Injured!

I am afraid I have some bad news....I think I may have injured myself, again. Just when everything was going well, I knew it couldn't last forever...But let's not jinx the situation too early!!!

Ok, so here's the story: Today was a beautiful day in Boston. Weather was around 50 and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for a run around the Charles River. So I headed out around noon and did just that.

My first mile wasn't too good because I was a little tired (and hungover), but I quickly got out of it and my next three miles were 8:20 minutes/mile and lower!!! Things were just great; I started feeling great, my body felt good and my headache went away. I was admiring the beautiful scenery that is Boston and cursing myself for, again, not bringing a camera. And that is when it hit!

Around 4.5 miles I felt a sharp pain in the back of my knee (the knee that was injured a year and half ago). I immediately stopped to check out what was going on and noticed that it might be my knee brace just rubbing funny on the back of my knee. So, I removed it and did a few stretches and was on my way.

Not 2 seconds later the sharp pain came back again and again. Ahh....I stopped again and did some more stretches, messaged the area and shook out my legs. I tried running for about .3-.4 miles (just over the Mass Ave. bridge), but there was no luck, the pain just would not go away.

I knew (from previous experience) that if I continued to run on the knee it would result in a worse injury. So, I made a decision to walk the last mile home. It wasn't all bad, I still got to enjoy the nice weather outside. But I was REALLY angry and upset inside thinking a) my nice workout was ruined and b) I have to deal with another injury and so close to a race (next Sunday).

Once home I iced all areas of my knee and stretched. I took a shower and ate lunch and then iced just the back of my knee again for 10 minutes. I did a few more stretches and then just let my legs rest.

I can report now, 4 hours later, that I am still experiencing a sharp pain in the back of my knee; however it doesn't feel as severe. My plan is to "rest" my legs the 2 next days and reassess Tuesday. If I feel no pain on Tuesday while walking, I might try the treadmill at the gym; however if I feel ANY pain I will immediately get off and do the stairs or elliptical.

I am not sure what is up for next Sunday's race, but I will see how the week goes and how my legs are feeling. I am certainly not ruining my running season with a 5 mile race, even though I was really looking forward to it. But I am hopeful and think I might have just pulled something small and with rest and time it will heal...

What are your thoughts and/or suggestions in dealing with an unwanted leg pain/injury?


On a good note, I had a really fun night out with the girls last night. We went to a bar in Faneuil Hall to help raise money for three girls running the Boston marathon for the Boston Public Schools debate teams. It was a lot of fun, too much fun that I forgot to take pictures (sorry!!).

I will make sure to make it up to you by snapping some photos of Evan's and my meal in the North End tonight.... Be back with details (and pictures)!!!

How is your weekend going?