Update on my running...

I am no longer running.
The End.

But seriously...

My knees (plural!) have not been right since returning from New Zealand. I've had one or MAYBE two pain free runs. I made a quick decision upon my return home to scrap the half marathon I had been training for & try the duathlon with my wonderful husband instead. Sadly, the runs that led up to the duathlon continued to be difficult & moderately painful, so I decided it was best to cancel that idea as well (your welcome, Peter) and limit my running & do a bunch of cross training.

Well, fast forward 3 weeks later & my knees are worse than ever... actually, I think Saturday they were worse than today, but pretty close. I haven't run, or gone spinning, or even yoga (squats & lunges are not my friends right now), or ANYTHING for that matter (in case you're curious, it's slowly killing me inside) and my knees are still hurting me. Not a fan. I've been hoping that this was just runner's knee(s), but the more time that goes by the more I'm thinking it's not. My runner's knee in the past has never been this persistent! Sunday I mentioned the pain to a friend & she said that it sounded just like when she tore her meniscus. Ugh! Hearing those words was like a knife in my heart!

I've been researching meniscus tears & it's definitely possible that is what I have. I especially think it's a possibility since I told Peter a few weeks back that it seemed like I twisted my knee (Don't worry, honey, I don't expect you to remember me saying that to you.). It's a pain that's underneath & on the inside of my knee. It's not there all of the time, but comes & goes. It started out as a sharp pain, but now it's just a dull ache. The only really weird thing is that this pain isn't on just one knee, but both.

After all of my research, I decided to swear off running, follow the RICE plan. I also looked up some physical therapy exercises to do. I was going to reevaluate myself in 2 weeks & try to re-introduce yoga & the elliptical and then slowly increase my exercising until I felt it appropriate to try running again. That was yesterday...

Now, while nothing with the status of my knees has changed, I'm thinking it's time to be a big girl & head on out to a knee doctor.

I think I'm just scared that he'll tell me I need surgery... or that I'll never be able to run again. I think both of those scenarios are doubtful, but I'd be super pissed if I rehabbed myself for 2 months only to find out then that I should've/could've done something more for my knees NOW.

I have the doctor's number in my hands & plan on calling tomorrow... maybe.