Remember THIS?
Which lead to THIS?
And ultimately THIS:
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| Look at my face. I knew I was done by Mile 4 in the 2010 Columbus Half Marathon. |
And remember that one time when I thought there was nothing else that could POSSIBLY go wrong with my life? Yeah, I remember too. Then my knee gave out after 0.12 miles of a 2 mile training run.
I was wrong about that one time.
My knee has been tender on and off since the Pittsburgh Marathon, but not painful. I have been able to run low mileage; I blamed the tenderness on recovery from running 26.2 miles.
Grudgingly, I went to see the doctor. I already knew what he was going to say:
Patellofemoral Syndrome. Good ‘ole Runner’s Knee.
What I did not know he was going to say:
Patellofemoral Syndrome in both knees. And tendonitis too – in both knees.
Just. Great.
Sooooo….it’s back to physical therapy for me. Good thing my insurance plan just started over. Great for more sessions, bad for the cost.
Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate. And take Aleve too. My freezer is stalked with Dixie Cups full of ice, per the Doc:
I have a jumbo container of Aleve. Judi said I can buy stock in it.
I can run if I don’t have pain. If I have pain, stop running. If I am hobbling like I was yesterday going down the stairs at 5:20 a.m. – don’t run. Damn.
My post to the Lucky 13’s at 6:10 a.m. yesterday was this, “06/18 – Please don’t wait for me as I am NOT coming this am! 🙁 🙁 Seeing as I can’t go down stairs this morning without a slight limp, I better not run the hills. Although, it is tempting to “give it a try anyway.” 🙁 🙁 Someone tell me I am making the right decision [and pass the message on to Duane, please]. Thanks! I already miss you guys.”
Everyone said I made the right decision. Except for me.
But, damn. I know I’m doing the right thing. I know that if I take care of it early, I won’t be out the whole season. I know if I miss a Saturday run here and there, I won’t have to miss every Saturday run. But, I love running – and I love coaching! I miss it when I’m not there. Like yesterday, when a lot of our group ran 4 miles for the first time ever. That’s exciting!
I’m super bummed. I haven’t been sleeping – not good for injury. I keep telling myself this is nothing I can’t handle – I’ve handled it before – it is just disappointing that is happening right now with so much coming up. Like the Goofy in 2012. I didn’t have to stop running altogether before, though, because I did the right thing. Right?
How do you handle injury? What keeps you motivated to do the right thing and take care of yourself? What do you do for tendonitis?
And because cute little sleepy puppies make everyone smile (even when they can’t run, right?):
Until the next mile marker (which hopefully isn’t too far away),
Follow
If you run before your knee is ready, I’ll probably have to beat you. Think of this as a vacation and use it as your chance to find other forms of exercise you enjoy. You’ll be back to running with us before you know it.
🙁 I hope it heals well.
Ok, just having gotten over an injury like a minute ago, I feel your frustration. I will say the one thing that keeps me doing the right thing (even though it isn’t what I want to do) is thinking beyond today or tomorrow. I want to be able to run (or swim, or bike, or just be able to walk) when I’m old. In a nutshell, I try to look at the whole picture and think to myself that maybe taking off X amount of time now will mean that I will be able to run injury free for many years to come. When I can’t run, I do the elliptical which keeps me in good running shape. I highly recommend replacing your running with that in the meantime as long as it agrees w/your cranky knees. Stay tough but be smart…think long term! You can do it!
Please take care of yourself and listen to your body and your doctor!
It IS hard to do the things we know we need to do… look to the bigger picture. You can stay involved with your team’s runs even if you cannot run yourself.
Wishing you strength – both physical and mental to get through this hard time.
🙁 Oh Sara — This sucks sooooooooo bad. For so many reasons but you are doing the right thing.
All you can do is keep yourself as active as possible with other things. When I hurt my ankle, I found that it was crucial to keep momentum with physical things I could do – riding a stationary bike, doing some crunches or upper body weights. Anything to not fall back into my natural “couch potato/I give up” tendencies.
Hang in there girl, heal, get better and you’ll get back out there.
XOXO
Sara,
I am so sorry to hear about your pain and knee troubles! I definitely think you made the right decision. It is SO hard to remember that, in the moment, yeah it seems terrible that we cannot run…but if we keep pushing it will be A LOT longer before we can run again. I have still not mastered this thought process but it is so good that we have friends out there to keep us accountable and to get us through these times. You are so strong…I know you can make it through this!
So sorry about your injury!!
Just stay strong and keep focusing on getting better!
I don’t know what to say that you probably haven’t already been told.
What *I* would do is try to switch focus to something else… cleaning up my food choices, working on my core muscles, writing up training plans, reading the latest running book that I haven’t had a chance to dive in… still focused on running and the future, but without the actual action of running…
I agree with all the previous comments! You have to take care of your knees so that you can keep using them!!!
I also strongly agree with the idea of cross-training (if allowed) to keep up the cardio and keep the body entertained. 🙂
HUGS to you! I hope you feel better soon!
Runner’s knee….soooo frustrating.
So, after you buy stock in Aleve and become an expert on icing, know that you will be back to running before too much time has passed. I know that when you are grounded, time passes slowly and you want to be out there. Push now, pay later.
Elliptical is something I have done to try and maintain my cardio. I ice religiously now, pain or not. I ice every night, running that day or not. I figure anything to help keep that inflammation down. I carry ice packs with me to practice so that I can start icing immediately.
So, coach, here’s one for you…I vote that we incorporate stretching into our post-run routine. Whiney-locks and I were talking about how much that is emphasized in NoBo and what a shock it was that we don’t do it as a group. Stretching post run is great for keeping a lot of our injuries at bay. So, why not do it together and make it a priority???
I’m really glad you rested, saw the doctor, and are taking care of yourself. I miss you, but know you are doing the right thing!!!
So sorry to hear about your knee! Sounds like you have a good recovery plan! Keep at it and you’ll be back on the road in no time!
Runner’s knee….soooo frustrating.
So, after you buy stock in Aleve and become an expert on icing, know that you will be back to running before too much time has passed. I know that when you are grounded, time passes slowly and you want to be out there. Push now, pay later.
Elliptical is something I have done to try and maintain my cardio. I ice religiously now, pain or not. I ice every night, running that day or not. I figure anything to help keep that inflammation down. I carry ice packs with me to practice so that I can start icing immediately.
So, coach, here’s one for you…I vote that we incorporate stretching into our post-run routine. Whiney-locks and I were talking about how much that is emphasized in NoBo and what a shock it was that we don’t do it as a group. Stretching post run is great for keeping a lot of our injuries at bay. So, why not do it together and make it a priority???
I’m really glad you rested, saw the doctor, and are taking care of yourself. I miss you, but know you are doing the right thing!!!
I don’t know what to say that you probably haven’t already been told.
What *I* would do is try to switch focus to something else… cleaning up my food choices, working on my core muscles, writing up training plans, reading the latest running book that I haven’t had a chance to dive in… still focused on running and the future, but without the actual action of running…
Please take care of yourself and listen to your body and your doctor!
It IS hard to do the things we know we need to do… look to the bigger picture. You can stay involved with your team’s runs even if you cannot run yourself.
Wishing you strength – both physical and mental to get through this hard time.
🙁 I hope it heals well.
🙁 Oh Sara — This sucks sooooooooo bad. For so many reasons but you are doing the right thing.
All you can do is keep yourself as active as possible with other things. When I hurt my ankle, I found that it was crucial to keep momentum with physical things I could do – riding a stationary bike, doing some crunches or upper body weights. Anything to not fall back into my natural “couch potato/I give up” tendencies.
Hang in there girl, heal, get better and you’ll get back out there.
XOXO