So the New Year has started and things are in full swing! Adam and I are both coming back from surgeries at the end of 2007 and confident that we are going to be stronger and healthier than ever in 2008.

Adam had surgery in early November. He had A LOT of work done on his ankle. He had his ankle “cleaned out,” which included having a pesky bone fragment and cartilage chip taken out and then having a bone spur shaved down. He also had a permanent screw inserted in his navicular bone, in the hopes of healing a stress fracture he has been dealing with for nearly two years. This was a pretty major surgery, and he is now 8 weeks out.

Adam has amazed and inspired me with his positive attitude and dedication to cross training and rehab. For instance, on a typical day last week he ran 6 miles with me and then headed inside to train on the Elliptical for 45 minutes and then jumped in the pool to aqua-jog for 30 minutes. He followed that with weight-training and stretching. He came home and had lunch and then went to physical therapy for an hour. When he got home he had a massage and when that was over he went downstairs to our Alter-G treadmill and ran 8 miles. He is an animal! It is hard to not be motivated by his work ethic. He is so determined to come back stronger and better than ever. It’s just amazing to see, and I can’t wait to see how well he races this spring. He is hungry and putting in the time and effort to make it happen.

After a year of no major injuries, just a little planter irritation in my left heel, I ended 2007 with knee surgery! The day after doing a long workout on the grass my knee was unusually swollen. It wasn’t really hurting me, but the swelling restricted my movement and when I really tried to move full range it was uncomfortable. I could run forever at seven minute mile pace, but picking it up beyond that was painful. After a couple of weeks went by waiting for it to calm down and adjusting my workouts, Alberto (Alberto Salazar – Kara’s coach) sent me in for an MRI. To my surprise, there was torn cartilage in my knee! The week before Christmas I went in and had a chip of cartilage flushed from the back of my knee, and the torn section shaved down. I took a week off, doing nothing but hanging with my family and eating Christmas cookies. The following week I cross trained and after that, I started running. I am 4 weeks out from my surgery today and am feeling great.

I had an indoor season planned and it looked like it might not happen due to the surgery, but now I am thinking its back on again. I went to Seattle this weekend to run on the indoor track at the University of Washington and test it out. The workout went great and although I’m not as ready as if I hadn’t had this interruption, I still think I can get out there and run some good races. I love racing, I love pushing myself. Even though the preparation hasn’t been perfect, it doesn’t change the fact that I want to get out there and test myself! Racing is the fun part; it’s the reward of all the hard work. It’s the perfect time of year to do something enjoyable and different before the long buildup that will come in a couple of months. I am willing to go in less than 100% ready because it’s going to be so much fun.

So, that’s it. Adam is progressing great and I can’t wait until he is back to full strength. I am healthy and going to do a short indoor series. And we are both looking forward to 2008 as the best running year of our lives. You wait and see!

Get out there and do what you love!

-Kara G

If you have a question you want to ask Kara, email us at askkara@nike.com, and we’ll pick a handful of questions for her to answer!