that are having difficulty walking after a lateral release.  This scared the shit out of me and I was hugely hesitant to go ahead with it, so.


I went through probably 4-5 rounds of PT, some chiropractic, even acupuncture.  Nothing helped.


So, for nearly a year I debated.  Doctors at Rebound Clinic in Portland, OR, concurred that a lateral release was my best option.  In March 2008 I went in for surgery.  Normally I am not troubled by such things, but this time my heart rate was high, blood pressure high - I was stressed about the procedure.


Good news/bad news, the lateral release was pretty uneventful.  I was on the bike shortly after surgery (stationary and probably 20 rpm) and recovery was pretty quick.  There was some relief in my symptoms but even after recovery I found that it was challenging to break into a run across a busy street.


After 30 years of distance running, I realized that I had to put it on the shelf.  Since that time I've had dreams of being on the trails, running with my ultra friends, and then losing them, watching them run off without me.  Depressing!