Kneepeas

Because I'm sure the universe is simply dying for an update, my knee is much better today. I took three days off from working out and elliptical-ed this morning at the gym. It felt so good that, after I got off the hamster wheel, I ran a mile on the treadmill before heading home to ice my leg with my kneepeas (a bag of frozen peas that are designated for icing body parts, not for eating).

In other news, I'm headed to a brand new doctor tomorrow, whose name I randomly chose from my health insurance's network of doctors. My doctor in Pittsburgh was kind of a dick, and he never listened to me. I have high hopes for new dude tomorrow.

Pain Cave

I have finally gotten to a point with my fitness that I am proud of. I can run that 5K that I was aiming for -- in fact, I have been running 10-15 miles a week pretty consistently for the last month or so (a combination of treadmill and trail). I know that is not a lot, but I hope one day to be one of those people who runs 10-15 miles at once, and for the first time I have been feeling like that is achievable. "Every runner has to start somewhere!" I tell myself. So what if I'm starting later than most; I spent my teen years being over 200 pounds!

Yesterday I went to the park near my house to run, on a familiar trail that I have run several times already. I ran this particular trail end-to-end and back (about 2.75 miles, I estimate), was chased by a goose in the process, and then got back into my car to drive home. As I sat down in the car, I felt a twinge in my left knee. Huh. I have had problems with my right knee for years, but never the left.

By the time I got home, moving my foot on and off of the clutch was excruciating. I showered and iced my knees, and then took a look -- very swollen, as I suspected. Walking up and down stairs is seriously difficult. Putting pretty much any weight on the knee while it is bent is very painful.

I'm so discouraged, I don't know what to do. I have worked very hard to get to this point in regards to running, and I am afraid I'll lose a lot of fitness by taking too much time off. On the other hand, I know I need to take care of my body and, frankly, I think I could run today if I tried.

So, I'm bummed. Super bummed. But hopefully a couple of days' rest is all I will need to heal.

In the meantime:

Easy Like Saturday Morning

This morning, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful, crisp 35 degrees outside. Brad left on his road bike to do a century just for the hell of it, and I decided to head to the Kanawha State Forest to do a trail run.

First, let me say that I have spent a decent amount of time hiking on the trails at the KSF, but I am the girl who needs the super stiff hiking boots to keep from rolling her ankles. Second, I can run a couple of miles easily now, but all of the miles I've run have been on the treadmill. As I drove the 15 minutes to the forest, I began to think that this was not a good idea. The trail I was headed for, the Davis Creek Trail, is one of the flattest in the forest. It does, however, have its share of rocks, roots, and slippery, muddy areas. I imagined myself spraining an ankle and lying in the woods, waiting for mountain lions to kill me. I hoped that they would be swift about it.

Before I could talk myself into turning around and heading to the gym, I arrived, parked, strapped on my ipod and Smartwool hat, and was on my way.

I'm sure you saw this coming: I think I ran the whole time with a huge grin on my face.

Wow, trail running is awesome. I had to walk one short, icy section along a little ridge, and when the trail suddenly became a river, I had to walk off trail to get around it, but otherwise I ran along at a good pace, my "girl power" playlist blaring, smiling and sweating in the sunshine. I don't know for sure how far I ran, nor do I really care, but based upon how long it took, my estimate is about 2 miles. I would have run longer, but the trail mysteriously ended and I wasn't sure where to go next. When it finally dries out, I'm going to be all over Middle Ridge trail -- that one goes on forever.

Now I'm home icing my dodgy knee. I have to head to the mall this afternoon to find something to wear to my brother-in-law's wedding in Wisconsin next weekend. I hate the thought of spending such a nice day in a mall, but it has to be done.

I hope everyone has a glorious weekend!

Best. Thing. Ever.

For dinner tonight, I had roasted broccoli dipped in peanut butter. It was absolutely delicious! I urge everyone to give it a try.

That is all.