Transitions

I’ve been very negligent with my posts these past 2 months. After finishing the Marine Corps Marathon in October, 2012, it seems like I disappeared into the background. Well, I did intentionally pull back on my running as I felt I was getting burned out and was looking to add more cross-training to my fitness and exercise regimen. So, I’ve been logging miles on the stationary bike at the gym; and, I’ve been resistance training with weights at least 5 days per week for the past 2 months. Interestingly, I have dropped about 4 pounds since I cut back on running and added bicycling and weight training.

I did register for the 2012-2013 Winter Series sponsored by the Bucks County Road Runners that kicked off in December. However, after running 2 of the races, I developed a lot of discomfort and pain in my right knee. The 5.3 Mile Jingle Bell Run on December 16 did a real number of my knee and I was recently diagnosed with a medial meniscus tear in my right knee. So, I have not been able to run at all for the past 6-8 weeks. I did attempt a 2.5 mile treadmill run in January and although I felt pretty good during the run, I could barely walk the following 2 days – not a good thing! So, it’s been cross-training, cross-training and more cross-training for me. I am scheduled to have my meniscus repaired on January 28. Hopefully, I’ll be able to lace up the running shoes about 4 weeks post surgery. In the meantime, all of my efforts will be focused on recovery.

In addition to my running transitions, I am also managing through another transition – after 21 years with my employer, I am now a ‘free agent’ and am experiencing the excitement and anxiety that goes along with trying to figure out what I want to do during this next phase of my life. My first order of business has been to setup an LLC for any consulting work that I may pursue. That process is still in the works and I hope to have more information from the State of Pennsylvania within the next 2 weeks.

So, I certainly am not a stranger to change management and I am very confident that I will: (1) have a full recovery from my meniscus tear; (2) return to running and will run at least a handful of half-marathons in 2013; (3) attempt to run at least 1 full marathon in 2013; (4) land on my feet with my life/career balance planning moving forward.

Cheers to All!
John