Diagnosed and Resting

Can you call yourself a runner if you aren't running? I feel like all the muscles I created are just turning back into fat day by day, and I sort of have the sensation that I am atrophying all over and turning into a slug with bed sores. So stop complaining and go run! you think. Ah, not that easy, my friends. Went to the doctor last week (and may I say, I LOVE having health insurance!!! X-rays, consultation, etc, for almost NO money! Nothing makes you appreciate it like spending 3 plus years paying $180 for routine visits), mainly because running had become impossible.

I had come to the conclusion that my knee pain must be in my head and that the only way to deal with it was to push through. That was a decidedly poor choice. If you were in need of entertainment, you could have plopped yourself down around Rice loop on Saturday or Sunday in the last few weeks with some popcorn and watched me trying to run. I looked like a cross between Forrest Gump before his metal braces came off and Laura Dern in Jurassic Park after the dinosaurs broke her ankle. My theory was this - whether I gave myself a week off or a day off, the same spot always started hurting again within 10 min and quickly became excruciating, so I didn't appear to be making anything worse or better by running through the pain. My "14 mile" run on Oct 31 was the kicker that got me to make a doctor's appointment. I got a fancy new brace that let me get through 3 miles okay, hobble through 6, and fall apart so that by 9, I couldn't even walk, much less run. And, of course, to make it worse it was a beautiful day on Halloween here in Houston, so there were tons of people out running that day, all passing by me over and over with their dang normal strides and functional joints. I have never been so jealous of runners in my life!

So, like it or not (definitely not, I'm very weird about doctors and generally hate everything about going...it would help if they offered adults lollypops, I think), doctor it was. I couldn't imagine going 26 miles the way I was. I would have been crawling. Which would have been even more uncomfortable. Not to mention humiliating. After endless googling, not having a clue as to who was a genius and who was a quack, my partner had the brilliant suggestion of searching through my insurance website. Huh. Who knew he was so smart. Which is where I found Dr. Fredrick A. Brown. He was listed as being less than 2 miles from my house, but apparently recently moved to the Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic in Sugar Land. NOT convenient. But SOOOOO worth it. I liked his bedside manner, as it were, and I was out with a diagnosis, a plan, and a prescription in 30 minutes.

Just to give you a little insight as to what might happen if you ever visit a doctor for knee pain, here's what went down. I stood in a bunch of weird fashion photo shoot poses to get x-rays which, apparently, showed nothing. Then he came in and started manipulating my knee in every way you can imagine. And, frankly, quite a few ways I had never imagined. Even though I was still sore from my 9 mile hobble, when he asked for each one, "Does that hurt? How does that feel?" I said, "No. Fine..." for every single one. I was starting to think I really was crazy! Then, just like that, he said, "We have a diagnosis. IT disorder." Woo hoo!!!!! (Don't ask me to spell what IT stands for, but it's the tendon [?] that runs between your hip and knee and can get very tight. I stretch it before every run, but...) It's inflamed! Prescription strength Aleve for 10 days and no irritating it while keeping up my cardio. Have I done that? Not the cardio part. I'm apparently very good at resting. Shamefully, I have no exercise machines and no time to drive to my parents' house and use theirs. The elliptical machine irritated it anyway. I haven't even been doing yoga to keep up my strength. I blame it on working too much, but, really, I think it's just laziness. Hence, it's Tuesday Nov 10 and I feel like a fat blob. I get to run tomorrow night, though, to "test" it, and see the doc again Thursday morning.

In summary, October was an amazing month for fundraising. So many people gave so much to this cause, and continue to on a daily basis. I hope everyone knows how incredibly grateful and moved I am by their donations. I tell them, but I'm not sure if my words convey my gratitude. I am already within $500 of my minimum that I have to raise to race, and am halfway to my goal of $3500...you can check out my website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston10/aclack to donate or to keep up with my fundraising progress and cheer me on. Unfortunately, October was a garbage month for training, but I can't wait to hit it hard starting this weekend (with 16 miles!!!) and make up for it for the next two months!!!

Wish me luck with my test run tomorrow night, and comment with any words of encouragement you may have!