The Big Day

The big day is finally here! "D" day! Doctor (ie Orthopedic Surgeon) Day!!!

So, you ask, how did it go? Well, my friends allow me to tell you the short version of my 70 minute doctor's visit this afternoon...

As I sat in the doctor's office having just relayed the details of my knee pain to the nice orthopedic surgeon's physicians assistant & his student I suddenly felt like I was living the book "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall. Granted, I've actually only read the first 2 chapters of the book (it just wasn't something I could get in to), but Christopher McDougall was pretty much told the same thing I was about running. In a nutshell, "It's not good for you."

Erroneous! That's what I wanted to tell my PA. Apparently the world really is separated into 2 groups: runners & non-runners. Non-runners just don't get it. I actually think they don't want to get it & prefer to live thinking that they are superior beings! My PA told me he played soccer & basketball, but whenever he tried to run he would get hurt... I wanted to tell him that maybe if he was a little smarter he would know how to prevent running injuries (and maybe be an MD instead of a PA), but I held back... I figured that comment would get me no where fast.

The gist of it is that I was diagnosed with bilateral patellofemoral pain... runner's knee. (Surprise, surprise!) He said it could be something else & if the pain gets intense again that I should come in for a follow-up. However, it seemed like this was simply runner's knee & I've been doing all the right things. As much as this was a relief, it was also annoying 'cause he did leave it open to possibly being something else.

Then, he went on telling me that it's likely my body can't handle the mileage that I was doing before my injury & that I will probably have to settle for running no more than a 10K for the rest of my life... seriously. I nodded & smiled & agreed to up my elliptical time to 45 minutes like he suggested, but the entire time all I could think of was the book "Born to Run." I suppose if I'm going to use that book as my motivation to defy all odds & prove my PA wrong I should finish reading it, but I've read enough reviews to know where the book is going & thus where my running journey is about to take me... Barefoot Running! The time has come to venture into new territory!

Quick Running Update

It's been almost 4 weeks since I've gone running.

I still have bilateral knee pain- on & off.

I decided the other day that it was time to call the doctor.

It's obvious to me I won't be running for a while, so I figured it can't hurt to see a doctor. My appointment is still 2 and a half weeks away. During this time my goals are to cross train, strength train, do some yoga & lose 5 pounds... all in the hopes that when I go to see the doctor in 2 weeks he will tell me that my knees look good & it was probably just a bad case of runner's knee.... that's my dream! Only time will tell.

I'm missing running even more than I expected. I knew it would suck not to run, but not being able to run when the weather is finally nice is killing me. Before we left for New Zealand, running had become such a big part of my routine. I was running religiously 3-4 times a week for several months... it's hard to have to break a habit like that. Most days when I get out of work I just want to go home, change, and head out for a run.

Hopefully I'll get good news on June 21st...

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.

Week in Review

I've been home from vacation for just over a week, so I think it's time to address my running status. While I didn't run a ton on vacation I was still fairly active. We did a 5K run early on in the vacation, and then we did a bunch of walking & hiking, and even a 10 mile bike ride in the middle of the trip. So, when I got home and was supposed to be running 10 miles the day after my plane landed I wasn't too worried. Now, I wasn't gonna go out & run 10 miles, but I felt a 5 mile run at a 6 mph pace was well within my capabilities. So, I headed on out & felt pretty good for the first 2.5 miles. Unfortunately, as I continued I developed a stabbing pain underneath my right knee cap. I stopped to walk for 0.5 miles. The pain went away, but as soon as I returned to running the pain didn't hesitate to come back immediately. Not a fan. When I got home I stretched, iced my knee & took some IBUs. The next day I decided to just go for it & do a short jog. I didn't even get 1 mile into it before I had to stop. Not a fan. I continued to walk the rest of the way & my knee continued to hurt which was not promising...

Long story short, the half marathon, which is only 3 weeks away has officially been postponed. I don't think my knee is ready to endure long runs. It was a tough decision to make (especially since I've been labeled a quitter for most of my life), but there are still at least 2 more half marathons locally before winter. Since I was concerned about being called a quitter, I came up with a back up race to train for. Instead of doing the Flower City Half Marathon as planned, I decided that Peter & I would do the Flower City Duathlon!

The duathlon is set up as 5K run/20 mile bike ride/5K run. You can do it by yourself or as a relay. I told Peter I would run the 5Ks if he would do the bike ride. He has tentatively agreed. This, of course, is all dependent on my capability to run 6.2 miles. I'm confident that I'll be able to pull it off. There will be a break in the middle, so I'm thinking that my knee will hold up. I'm trying to look at this like a blessing in disguise. I'm hoping that by focusing on cross training & shorter runs that I'll be able to increase my speed while recovering. Too ambitious? We'll see how this goes. I've been resting my knee, stretching & doing yoga. I have since gone running in 2 mile increments pain free. I find this promising. I'm feeling good about my running season this spring/summer/fall.

Here's my planned workouts for this week:
Monday: Easy 5K Run
Tuesday: Bike 5 miles
Wednesday: Yoga
Thursday: Easy Long Run (not quite sure what "long" will be yet)
Friday: REST
Saturday: Speed 5K Run
Sunday: Yoga

This is all contingent on my knee, of course. I've decided that if my knee even slightly hurts I'm stopping dead in my tracks & I'm going home & icing it. Only time will tell....