Back To Running

After healing another knee injury from almost 6 weeks ago, I am back to running. It felt great, and most importantly, my knee was pain free. The physical therapy works and I can't thank the therapists enough! Also, my anti-inflammatory diet brought the inflammation down within a few days of the injury.

I saw my orthopedist the other day and she thinks that maybe there was a small tear that healed. It could have got trapped under the knee cap, causing it to swell like it did almost a year before. She checked my knee and how I moved it. I definitely have full range of motion again, no problem! She reminded me how far I came. During my appointment in late November or early December (whenever it happened), she recalled the crutches I was using. She recalled how I could not bend the knee. And she knew how painful it was if I put any weight on it at all.

Now, all those symptoms cleared up. I took a break from running during that time. I finally started doing a little running last week. Today was the first day I did a half an hour nonstop. It wasn’t my fastest time, running at a pace of 10:30, but that will improve over time.

She told me to ice my knee if I do a lot of running in a day. So, even if there's no pain, it’s not a bad idea to ice for 10 minutes. I think this is easy to do, instead of having to worry that it would swell again. She also said I could apply heat to the knee before running.

I asked her about the NYC marathon I am interested in doing. She said she sees no issues with that! As an athlete, she said it’s important for me to keep active, not letting the knee get in my way of my goals. Just keep icing if needed. That works for me!

I felt awesome running without issue. I’ve been doing a lot of running outside during the fall and today was no exception. I run in my coat and work up a sweat despite the cold weather. I have to admit though, I do miss the gym and using the treadmill too. My plan is to go back as soon as the numbers from COVID-19 are down enough that it’s safe to go back.