I Lied

So, I lied to my Mom yesterday (sorry Mom!). It wasn't a terrible lie, just one where I felt like keeping something to myself. Yesterday afternoon I told my Mom I was on my way down to Crissy Field to go for a walk. The truth was, I had been thinking about going running all week. I considered this carefully and decided, why not? Through all the research and doctors I've seen, it seems that running won't necessarily make my knee injury worse than it already is at this time. Sure, I may flare the inflammation up again and deal with that achy/burning feeling, but I'm not talking about running great distances here. Like any person beginning an exercise after an extended sedentary period, I planned to take it slow. 

I got down to Crissy Field with the intent of a 20-30 minute run. Heart rate monitor, check, iPod, check, Nike Free sneaks, check, Cho-pat knee strap, check, Boston Marathon jacket (for the added confidence boost I needed), check, long leggings for the chilly afternoon, check... I was good to go. I walked for 5 minutes as a warm-up and then picked the pace up to a jog on the flat, dirt path towards the Warming Hut. At first, it felt a little foreign to me. I hadn't run more than 5 minutes continuously since before my knee scope July, 2007. My ankles felt a little weak, my heart rate was high (even though I wasn't running fast), and I was running straight into a head wind. Ugh. Still, it was nice to be outside. I had my heart rate monitor on more for keeping track of time than anything else, although I do love looking to see how many calories it predicts I have burned after exercise. : ) After looking at my high heart rate at the start of my run, I decided to disregard my heart rate altogether. This reminded me of when I used to run outside before I ever owned a stopwatch or ran competitively. I never used to know how fast I was going or how far, I would simply run to some specific landmark, then turn and run back home. My run yesterday took me out to the "hands" on the fence by Fort Point. As long as I wasn't breathing too hard or was feeling any pain in my body, I let everything else go and simply ran. 

I turned at the "hands," my halfway point, and felt pretty good. I pushed away the annoyance of a woman that ran past me. Let... it... go... Having  the wind at my back was a help on the return to my car, but I also felt like my body was slowly remembering how to run. At first, my footfalls in my Nike's felt a little awkward and rough, but on the way back, I didn't feel any jarring to my body, my steps felt fluid and comfortable. There was a little ache in my quads and the Velcro from my knee strap was digging into the back of my knee, but all in all I felt fine. In the end, I ran for 30 minutes and walked for 10, 5 minutes at the beginning and end of my run. 

Today, I woke up feeling a little sore, but not too bad. I can feel it in my calves and my quads, but my knee feels fine. To be honest, I expected my knee would be OK. I iced it when I got home and followed the usual precautions. One 30 minute run on a flat, dirt path was not going to bother my knee. That said, my prediction is that if I keep this up and run 2-3 times a week, especially if there are any hills involved, my knee will eventually flare up on me and I'll have to back off on the running. I'm OK with that. This week I'm planning on scheduling my Synovectomy with Dr. Dye for early next year. After that scope, I am anticipating the slow recovery period he recommends, even as he claims the scope is a fairly gentle procedure. The slow and careful recovery is all part of healing and hopefully keeping the inflammation from returning again.

For now, I'm just trying to keep some semblance of running in my life. A short distance here and there is not going to hurt me. If anything, I'm finding it may bring me a bit of hope for longer runs in the future.