More therapy this morning

It's only been two days since the first appointment with the physical therapy office for my knees, but I have actually done all of the exercises that they have asked me to do. The PT is a runner/triathlete, and his office specializes in helping athletes, so this looks like the right place to go for me.

Here is my official diagnosis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondromalacia_patellae

"Chondro" meaning cartilage, "malacia" meaning malady, or sickness, and patellae, meaning under the kneecap.

The bad news is that the PT has told me not to run for now, that we'll ease back into it, but for now, to not run. The good news is that Chondromalacia Patallae is apparently 100% reversible. Which is news to me, who thought that my knees were pretty much just shot forever.

Walking is just fine, so last night while my wife and the older kids were at a school function, I took our youngest to the gym. We have some pre-paid babysitting there, so I dropped him off for 45 minutes. (I wanted to go longer, but they were closing). I did three miles on the track, walking rather quickly. It was fun, but I realized something last night.

I absolutely love to run.

No, really! I do! I was walking along, and I just wanted to break into the slow, plodding jog that I like to call running. I missed it, SERIOUSLY missed it for the first time in a few years now.

There was a time about 6 years ago that I was very seriously into running. Enough that I actually started to train for a marathon. I had lost all of my weight - down to 203.5, I think, but then had gained back about 25 or more. So I thought that training for the marathon was a great way to get back down. And in reality, it was a good idea.

However, I got my training program from the wrong location. There's a neighbor of mine who runs tons of marathons. She is one of those people that would probably blow away if I sneezed too hard. She's not any sort of fitness person - no knowledge other than that she does work on staying in shape and she runs a lot of marathons.

The problem is not, I think, that I was marathon training. The problem was that I was doing the same thing that a VERY tiny woman was doing, and it wasn't good for my knees.

It was after a 14 mile run that I think that I first started having knee pain. I was pushing. And I overdid it.

To be honest, I think that might be when the crunchy-grinding noises in my knees started as well. It makes sense.

Time to stop rambling...

Anyway, I may never be a marathon runner, but I WILL get back into running.

What I will also do is to start thinking about/training for a triathlon. Because smaller/shorter runs, with biking and swimming...

Now THAT I can do.

-Silas