Not to good about keeping my blog up to date!

Hi everyone! So sorry for not being real up to date on my blog, I think I sometimes have to many "irons in the fire"! My new knee was one year old on January 7, 2010 and is doing great! My back surgery in early August was a success but is still not feeling like it should. I just need to be patient as my doctor says it can take up to a year to get all good and healed. If you would like to keep a better track of me with regular updates, you can follow me on Twitter or become a friend on Facebook. Have a GREAT and HEALTHY 2010! :-)

Back surgery update

I had my 6 week after surgery checkup this morning with Dr. Dryer and he said everything is looking real good! I'll be honest, it has not felt the best, especially trying to sleep at night, but like Dr. Dryer told me, it has been only 6 weeks and these take up to 1 year to fully heal, plus I've been perhaps pushing it a bit. Dr. Dryer said I was way ahead of schedule, so that is good news! I just need to have paitence! I've never been to a doctor that is so on time! If you have a appointment at 8am or 4pm, I could set my watch to him, he walks right in the door right on time! Thanks Dr. Dryer for all your help with my back, see you in 6 weeks! :-)

New Balance Elite Dealer Conference

A big thanks to Dave Shelbourne and New Balance for having Jill and I out for the Elite Dealers Conference in Boston. We got to visit with some of the top specialty running store owners in the country and also sell books (Duel in the Sun and Staying the Course) and promote the Dick Beardsley Foundation, thanks to everyone who dropped by our table to say hi!

On Wednesday night, 150 of us all went to the Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park. Wow what a historic place!

In the pre-game ceremonies, I was led onto the field and was recognized for the 1982 Boston Marathon that Alberto Salazar and I battled in and also for the Dick Beardsley Foundation! It was a total surprise and I was very honored to have been recognized! I found out that my wife Jill and Dave Shelbourne were in on this and had been working on it for a couple of months. Thanks Jill and Dave, and also a big thanks to the Boston Red Sox organization! :-)

8 month knee replacement and recent back surgery update

Sorry for not getting my blog updated as quickly as I should! My new knee is doing great! There is now nothing I can't do on it and for that I'm so very blessed! Three weeks ago I had to under-go back surgery. I had back surgery in 1994 and they had to fuse my sacrum along with L-5 and L-4, that surgery came about because of hurting my back in the farm accident and a car accident, it was doing fine until last fall. Over the winter months it kept getting worse and worse, this past spring Jill and I bought a new mattress thinking that might be the problem, that didn't help. I started getting some chiropractic help but that also did little good. So about a month ago I went to a orthopedic back doctor here in Austin (Dr. Randall Dryer), they took a x-ray and even I could see what was the matter! The L-3 vertebrae was completely bone on bone, no space at all!

Dr. Dryer was super! Over the past couple of years they came up with a less invasive surgery called XLIF, instead of going through the front or back to get to the spine, they go through the side. They use small instruments, make two small incisions, and only have to cut through one muscle which makes recovery much quicker. In 1994 I was in the hospital for 12 days, this time I was in overnight! They had me up walking within 2 hours after I woke up in recovery!

My back pain was gone, the muscle they cut through still hurts a bit, but that is healing up nicely and is getting better every day. I'm back running again it feels good! Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I could run a marathon next month, but this new procedure was incredible! Thanks Dr. Dryer for a job well done!

New knee....check, Lower back fusion/disc replacement.....tomorrow!

My new knee is doing super, I'm running about 50 miles a week and it feels great, my lower back on the other hand has been bothering me since last September and has become worse over the past few months. We bought a new mattress, thinking that would help, but it didn't (it's nice though, so that worked out). Sleeping has been the worst! Anytime I move or roll over it wakes me up and I moan so loud it wakes my poor wife Jill, the other night even our son Christopher could hear me moaning from his bedroom! I finally went to the orthopedic doctor, they took x-rays and the area of the spine between L-3 & L-4 is bone on bone, no space at all! I had a MRI yesterday and that confirmed the regular x-ray. Jill and I met with the doctor this afternoon and my only option is surgery. I had major back surgery/fusion in 1994 as a result of the farm accident and car accident I had. It has not given me any problem until last September.

The good news is, the doctor had a cancellation and I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning and they have a less invasive procedure they do now that speeds up recovery time and I should only be in the hospital for a day maybe 2 at the most. I'm looking forward to getting back out running and cycling in the not to distance future! Take care and have a great day!

Dick

6 month new knee update

It has been 6 months today since I had my total knee replacement and things are going really well! I continue to do exercises to build the strength back in my right leg and it's making good progress! I'm running 45-50 miles a week now and will keep it at the range for the next few weeks. As the leg has strengthened my pace continues to get faster, I have even run in a couple of 5k races just for fun. I continue to bike when I'm at home and yesterday I gave my knee a good test and biked 106 miles and the knee felt fine, no problem at all!

I will be doing the Gut Check 212 bike race across South Dakota in early August with my best friend Mike Dunlap, Mike does the first 200+ miles and I do the last 186 miles so yesterday was a good test! I get asked a lot if I take any supplements for my knee, the answer is yes and I think it has helped! I take a multi vitamin, 1500mg of Glucosamine/Chondrotin, a Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc supplement, and nuBound, which is the best, in my book, as a Recovery Supplement, as it helps with your immune system and helps with body tissue repair and maintenance.

For all you folks with a TKR or are having one done soon, hang in there especially during those first few weeks after surgery, it will get better and you will be doing things you never thought you could do again! Take care and have a great day! :-)

New Knee Update (5 months)

As I write this on the last day of May, it’s been just about 5 months now since I had my total knee replacement and I’m very happy to say that things are going really well! I’m running about 40 miles per week and my pace is starting to pick up along with the distance I’ve been able to go at one time. I remember when I first tried to run back in March, I couldn’t go 100 meters without having to stop and walk because my quad would start to get so fatigued! Slowly but surely I was able to go longer and longer but the pace was extremely slow, some days I think I could have walked faster then I ran! I never got discouraged though and just kept working hard at rehabbing the knee and gaining strength back in my right quad.

As of today I’ve run as far as 7 miles and most days I now go at least 5. The pace has slowly come along as the knee and quad have become stronger. Each week I feel like I’m making at least a small gain and that is very encouraging! Most runs now are at less than 9 minute per mile pace and I’ve even got down to a 7:46 for one of the miles. If you would have asked me years ago if I’d be happy with being able to run a 9 minute mile I would have thought you were crazy, today I’m tickled pink and am so blessed to be back and feeling like a runner again! I’m sure if my orthopedic surgeon reads this he would like to strangle me!

Should I be running on my new knee? Not according to all the doctors, but do they really know what will happen? They are pretty sure the knee will wear out quicker than if I didn’t run. Most TKR’s will last 15-20 years under normal wear and then you may need another one.

Here is my feeling, (I’m sure some of you think, this guy is nuts!) I get such enjoyment out of running! I love everything about it! I’m only 53 years old so if I’m blessed to live into my 70’s and 80’s or beyond, either way I’m going to need a new knee eventually according to the doctors. Let’s say I need a new one in 10-12 years, my thought is by then the technology will be so much better than even today that who knows what we will be able to do with a new knee at that point! I may be eating crow at the end of all this and if I do, I will be the first one to admit I made a mistake. But in the mean time I’m going to enjoy every run like never before.

I promise you I will continue to give you all a honest update on how things are going with each update I write. I figure someone needs to be the “guinea pig” why not me! Perhaps it will help others who have to go through the same thing! Have a great day friends! :-)