Goals

Goal-setting has played a large role in my own recovery. It keeps me motivated and gives me milestones of achievement for positive reinforcement.

Goals:
- No pain/discomfort while running [achieved by gradually building up length of run + speed]
- right legged pistol [achieved 12/13 by running and lifting to build leg strength]
- playing ulti again by March [recently played Mini, low-level pickup- 1/30/09]
- be able to touch rim again [not yet]
- change direction from full speed [not yet]
- catch a decent jump ball [not yet, keep getting skyed, dont have reactivity yet]

As I rehab, I realize more and more the role motivation plays in recovery. Consistency in training is the major factor over all others, and motivation becomes difficult when stealing hours from other parts of your life to get into the gym, usually alone, to do yet another set of squats, bosu ball work, etc. I moved to a new city, leaving behind that cohort of training buddies I could call whenever, and without being able to play, there are very few "atta-boys" at all. No more skying someone/breaking a mark/catching a big layout to relish in during the work week, nobody saying "nice catch" or "sick throw." These tiny things prove much more meaningful when they're gone, hence the need to set short-, mid-, and long-term goals, so that you can give yourself a few atta-boys and pats on the back.

To get through 8-10 months of recovery, you need real positivity, and getting it from yourself, without relying on someone else, becomes much more sustainable.

personal and public blog

This blog is for me to track and record my progress, as well as act as a tool for someone else who may be on a similar path. I am just entering week 20, and have learned that everyone's schedule is different, but that more information is always better. Miranda Roth reported to me she was playing 3 1/2 months post-op (which is absurd, she is like wolverine), and while I would love for that to be true for me and everyone else with an ACL tear, it really isn't.

Today:
mile + 1/2 warmup at 6:40 pace
dynamic stretching [monster walk, deep lunges for opening hips, planes]
dynamic box and depth jumps with turns, holding final landing
weird plank shoulder exercise
inchworm
single leg bounds, holding the landing
50 2-legged jump ropes, 25 one-legged each leg -- 5 times total
6 normal pullups, 6 dips, 6 wide pullups, 6 dips, 6 y-plane pullups, 6 dips, no rest

cold is preventing good outdoor running, need to do some 100s and 50s on a track at a build-up/sprint pace, also hills and stairs. stupid ice and snow.

last 4 weeks spend building base, went from 7:20 pace for ~3.5 miles down to 6:40 pace. All on treadmill though, so slower in reality. Fastest time for mile so far is 5:58, although this was not fastest possible, simply a warm-up time. Endurance feels good, explosiveness feels weak.

Tomorrow more cutting drills indoors, testing/gauging knee.

Ty