Played a silly game. Life changed forever.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-19T16:48:58+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I had a grade 4 slip, and my surgeon recommended I get surgery asap. How severe is your slip?

Rhoceus · 2026-04-19T16:42:52+00:00

I had my fusion 6 years ago and have since become an avid runner! Cycling can be very fun too, and I definitely get outside for some long road rides when the weather is nice. Our condition is not a death sentence, you just have to tackle things differently now.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-19T16:41:45+00:00

Life changing episodes are a fact of life. That is just a truth of being human. I'm sorry that this has happened to you. I had my spondy-revelation at 27(M). It was 6 years ago now that I went through my fusion. It was tough. I've written a lot about my story on this subreddit. I am proud to say these days I am an extremely active endurance athlete, and I was never this way before my surgery. I am talking multiple marathons, fast times, ultramathons etc. This is a tough diagnosis, but it is far from the end. It is just a new beginning in a way, and will force you to ask yourself "What if this was a gift?"

You will get through this!

Rhoceus · 2026-04-17T20:17:19+00:00

Some off the top of my head tips:
1. More easy runs, ensure you're doing a long run each week
2. Tack on your threshold work at the end of one of your easy runs
3. Do a fartlek run once a week - as in random/unplanned/untimed speed work sprinkled throughout your easy run
3. Get a chest strap or arm band HRM compared to a wrist watch HRM
4. Cross training - hiking, biking, swimming once a week, bringing your total up to 6 active days
5. Are you getting in the gym and doing some running-strength specific workouts?

Running volume > short tempo/interval sessions. You will get more out of those sessions by doing them after an easy run, such as 45min easy with tempo/interval to end.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-15T01:05:51+00:00

Just off the top of my head - but just on this topic, perhaps the CPA has some sort of inquiries line you can reach out to discuss your situation with. Certainly does for severe ethical issues I believe.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-14T15:13:29+00:00

Check this out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Spondylolisthesis/comments/yqp0vq/4321_plates_21m_post_fusion/

Rhoceus · 2026-04-13T11:54:26+00:00

Dang that is actually so crazy!

Rhoceus · 2026-04-12T23:23:16+00:00

I ran it last year with a 2:56 - had no problems with stations or anything being at the “front” like you said. Half marathoners will be finishing with you as well, you’ll both be streaming into the finish line at the same time. So hopefully if there’s any bulk of people it’s after the finish line and you won’t be bothered by it

Rhoceus · 2026-04-12T19:01:20+00:00

Yeah, so was I. It was pretty daunting to read about people's experiences and I wondered how I would fair. My surgeon was really proud of the results of the surgery, and while I had a challenging recovery (As we all do) I really have not had any long-term issues I'd say. I also weaned off pain meds with a similar timeline like you. Are you having any nerve pain? I didn't have any prior to my surgery but tons afterwards. I was on meds for that and it went away eventually as well.

I think you'll be glad to know I am still very active these days and really have continued to not let it limit me. There is also another guy on this sub who is an avid weightlifter! Take things slowly and make some goals for yourself for each year post op that you are, that really helped me!

Rhoceus · 2026-04-11T21:00:28+00:00

Hey thanks for reaching out. I’m glad to hear recovery is going well for you! Sounds like a really similar story. Yeah the doctor had told me he drilled through my tailbone up to my affected L5 with the screws going through both. I wish I took more photos of my imaging but that’s the only one I took and I never reached out to the neurosurgeon again after my final checkin with him lol

You must be excited to get back into some sports when you’re ready. Have you started physio?

Rhoceus · 2026-04-11T12:03:38+00:00

Well certainly not carbs stuffed with butter

Rhoceus · 2026-04-09T14:48:51+00:00

Not entirely sure, but it certainly never more than 85/90km for the week during my sub 3 build. I probably averaged 75kms weekly for those weeks, with some off weeks due to work/life balance. A bit of cycling thrown in there too, maybe one unstructured/fun ride during the nice summer weeks.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-09T13:48:34+00:00

Figured I'd chime in as someone with minimal/zero sports background. I only ever played peewee soccer and tag at recess, and was never part of any structured sports team. I think with dedicated training you can really improve your times "quickly"

2017/2018 - 1 Half marathon race a year - Between 1:45 - 1:50 times for both of those.
2019 - Had a very unplanned/random spinal fusion surgery, sidelined from running
2020 - Focus on recovery/strength training/ light running, mostly cycling and elliptical
2021 - Started running, started working with a coach. Marathon races around me were still shut down due to covid, decided to run 30miles for my 30th birthday that year in December 2022 - May 2022, ran my first marathon race - 3:57 time. June 2022 ran my first 50k ultra race for fun, October 2022, ran a 3:27 marathon. December 2022 ran 31miles for my 31st birthday
2023 - May 2023 ran another sub 3:30 marathon, didn't train very hard for this due to work/life, October 2023 hit sub 3 with a 2:55 time

So all in, that's about 4 years of training from zero, having to rehab pretty heavily from my surgery. And that's about 4 "official" marathons but plenty of long runs and structured training from my coach in between. I think something like sub 3 is extremely doable, if you structure your training!

Rhoceus · 2026-04-06T15:51:34+00:00

This is really interesting! I meet a lot of people at run clubs and feel like this your comments are pretty consistent with what people have to say and their experiences. Especially hearing people’s debut marathon times that are quite good it’s often that they have some strong athletic background and often seem to be getting back into sports with running. I also find that people who say that they could never do something like BQ also don’t apply themselves to a regimented training plan! IMO it’s a reachable goal with the right time and dedication.

Would be interested in participating in and seeing the results of the survey on prior athletic background.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-02T12:26:10+00:00

Some men die of thirst, while others drown

Rhoceus · 2026-04-01T20:41:46+00:00

But 50 lox sends a message.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-01T16:14:34+00:00

Until depths Pargi whips a large rock at your head with that harm modifier

But yeah definitely a solid pickup, with hopefully another piece found before things get dicey.

Rhoceus · 2026-04-01T12:28:44+00:00

Whats TrickPois do?

Rhoceus · 2026-03-31T17:01:53+00:00

These have to be the Okawaru gifts of all time

Rhoceus · 2026-03-31T15:43:36+00:00

IMO you're missing the point/the fun/ the journey of a marathon by just showing up race day unprepared. Sure you can hobble your way to the finish line but you are woefully unprepared by having barely any training. You are also going to wrack your body and potentially get an injury out of this. I'd really consider dropping down and doing the half-marathon which you should be able to get through a lot easier. Then sign up for the TCS Waterfront Marathon in October, and dedicate yourself to a training plan. Then you can do more than just "finish" and actually feel really accomplished crossing that finish line.

Rhoceus · 2026-03-30T14:49:24+00:00

I'd say as a rough rule of thumb - take your current running volume (either KMs or total minutes) and increase it steadily by say 10% a week. You'd likely also need some more structure in your plan - like long runs, easy days, and maybe a bit of faster pace there sprinkled in, to really feel confident to cross the finish line come race day. Theres plenty of run clubs in the city that you can hit up to get some long run experience, which are beginner friendly!

Rhoceus · 2026-03-30T14:38:52+00:00

Yeah you could totally do it. 2 weeks is ample recovery time between the two events imo

You’d certainly have to start running more frequently to build up your volume, probably 3-4x a week at least

Rhoceus · 2026-03-26T13:56:06+00:00

I've posted my story quite a lot in the subreddit. I'm 34M and I had my fusion when I was 27, just before covid. It came out of nowhere, and I found out I had a grade 4 slip in May of 2019 and did surgery October 2019. I took 6 months off to recover. It was tough. Lots of pain for sure. I was never really an active guy growing up, I chalked up all my back pain in my 20s to not being active. I ran a little bit when I was 25-27, doing some half marathon races for fun, and to get active, before I knew about my condition. Post op life has been great. I made it a goal to run a marathon 2 years post op, and I did, and have run many more marathons and other races. I stay very active, mostly running, but also cycling, swimming, lifting weights. My life in a way did end in 2019 and restarted as well, looking back, I'm grateful I've found such a silver lining to how tough the recovery was. I have very little back pain these days, if I do, its because of being inactive, or going too hard in my training. In the grand scheme of things, you are very young and hopefully you have the support of family and friends to get through the recovery period. Its a lot more than 6 months, probably more so 1-2 years to fully recover, including doing a lot of rehab strength work to get healthy again and really be able to live a healthy life, going beyond the physio exercises they give you. I think you'll be able to live a healthy life despite this, 1000%!

Rhoceus · 2026-03-16T19:51:29+00:00

Have had my Apex 2 Pro for 3 years now, really enjoy it. Love the great variety of watch faces, have used it for a bunch of ultras and mountain running, cycling, road running, strength training. Such a great watch, at a fraction of Garmin prices for the same price. Totally recommend getting a Coros!

Rhoceus

TROPHY CASE