Partial L knee replacement 55f Athlete

I am going in for a partial LKR Oct 9th. Not going to lie, I’m getting super nervous about this and starting to second guess my livability with the pain.

Knee (medial) has been an issue for a few years now. 3 rounds of steroid shots did a little short of nothing. I’m a runner, weight lifter, hiker, walker and any other sport that sounds like fun. Had to stop running, lifting or putting any type of real weight on that knee. Can’t squat, go down stairs, step up or do much else with out pain. Got put on the nine month waitlist in February. At that point it hurts so bad I couldn’t even walk a mile without calling my husband to pick me up. So I decided to lose some weight to see if that would help. I think it did because my everyday pain is now a 2-3 not a 7-8. I still can’t do a lot of my Athletic activities but at least I can walk up to about 3 miles without needing to be driven home.

This is why I am questioning the surgery now. Being 55 and in really good shape I feel like I would recover well and have the next 20 years to do all the things I’d love to do except maybe running . Or should I wait until my every day pain is back to a seven and an eight? I think I’m really just facing fear. I really want to get back to my activities that I used to be able to do. I know I can’t live like this another 5 years.

Weird aside, my X-rays show a lot of space in between the bones, but my MRI is grade 4 Osteoarthritis. Doc said I’m the perfect candidate for the partial. Ugh I’m just scared!

Has anyone gone through surgery just to get back to being your athletic self?