Movin' on up

I hate to jinx this progress by saying anything, but things look to be on the upswing. I went out to Memorial yesterday and met up with my Wednesday morning track group. No, I didn't do a track workout, but I did jog the two mile warmup with everyone, and it went well. Just the occasional twinge, but it felt more like the muscles just trying to get used to running again than anything else. I figure I'll continue to run 2-3 times a week and hit the elliptical the rest of the time, and I'll gradually add days and miles back in through the summer. No sense in letting this come back...

Carpe Viam!

Small moves, Ellie. Small moves.

This knee injury has been frustrating not only because it has kept me from running, but because of the things that irritate it and the things that don't. For example, I can hammer all day on the elliptical trainer, but I can't sit on my porch swing and push back and forth gently, because bending it and straightening it around 90 degrees irritates it. And as I mentioned in a previous post, forget about trying to run--I couldn't even go 30 seconds without pretty severe pain in my knee.

Until this morning.

I had noticed over the last several days that the silly little things that were bothering it (like the porch swing) weren't really bothering it any more. And those little twinges I was still getting from time to time were becoming very few and far between. So, I took a brisk walk out to the Heights Blvd. trail and decided to go for a little test drive. Nothing crazy, mind you--just really easy jogging for less than a minute, followed by a minute of walking, repeated 6 times or so.

And.....it didn't really hurt. I still felt just the very slightest twinge at the top of my kneecap, but not only wasn't it as severe as before, it didn't even feel like the same pain, so I think it might even have been my body just reacting to trying to run for the first time in four months rather than being related to the injury.

The only change in the routine from two weeks ago is the magic foam roller. I rolled the heck out of my quads and my IT band for the last several days, and I think that it might finally be kicking that tightness I was feeling in my hip (quad insertion, perhaps).

Am I cured? No, not by a long shot. There is still much to do. I still need to get stronger and looser. I will continue to do my strengthening exercises and probably get a few massages. I will continue to use running as a test rather than a workout, at least for a while. If that means that it takes the entire summer just to get to the point that I can run every day, then that's what it takes.

And there's always the chance that this was some sort of a "fluke," and that there really is a cartilege problem, but for some reason it just decided that it didn't want to hurt today. I think I'll ignore this possibility, at least for now.

But, man, did it feel good to get back on the horse this morning...

Carpe Viam!

Homesick.

I missed the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon today. What should have been an exciting moment earlier this week when my confirmation booklet arrived in the mail was just another reminder that I can't run. That day coincided with my most recent trip to the doc, which was pretty discouraging. He still isn't 100% convinced there is any structural damage, but he wants me to get an MRI so we can see for sure. Something about how immediate the pain hit when I got on the treadmill last week. So, that's probably my next move.

I'm also investigating massage and ART. I'm pretty convinced that the tightness that is still in my right leg and hip isn't good, and might be what's causing the problem. At this point, just about anything is worth a shot.

Frustrating.

But, there were ~40,000 people who did run the Mini today, in what I hear from a few were darn near perfect running conditions. Some old guy I know there ran 1:42--way to go Dad! And CS from STL PR'd yet again. Congrats!

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Carpe viam!