Looking ahead

Five weeks have passed since my surgery and hope is what best describes how every day has been like. The first two weeks following surgery did not consist of any exercises, except one mile walks and daily activities. After that I progressively transitioned into exercising, which was really light for the first four days, and more intense, “getting in shape” starting with the fifth day. Basically speaking, I started running 19 days after surgery, with ½ mile runs for the first 3 to 4 days. I also did a lot of exercises in the pool, including jogging, side slides, hip add/abd/flex/ext, scissors, etc, etc. To this day I still have some pain when I exercises, and full ROM in my groin is not quite there yet. There is still scar tissue that I need to break down, and Dr. Meyers said the best thing to get rid of it is massage and practice. In fact, the Dr. recommended to me just two days ago to engage into some all-out (full speed) sprints to really break down the scar tissue. I was a little skeptical when he told that to me, but he is the one that knows better what I need to be doing, so I’ll just do it and see what the outcomes are. On Nov 25th I’ll be going to Philadelphia to get my surgery checked up and hope to get good news then.

The fact that I’m not 100% fully rehabbed is a little of a concern to me. I feel like I have been pretty patient and followed all the steps to get healthy after my surgery. However, my rehab has progressed at a low pace for the most part, and I expressed that to the doctor. They told me that my rehab is going normal and most of the symptoms I have complained to them about were normal. The advice I got back is to keep massaging and pushing things, which is what I am doing every day (definitely lots of massage).

With running I have come to 20-25 minutes on a flat surface, and that was this past Thursday Oct 30h. After the run I engaged in six-seven 80% max speed 100m strides. This was the first time I did strides during this rehab. After the strides I did 4 sets of 10 lounges, 4 sets of 15 abs, standing hip adduction and flexion, and heal raises.

At the moment (Friday Oct 31st) I am in New Jersey for the NEC cross country conference hosted by Monmouth University. We left Saint Francis at 8am and arrived at the CC course at about 2pm, where SFU athletes did a warm up. I actually ran the full 8km men’s course with our CC guys, and was impressed with the challenge this course will give to all the athletes tomorrow. It’s definitely not a neat course at all, in fact some parts are really rough and will be really exciting to see how the athletes will hold up in the race. After my run I stretched and ran six strides before heading out to the Staybridge hotel. Dinner was provided through a banquet where all the athletes and coaches attended together and some were recognized for their athletic and academic achievements this semester.

Right after the men’s race, which is scheduled today (Nov 1) at noon, I will be rushing to catch a flight out of Newark Airport to Denver, Colorado, where I will be attending a wedding in Fort Collins the same day. My countrywoman and former UTEP teammate, Adriana Pirtea, is getting married. She is mostly known in America after her heartbreaking 2nd place finish in the Chicago Marathon in 2007, a race where she was the theoretical winner. I am really enthusiastic for her and this big step she is taking in life, and personally expect to have a good time at the wedding as many well known Romanian athletes, established in the U.S., will take part at the event.

I will be back to Ebensburg on Monday night to complete the remaining, one month of the fall semester. Few more races are left from the cross country season, and also few things to do for my three graduate classes. It feels as this semester has gone by really quick, part of it I think is because I was really busy doing all kinds of things. Life in Loretto-Ebensburg has not been too exciting, however, winter may bring enough excitement considering that we already had three to four inches of snow fall just three days ago.

My future goals, both short and long term, still remain the same, which means to get healthy. Once I am 100% rehabbed I will reveal my intention as far as training and competing. I am planning, as last year, to go to El Paso for few weeks as soon as the semester is over, but again, that depends a great deal whether or not I am good to go/healthy. As for now, I am looking forward to the NEC meet and the wedding tonight, which I intend to talk about in my next post. I am also hoping to have more positive news about my rehab that I can talk about, but I need to keep believing, hoping, and being patient.


Marquis Vauvenargues said, “Patience is the art of hoping.”