Video: how it happened…..
The morning after blowing my knee out.
Atrophy is real!
The first time I could get my foot to my butt!
My ACL Journey:
Stronger Than I Thought I Was
At 44 years old, during my senior year at UConn Avery Point, I was recruited to play NJCAA women’s basketball.
Yes — 44 years old.
It had been years since I had played basketball competitively. I grew up playing through junior high and high school, and I had played a few pickup games and practices in my 30s with a senior women’s league in Ledyard and with the guys on the sub base in Groton. But organized college basketball? That was a different story.
At the time, I was fit. My triathlon season was coming to an end, and I figured, why not? We knew the team was going to be small, and I thought I could help by giving the younger girls a sub and a chance to play.
What I didn’t know was that we would only have five players — including me.
If I didn’t play, the girls couldn’t play.
And I didn’t want to be the reason they lost that opportunity. I knew what it felt like to want to play in college. The first time I went to college back in 1996, I had started getting in shape to try out for Johnson & Wales University while I was studying equine science and business management. But I dropped out before the season started to follow my true passion at the time: horses.
So, in many ways, basketball came back around for me years later.
That summer, our small team practiced hard. I spent those practices trying to dust off whatever skills I still had left. Then came our first game.
It was one of the longest and oddest games ever.
We won in double overtime — three players against one.
And I played the entire game.
The next morning, I felt like I had been run over by a bus. Several times.
I have completed five full Ironman races, two 50-mile races, twelve marathons, and plenty more endurance events — but nothing had left me feeling as beat up as that basketball game. That is what happens when you play ball with a bunch of 18- to 20-year-olds at 44.
Our first game was on a Thursday night. Our second game was two days later on Saturday morning.
Needless to say, I was not feeling it. But I showed up anyway because I didn’t want to let the girls down.
Less than two minutes into that second game, I went after a ball and a player at least 50 pounds heavier than me took me out.
I heard a pop.
Then came the worst pain I had ever felt in my life.
Despite icing it, resting it, and hoping it would calm down, I could not get back on the court. I could not even walk.
Five weeks later, I had surgery.
I had completely ruptured my ACL and torn my meniscus. On December 15, 2023, I had ACL reconstruction using a hamstring autograft and meniscus surgery.
And then came rehab.
Rehab was horrible.
It was painful. It was frustrating. It was humbling. It tested me physically, mentally, and emotionally. But I was determined not just to come back — I was determined to come back stronger than ever.
And I have.
Since that injury, I have broken personal records in multiple running and triathlon distances. I have used that injury as fuel. I have used it to find a deeper level of inner strength. I have come out on the other side stronger, more knowledgeable, and more grateful for what my body can do.
The lessons I learned through that injury and recovery are lessons I never could have learned from a textbook alone.
I learned what it feels like to be scared, frustrated, and uncertain.
I learned what it feels like to start over.
I learned how important the right guidance, patience, strength work, and mindset can be.
And now, I get to pass those lessons on to my clients and patients.
My ACL journey taught me that healing is not always easy, and progress is not always linear. But it also taught me that if there is a will, there is a way.
And as always, I am stronger than I think I am.
Extension did not come easy.
Dry needling for swelling.
Childs pose, now that took a long time to get that 100% back
8 months out. back in the mountains.
9 months out. Slide Lake, The winds, WY
Bound for the Sound a new 10K PR.
9/20/25 , time 46:00, a 7:23 pace.
Mystic 5k. a new 5K PR. 21:54.
a 6:59 pace 3/21/26
17 months out, riding the Mountains in Mallorca, Spain
18 months celebrated,
by hiking to the top of Mt Washington
15 months out.
Olympic distance triathlon Hawaii.
I had to pivot due to small set back. The road to recovery is not straight. Switched to the Aqua Bike and came in 2nd over all female.
Patriot 70.3 June 13, 2026
After running 10 stand alone marathons, I said I would never run a marathon again. Well that was before my ACL injury. Maine Coast Marathon May3, 2025, was my 11th road marathon and I loved it. I ran it smart and had a blast. I had no desire to PR, nor qualify for Boston again. I simply enjoyed the journey and celebrated every mile. I placed 2nd in AG and it was my second fastest marathon.
I will never again take for granted, walking, biking, hiking nor running. Who knows what the future holds for me, but until then I will continue to push myself and see just how strong I can get.
This degree represents so much more than school — it was earned through long work days, ACL rehab, basketball, exhaustion, and a whole lot of grit.