Medical Update

Went to the doctor today and thankfully the injury is minor. No damage and nothing requiring an X-ray or MRI, thankfully.

I need to keep resting the knee and only start back up running when the pain is all gone. That'll probably not be for another 3-4 days, I'd estimate based on the rate at which the pain has decreased since Sunday. At this point, the mornings are painful due to stiffness and steps are still uncomfortable. Maybe by the weekend I'll be in goo enough shape to head back out and get 2 easy miles in.

To the Doctor...Ugh.

My knee, while not getting any worse, has not gotten a whole lot better and while I can walk on it, I can't do any sort of physical activity on it. The pain isn't overwhelming, but it hasn't lessened a whole lot. On the good side, I can sit with my knee bent normally, which I couldn't do on Monday.

I haven't tried running yet, but I know it just won't happen and I need to find out exactly what I did to myself. So, I have an appointment tomorrow morning with an orthopedic specialist to get the low down and find out what stupid thing I did to hurt myself after being back to running for all of a month. It's just a very weird injury because I can do almost everything normally but when I lunge on the leg, I have pain. When I go up and down stairs, I have pain. When I walk, I can feel that the knee isn't right, but have almost no pain. Full range of motion, no pain. Iassume that the foot strike of running would cause pain, but I haven't tried.

My uninformed best case scenario is that I strained a tendon and it'll take a week or so to heal totally. RICE being the medicine.

My uninformed worst case scenario is that I slightly tore my meniscus somehow and will need to take several weeks off, probably not getting back to running until after we get back from the beach the second week of August or longer. I have some of the symptoms of a tear (location of the pain, slight clicking sound when I bend my knee) but lack others (swelling, joint locking, feeling that the knee is going to give way).

Bottom line: I have no idea what I did, so paying the $25 co-pay and a small charge for a possible X-ray is probably in order. Regardless, it doesn't look like I'm running anywhere anytime soon so I need to build a cross training regime that will keep me moving towards getting in shape in the meantime. I'll be going to the Sports Authority to pick up a medicine ball and dumbbells for at-home resistance training as well as a jump rope to work on agility, once my injury heals enough I can do that without pain.

So, we'll see what the doctor says. I'm going to the Arnold Palmer Sports Health Center at Union Memorial Hospital here in Baltimore. They're the medical team for the Baltimore Ravens and the center got its name for treating a serious hand injur that Palmer suffered some years ago and came back from with a full recovery. If I get to see the doctor I want, I'll be even happier because she is a marathoner and specializes in knee injuries.

With any luck, I'll get not-so-bad news.

Over Use? Really?

A good running weekend (I ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings) ended on a bit of a sour note yesterday as the weird tweak I felt just below my right kneecap slowly got more and more noticeable until it was a definite injury of some sort last night. I iced it and took some painkillers and dreaded waking up this morning, when I knew it'd be stiff as a board. I had already planned for today to be a rest day, so not a big deal on that front.

And sure enough, I limped out of bed and to the shower this morning. I walked to work and sat down at my desk and about 20 minutes later my knee was screaming. I went straight across the street to CVS and bought a reusable ice pack, ace bandage and ibuprofen, all of which seemed to help as the day went on. I also kept my leg relatively straight, which also seemed to help. Tonight it tightened up again but I've been icing it and popped some more ibuprofen.

I think I just strained a tendon that connects the kneecap to the femur, but I could be wrong. It isn't an incredible amount of pain, but I am skeptical if I'll be able to run tomorrow morning for my usual 2 miler. Game time decision. And the only thing I can think is that I just went too far too fast on Sunday. I only ran 4.5 miles, but it must have been too much for my whatever-is-hurting to take. Lesson learned: whatever mileage progression I think is appropriate, is too quick so slow it down.

It could be worse, though. It doesn't seem to be something potentially more serious like ITBS (which usually occurs on the outside of the knee), or a critical tendon like the ACL (honestly, it would have been impossible for me to hurt that considering how slowly I was running). Could always be worse so if I feel comfortable with the knee tomorrow, I'll run. If not, I'll just do my usual core workout and give it another 24 hours.

Crafting a Race Calendar

Getting back to running means (for me, at least), setting some goals for the coming months by choosing some races to run. Unfortunately, while my mind remembers how awesome it feels to work towards a large goal like a half marathon, my body is far away from being able to successfully (and safely) achieve such a goal. So, the Baltimore Half is probably out for this year, which is a bummer. But, the 5K that accompanies the Running Festival is well within my grasp. In fact, all the races I'll run through the fall will likely be 5K's since I know I'll be able to run them with some speed, which will make them more enjoyable. Then once the winter arrives (I don't even want to think about dark cold mornings right now), I will look to do the Celtic Solstice 5-miler, which is always a solid race. So, here are the races I'm thinking about right now.

September 11: Run to Remember 5K (run through downtown Baltimore to support charities associated with emergency response workers in Baltimore City).

September 20: Tunnel Run 5K (Never heard of this until this year but it's a race through the Ft. McHenry Tunnel that passes under the entrance to the Inner Harbor. Cool idea.)

October 10: Baltimore Running Festival 5K (Third year in a row for me running some part of the festival)

October 18 (maybe): Home Run 10K/5K in Rockville, MD (this is our first anniversary so maybe I can talk Annie into doing this in the morning...we'll see though!)

November 26: 100th Annual Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day 10K (we're going to be in Ohio for Thanksgiving this year so this would be a great way to burn some calories before my favorite holiday of the year!)

December: Celtic Solstice 5-miler (the end of the '09 racing season and a wonderful race all around...although bitter cold!)

So there it is, the preliminary racing schedule. With any luck, I'll be in good enough shape by December to crush the Celtic Solstice and start a half marathon training program in January...but that's many months away. Right now, I'm concentrating on getting up to go run the North Central Railroad Trail tomorrow morning!

A Beautious Day In the Neighborly Hood

I think that would be how Mr. Rogers would type out one of the lines from his opening number. Mr. Rogers brings back good memories for me of a simpler time. A time before I was forced at socio-educational gunpoint to begin my journey into responsible adulthood. Before I'd have to wake up early to go to kindergarten and learn my ABCs, followed by elementary school where I was forced to memorize multiplication tables (surprisingly my teachers were right...they DID come in handy), on to the downright awful three years of middle school that I have mostly blocked from my memory (I have yet to meet anyone who enjoyed being in 7th grade), followed by my first introduction to writing multi-page essays and reading non-fiction books with the objective of actually retaining their contents in prep school before becoming a legal adult at 18.

But yes, as a pre-schooler watching my daily does of Mr. Rogers, followed closely by 3-2-1 Contact, Mr. Wizard and Square One, I was always happy to see Mr. Rogers' house. It was totally awesome, what with the fish tank and working stop light (I pined for a working stop light in my own room for years...OK, honestly I still do) and easy access to the Land of Make Believe. And it was always sunny and warm but not so hot that Mr. Rogers couldn't wear one of those cardigans. I always tried to guess which color he'd choose today, based on the colors he'd worn the days before (an analyst from the beginning, sadly).

But this morning, and each morning this week has been what I imagine 6:00 AM in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood must be like every single day: 60 degrees, low humidity, slight breeze, no clouds, quiet and fresh. I tried to get to bed earlier last night and was partly successful. Instead of getting to sleep at 11:30 or later (disastrous for my running prospects the next morning), I was fast asleep at 11:00. I slept so deeply that I woke up thinking it was Saturday...literally. I was really sad to realize that it was in fact, just Friday and I had to go to work. When you're watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, the only reason the day of the week matters is because he only comes on during the week and not on the weekend. Weekends would be, of course, for morning (but not too early!) cartoons. Obvi.

Anyway, I got out the door relatively on time after hitting snooze once and got my 2 miles in in great fashion. I don't know if it's a placebo effect or whether my body truly does remember what it's like to run, but each run I feel better and can run for longer. After this week, I'm going to tack on another mile to my run and gradually step up over the next month to really concentrate on building a base. My long runs will start this weekend at a very not-long 4-5 miles, but you have to restart somewhere and 10 miles or more is not in the cards yet.

This weekend is the last full weekend before Annie comes back from Arkansas, where she's been singing since late May, so I need to make the most of it. Tomorrow I'll do another 2 miler with my slowly evolving core workout afterward. Sunday I'm going to drive up to the Northern Central Rail Trail for a change of scenery to do 5 miles. Weather should continue to be mostly Mr. Rogers, although some humidity will return. Can't be perfect all the time, right?

Now, I need to return to my mountain of work and play Make Believe that I'm actually interested in doing it rather than going home and watching Mr. Rogers...which I would totally do if I could. Maybe he'll wear green today...although I have no prior history on which to base my call.

Pulling a Lazarus

After more than what, six months, I've finally gotten things in my life (professional life, I should say) in order enough to get back on the road. The last time I posted on my blog, I was still about six months from taking the CFA exam and my job was still very much in question. Well, I took the CFA back in early June and am waiting for the results, which will come at the end of July. I don't really know if I passed or failed (the pass rate for Level I is about 30%) but I can't worry about that at this point. If I pass, great...I'll start studying for Level II in September. If I fail, it'll stink but I'll definitely pass next year.

On the job front, with the markets doing much better and our own fortunes much rosier than they were back in February and March, I feel much better about my job for now. To be sure, the last 9 months has taught me not to take employment for granted, which I think my entire generation has learned the hard way now. But I count myself incredibly lucky by any stretch, as more than one running blogger I follow is still looking for a new job or worried about their current job.

Anyway, with my job schedule largely under control (I no longer have to be at work at 7AM, which frees up that early morning for running), and the CFA at bay for a few months at least, I'm determined to not only get back to running, but to really get myself back in shape. I'm definitely out of shape and softer than I was six months ago, and I want to get that fat off and my times down for the fall.

I have no illusions, though. Six months away from running takes its toll and I'm comfortable with the fact that I need to essentially start from scratch in terms of speed, distance and length of runs. Right now, I have a nice and easy 2 mile route mapped out that I intend to follow until it's truly an easy run. Right now, that's not the case, but that's OK.

I also intend to take advantage of the gym at my office. For $25 a month I get a well-equipped gym that I should really start using for cross training after work a few days a week. We move to our new digs in September, so I'm hoping that our new gym in the building will be bigger and better...and still absurdly cheap compared to the Maryland Athletic Club across the street!

So, my goal would be to run my third annual Baltimore Running Festival race, but I don't know if the half is in the cards. Granted, I have just over 90 days between now and then so who knows how things will proceed. At the very least, I'll be in good condition for the 5K and can maybe find some longer races during the fall with the hope of running the Flying Pig half or Frederick next spring...who knows. But at least I'm gotten back out there and I already feel so much better than I have for many months.

Wow...2 Months Without a Post

Yeah, so it's been a long two months without a post, but to be honest, I have fallen off the wagon with running if for no other reason than everything else has been taking up more time than I'd like. I've moved into a different position at work, which is great for my career goals, but has been wreaking havoc with free time. It's been impossible to find time enough to run, although I realize there's always time in the day if you make time. However, making time in addition to 10-11 hour days at the office with another 4 hours on the weekend thrown in can be tough. The cold weather has not helped, as running in the winter is something you have to will yourself to do, and that's even when you're in the habit of running, which I was not and still am not. So, I just set running aside for a while. I'll have that much more work to do to regain my fitness, but that's OK. 

Annie and I did run the Turkey Trot back on Thanksgiving and it went well, despite both of us being undertrained for it. I think I'll get back to running regularly once it starts to warm up again and I can get some motivation to step outside in the cold morning. 

So, not to worry, as things are fine, just very busy and I have yet to really find enough time to dedicate to running, much less the motivation to run in the dead of winter. Perhaps Spring will inspire me when it arrives in March...maybe I'll get back to it before then, who knows. This blog isn't going away, although it might just be in stasis for a few more weeks as I organize myself enough to get a few miles in 3 or 4 days a week.