Well, after tweaking my knee last Wednesday night, I ran again last Friday morning but found that the usual knee pain had transformed into something beyond the usual minor discomfort that, once I got going, worked its way out. Fortunately, I had already scheduled an appointment with the ortho for Tuesday. My last cortisone shot was back in October, and I knew that I, or my knee, would be due for another one sooner or later. I had actually canceled this appointment two times in May, but felt that a cortisone injection would quite possibly help me through the summer training season. Thank goodness for that decision! The doctor expressed some concern about the knee and muttered those three dreaded parts of the alphabet that mean nothing when examined separately but taken together, inspire fear in my heart - MRI. If things didn't improve within 6 weeks or so.
The shot was Tuesday afternoon, and I more or less followed the doctor's orders of not too much activity for the days following. This morning, however, I bounced out of bed, determined to just try out my knee. If I experienced sharp pain like last Friday, I would stop and walk and try to grimly accept that my knee was f-ed. The plan was a slow and easy 4-mile run along the Arroyo Seco, one of Pasadena's gems. I don't often drive to run there and am usually content with different routes that I can take to and from my front or back door. However, the trail along the Arroyo beckoned this morning, and I stuck to my plan of a nice, slow, easy run. It was the perfect way to start our Friday morning, and my knee fully cooperated! Big relief there! Major happy dance when we returned to the car!
Post-run, I went to the chiropractor who snapped my back and taped my knee. Might as well add something else to the fix-the-knee-mix! As I left the office, I commented to Michael that in terms of running, I am more like Humpty-Dumpty than a sleek, well-oiled machine. He suggested duct tape to keep me together. Maybe I'll invest in some.
I'm not sure if it's the smartest decision to continue to run, but for the moment, I'll take the great efforts to which I have to go in order to stay somewhat mobile. This morning's run made me feel so alive and appreciative of where I live and all that I can do, creaky knee and all.
3 comments:
Glad your knee seems to be cooperating. I would have loved to see some pics from the Arroyo Seco. It just sounds pretty!
Chez Julie - The knee does seem to be cooperating! The Arroyo is pretty - it can be busy and I don't ever feel that I'm 'away' from it all, but it's a great place to run, walk, be.
So happy the shot helped! Keep running until you have pain :) (Or, preferably, before, but you know what I mean. Hopefully.)
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