Those Words I’ve Waited to Hear

“Well, we’ll give it a go! I’m clearing you for now, but for Monday. No activity over the weekend, but give it a shot Monday night; see how you feel”

 

I can’t begin to describe how sweet it was hearing those words. I almost wanted to cry. (And I’m not even kidding!)

 

WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO! I’M CLEARED TO RUN!

 

(Well, sort of.)

 

I didn’t have any pain all of last week in my knee, up until my physical therapy appointment on Friday. I did feel a little discomfort on Friday, however on a pain scale of 1-10, it was more of a 1. Nuisance. Pain in my tush, thorn in my side. It was just, “there.”

 

So, today’s Monday; the real test, if you will. I was sternly told only to run a mile and a half, based upon my previous mileage before I had knee issues. I’m allowed to walk warming up, run a mile and a half, and walk to cool down, stretching REALLY, REALLY GOOD afterwards.  (I do tend to be a bit stubborn; I pushed myself too far, and to be honest it’s probably why I ended up with an injury.)

 

We aren’t really sure what is wrong at this point, (or what was wrong, I hope) as an MRI is SUPER expensive with the medical insurance I have and to get a better look at my knee, we won’t know for sure without it. The doctor seemed to think in the beginning it was tendonitis, however with some trouble last week and continued pain I had at that point, he thought it could be torn cartilage on the outside. I cried after asking stupidly if it would heal. It’s cartilage; it won’t heal, Ash. Depending upon the tear, I could function normally, with potential pain depending upon the activity. It could hinder future running, but if I take it easy, and follow the 10% rule (I didn’t before), I should be ok. Depending upon the tear, of course. If it’s more of a major tear, and I might be able to tell a little better during tonight’s run, I may need surgery (in the extreme case).

 

So we’ll see. Tonight’s plan is the treadmill: 5 minute walking warm up, mile and a half run, and 5 minute cool down, followed by some stretching. I may also add in some resistance band work, but if I’m falling of the treadmill, that probably won’t happen.

 

I am keeping my fingers crossed though, and staying positive. Of course I can't run right out of the gate at a 10:30 pace like I used to, so tonight, it’s all about taking it easy. I do have a follow up doc appointment Wednesday night, so from there, if all goes well, I can start running regularly again.

 

There are a few upcoming 5k’s I will miss unfortunately, however the goal is to be back up and running (get it?) by December 5. That’s the Frostbite 5k here locally, and I’d love to run it.

 

(Stay positive, Ash.)

Say a prayer, folks!