Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Just what I didn't Kneed

Since the marathon, I've been enjoying the time off and have started to explore other areas of my town. I've run down streets that I had never run down before and explored a bit. That was fun and gave me some variety as the running has started to bore me a bit.

I didn't go out too far or too fast. I just let my pace naturally fall wherever it decided to fall. Since I'm not yet training for a race, I wasn't all that concerned with the pace. That said, some of the exploring took me up some unexpected hills that I wasn't used to training on.

So, long story long, I think I did something to my knee. The left side of my left knee is hurting quite a bit today. In fact, I only ran once last week and twice the week before because of the pain.

I don't know exactly what it is, but I thought it might be an IT band injury. I know that it's common for runners who do a lot of road running and one of the symptoms is outer knee pain. So, being the self-medicating doctor I am, I decided to buy an IT therapy band to put around my left leg to stop the pain. Did it work?

Well, kinda. The first time I used it it was under jogging pants and it kept sliding down and I had a tough time adjusting it. Yesterday, the first day that I could wear shorts outside (woo-hoo!), I decided to use it and go at a slow pace.

I was doing fine and was in mile 3 of 4. I stopped at a light to left traffic go and then started to run across the road. Apparently I planted my left foot first and that was the wrong move. I stumbled home and have been in quite a lot of pain ever since.

Now normally if I were working, I'd have insurance that would cover a doctor's appointment to get X-rays, etc. Turns out that our law school insurance likely only covers death--and even then, it's touch and go after filling out a lot of forms. So, I may very well have to just continue to rest it and try to figure out what the cause is on my own.

That said, my progress has been less than impressive and I'm just trying to stay off of it and let it heal. Oh, just what I didn't kneed. (get it?)

7 comments:

Topher said...

The situation itself is obviously not funny, but I gotta tell ya, I laughed at your description of law school insurance coverage. " only covers death, and then only after filling out lots of forms..." Too funny. Hope it resolves itself soon.

Jade Lady said...

Oh man, sorry to hear about your knee - I hope that with some rest, it'll get better soon!

Law school insurance - gees, I hope u don't have to pay for this! Benefits aren't too enticing!

ShirleyPerly said...

BTW, are your shoes in good condition? A lot of times people don't realize that just worn down shoes can cause a LOT of problems. I usually run in shoes for no more than 300-400 miles before replacing and can go through 5-6 pairs a year!

Hope the knee gets better soon!!

Susan said...

You did NOT kneed that, especially given the insurance status. Ick! I saw rest is the best, given the circumstances - but I am certainly no expert.

Petraruns said...

Don't tell me about knees. And costs.. Over a drink or two at Shirley's new bar I could share the cost so far .. none of it is pretty really.

I do think that sometimes post-marathon you need a really good break and some new shoes - it may be all you need to make your pain go away? Worth a shot anyway - it's one of the many avenues I've gone down..

Maddy said...

Shirley and Petra might be on to something with the shoes. I have a pair with 339 miles on them. When my knee started hurting I swapped them out for the pair with 280 miles on them. They'll need to be replaced soon.

take care of yourself and I hope you're healed and back on the road soon!

CewTwo said...

Well, at least you have a sense of humor about it! Of course, the pun is the lowest sense of humor!

Not being able to see a Doctor won't give you a LEG up on the competition if you can't FOOT the bill. TOE the line and RICE the knee. I must be a HEEL for showing so little SOLE (soul) about this!

Take care, Greg.