Chugging along

I had an over-ambitious week , a week ago. I felt the twinges of over training last week and when my area was hit with its first seasonal North-Eastern storm I took advantage of it and did a strength workout rather than my long run. I'm aiming for this week to be better but I know my time demands are big for the next two weeks so I'll try not to beat myself up about any missed runs, if I can help it. I also need to remember to use my treadmill if I can't get outside.
My knee has been giving twinges of pain lately, especially in the mornings. I've gone back to using BioFreeze which helps a lot. Usually by the end of the work day my legs feel good enough to run when I throw that on in the early morning. I still don't see early morning runs happening though when its still the my most painful part of my day. I can handle strength workouts with no issue but to run-well, that still sounds pretty cray-cray.
At this moment though I'm debating. Do I re-do last week's training plan since I didn't finish it with my long run, or bag it and move on to this week where it is a scale back week and even the long run isn't as long. Hmmmm. The type-A part of me wants to check-off last week when I've actually completed all of it, but the more play-it-safe side of me says to move on. Oh my, runner problems ;-)

Happy Days

The Fat Ass 50k schedule I've been following has been working out really well. I've managed to get my average kilometers per week back up to 40+ so I've been very happy about that. On top of that I managed to get my pace per km down into the 6:30-7 minute range, which, if you had asked me a year ago, I wouldn't have thought possible with knee OA.
Has every run been a joy? No, and yes, sometimes I feel the bone slamming on bone feeling in my knee and other times it feels like someone is filling up a balloon on top of my knee. Neither is so painful to make me stop running and usually if I adjust my gait the pain or sensation goes away. So I progress forward.
I've also amped up my protein intake a lot so I think that's helping. I am tracking calories, fat, etc. and that's also going well. I had a few cheat days/meals but I try hard to stay on track. My husband even commented last night that I seem to have lost some weight (yay!).
So I'm feeling very positive about a 50-60km comeback next spring. My husband seems to think I'm crazy but I think I'll get him to come around in a few months, especially if I can manage to stay injury free. I complain much, much less now about my knee simply because it has stopped hurting as much.
Funny how activity, while it hurt for a long while, has actually helped stop much of the constant pain I was feeling. I still can't run in the morning, my worst time of day for pain, and I still can tell you a few days out if its going to rain, but I have my beloved activity back and slowly I'm feeling more and more like my pre OA diagnosis self.
As Buzz lightyear would say, onward and upward!

I take 2 days off from running...!#@$%!@!

Knee OA is a cruel, cruel bitch. I had a fantastic week of training last week but because my husband had to work and my daughter had a full roster of dance activities I couldn't squeeze in a run all weekend. I did do over an hour of strength training but apparently my leg would prefer if I kept up the running since this morning I woke up to stabbing and burning pain in my knee.
I'd blame the chocolate cake or the Halloween candy but that's too easy. Yeah, I'm pretty sure excessive sugar consumption isn't good for my knee but I doubt it is solely responsible for me whining and slow breathing through pain in bed at 5am. I wasn't even sure I could walk, it was that bad.
Even now, after a hot shower and 2 extra strength liquid Advil and some light walking, my knee is still burning and getting the odd stabbing pain.
But, despite that, I brought my running gear because by 3pm this could feel fine. To be totally honest though, right now I just want to crawl back to bed. Today's plan calls for at least 4 miles. Here's hoping by 3pm I feel totally different.

Should I be more afraid then I am?

My training for the Wasskally Wrabbit Ultra next year is going pretty well. I've incorporated a good strength routine, upped my protein intake and am logging more miles than the past two years. Some injury weight has come off, but there's still a long way to go. My long run is also getting longer so I've been caught running with a flashlight to finish up a run at 7pm and running out and backs to make sure I make it out of the trails before dark, because, you know, Big Foot.
So I was online the other day, reading through running posts when I saw one that caught my eye. One of the local runners asked if anyone ran alone out on my favorite trail system. I said I did and that often I never see another living soul out there. Then came to barrage of posts from other runners (all women) who said how unsafe that was, that they never run alone, that they wouldn't go out into the trails by themselves and (gasp) close to nightfall. When I read that I questioned myself. Am I being too lax with my safety? Am I taking huge risks by running alone as a woman?
I thought about what I do to "protect" myself. I always carry my phone (not really for safety but because it has my music, my running app and my camera on it, but sure I can call someone or 911 if I needed to). I usually carry my car keys with me (which, with the amount of crap I have on that key ring I'm pretty sure it qualifies as a weapon). And on top of that I've taken judo (blue belt) and self defense workshops. I feel confident I can defend myself.
I also thought about where I run. It seems to me any attacks on women runners in my area have happened within the city. I run a good distance outside of the main city core and it is inaccessible to anyone without a vehicle. Then there's also the distance I'm usually out. I'm not hugging the entrance, I'm usually a good 5km from where anyone would walk up to or park.
To be honest, the only time I have been harassed out on a run, either physically (pushed) or verbally (usually idiots screaming from cars) has been in urban areas. If I run within the city I stick to the main roads. If a venture through a green belt trail then I do it before dark and usually when I know other people are likely to be around walking their kids from school or walking a pet. I realized I actually take more precautions when I run on the road.
So are these other women runners wimps? Do they come from upbringings where women were sheltered and feared for their safety so they feel they have to run with someone else or not at all? My own mother is the mother of risk takers. From a young age I watched her travelling the world, to places like Columbia, Bosnia and northern Africa BY HERSELF. She had amazing adventures and at the age of 60 is currently planning a solo trip to Romania. So I'm pretty sure that's where my attitude about venturing out on my own comes from. Thanks Mom. Thanks for not making me fearful of everyone and everything around me. Thank you for giving me the confidence to go for a solo run on the trails by myself without batting an eye. I can't imagine achieving what I have in running without the confidence to go and get my goals for myself, by myself.

This is IT

I had an epiphany this weekend. I decided to focus on my ultimate goal race for next year, the Wasskally Wrabbit 65km. Not only is it a new distance for me but it will also mark my (hopefully) triumphant return to the Ultra scene since my accident almost 2 years ago. I am ALL IN. I buckled down on my high protein diet and make sure I have what I need to succeed.
A big part of that is my fitness. My running is coming along pretty well. I've managed to get in my long runs and most of my shorter runs dictated in the Fat Ass training plan. To compliment that I've also added the P90X lean program. I would be open to other strength programs but I know this one works and I already have all of the dvds ;-) Yesterday I started with the Core Synergistic routine and today my butt, core and hamstrings are humming like I just did a hill workout. So far so good.
Today I've got a double dose of cardio in store. An easy 6km run followed by an hour of Cardio X (the easier cardio workout in the P90x library). I think I had better get used to protein drinks and humming hamstrings.

Why Can't They All Be Like THIS?

Yesterday I felt like proper crap, down with a viral flu going around. However, the sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm so I popped a couple of advil and hit the trail as my daughter danced for 3 hours. I told myself I could turn around after a couple of kilometers if I felt really crappy but as I ran I felt, good! Really good. I ran up hills I normally walk and sped down the salt marsh trail flat sections. I realized the sun was going down much faster than last week when I turned around on one section and the sun was already touching the tops of the trees. Not wanting to cut this bliss-filled run short I raced through the last 4km section, scaring the living hell out of a partridge and it scaring me as I was trying to figure out what all the commotion was about in the trees, praying it wasn't anything larger than a fox. As I climbed out of the woods (I could still hear the partridge squawking in anger) I realized I was the only one left on the trail (or at least that section). I used my fear of the dark woods to my advantage and sped down through a field to make my last climb. The last section of trees has a heavy canopy and the leaf covered ground was next to impossible to see at that point so I made sure to lift my feet and ran as hard as I could to avoid the boogie man.
Back at my car I patted myself on the back for an awesome 11 km/7 mile run. Why can't they all be like this one?

Caution: Hectic Week Ahead!

This week is going to be challenging. Aside from my standard full-time Mom, employee and professional car-pooler duties, it's my darling daughter's 10th birthday.
We have a small party planned out for Saturday, with out-of-town guests arriving either Friday or Saturday (they never do us the kindness of telling us their plans outside of 24 hours prior), then my daughter and I plan to get our nails done following the party. This year though everything is planned and set for her big day. The only point of anxiety I've got is my dreaded MIL. Her post-retirement tantrums have ramped up to the point now where she and my husband are barely speaking. To say I'm looking forward to her visit is like saying I'm looking forward to a root canal. Without the freezing. Heaven help her if she has one of her tantrums on my 10 year olds birthday.
So to starve off the anxiety I'm diving into my ultra training plan. I've got the mileage built up now so I can feel confident building my ultra base up. This week consists of three 4 milers, a 6 miler long run and a 5 mile recovery run. To complete my grand plan I'm switching into a ketosis diet, one that I've used before with a lot of success. It takes a bit more planning and I have to start treating bread like a treat instead of a staple but it works.
The sun is shining and while it isn't warm it's the perfect mix of fall coolness to go for a run. Today my husband is off so I'm relieved from my carpool duties for the day-an odd treat for me (him...not so much ;-)). On that note I'll try to squeeze in my 6 miler if I can so it's out of the way and I'm not stressing about it come Friday when I may or may not have guests I may or may not need to have supper ready for. Awesome. 

Klutzy Moments

I'm clumsy. The first step is admitting it, right? Yesterday's run was great, except when I did a face plant. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon with summer-like temperatures. I was cruising along, taking a detour behind the bus terminal on a paved trail path when my good leg hit a bump in the pavement and my bad leg didn't/couldn't react fast enough to stop myself from falling. All I could think about in the 0.00005 seconds I had was which body part I wanted to hit the ground first. I remember thinking "Don't land on your knees!" so I stuck out my hands, which skidded me to a stop. Rolling over I was glad not to feel any sharp pain. I stood up as fast as possible with a 10lb backpack (yes I resembled a turtle on its shell) and examined the damage. My hands had some road rash (and later I realized so did my forearms) and my bad leg had a bright red blotch on it, just below my already swollen knee bursa. Nothing was swelling up or sticking out so I figured I might as well keep going. I ran for another few kilometers then stopped. Stopping hurt more than running. The pain settled in and OMG my knee was not a happy camper. It got to the point last night where it felt like my knee bones were crushing together when I walked around. I was not entirely sure if I would be able to walk today but thankfully it wasn't too much worse than a regular day. My leg feels like crap but I can walk.
So Google says people with hip and knee OA are more likely to fall. I always figured it would be in cases where the knee gives out but I guess a slower reaction time counts too. What a royal pain! I'll see how this pans out over the upcoming long weekend. If I'm still in a lot of pain on Monday I might use a drop in clinic or see if my doctor can squeeze me in. For what I can tell, unless I damaged something in my knee all they'll tell me to do is ice it and rest. What a klutz!

Short but Sweet, Lovin' Shubie Trail

Last night's run was short but sweet. I battled through rush hour traffic and made it to one of my favorite trail systems, Shubie trail. I only had 45 minutes to run before I needed to be home to relieve my husband who had been home all day and tidy the house before his sister came for a visit (my husband and my opinion on tidy is slightly different lol).
The trail was really busy, especially in the off-leash dog areas. Thankfully all of the dogs I encountered were happy to ignore me so it didn't interrupt my groove. I really enjoyed the scenery of the trail. This one has some old rock foundations and walls along the trail so it makes it more interesting to look at, if you get tired of admiring the fall leaves on the trees. Having not run this trail in a awhile I had forgotten how hilly it really is and struggled through the second half of my run. I overcame it though and finished the last 2km pretty strong. My knee held up great but did twinge a bit after I was finished. I still find climbing hills is my biggest challenge. I try to switch up my gait so it takes the load off of my knee but so far I haven't figured out a way to get my butt up the hills without getting a few shots of pain.
So, my short and sweet run went well and I'm looking forward to today's run. I started reading Relentless Forward Progress again, especially since I'm eyeing the Waskally Wrabbit for next spring, it's a solid training book with an aggressive 50km plan. If I can work up to and stick with that plan I should be in great shape for the race come June 2017. At the moment my goal is to simply run more, (with the aim of running no less than 40km a week) and run lots of hills. So far so good.

On to bigger and better things

Since the half marathon I spent the week running recovery runs and simply trying to get my workouts in my schedule. Back to school for my kid, back to competitive dance (for her)/carpooling (for me) and everything else being a full time working Mom, wife and part-time dance mom entails left little time for really great training. My phone's health monitor told me on Sunday I could do better, so this week I'm trying lol.
So far I've managed two solid runs. Monday's was a run commute but I managed to tack on an extra 2km to it, so I was pretty satisfied with that. Yesterday was a rainy day. I was totally going to bag my run in favor of a strength routine but fate got in the way and due to an armed standoff I couldn't even get close to my home (my kid was at dance practice and hubby was at work). Thankfully the standoff ended peacefully and before I needed to carpool three pre-teen singing girls home from dance. But it left me stuck. Run in the rain or bag it altogether? I decided to run. It meant I had to get changed from my work clothes into my running gear in the back of my suv; thankfully there was only 1 other car in the parking lot and I had enough coats and gear to cover the windows! In the end it was an awesome run. Truly. I got totally soaked but I had the trail to myself and energy to spare. I scrambled up the hills and jumped from rock to rock to avoid the small rivers caused by the rain. It was glorious.
The drive back to pick up the girls though was not. My knee spasmed and felt like one part of the muscle above my knee was twisting inward and the bottom was twisting the opposite way. OUCH. Clearly I pushed it a bit too hard lol. Then my knee went into full-on movie goers knee and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to straighten it ever again. Thankfully some slow breathing helped and the pain eased off, and I could extend my leg. Crisis averted ;-)
On my run I had my usual mix of passing thoughts; my to-do lists, things happening at work, home etc, but then I thought about a recent conversation with my mother. She had congratulated me on my recent half marathon and made a comment about how my body had betrayed me, after I was injured (and how great it was I had overcome that). I thought about that a lot. She had actually asked me if I felt like that a year prior and I had said no. I still feel that way. I don't feel like my body betrayed me when I cracked my knee and caused this OA. It was an accident and more than anything I am pissed off at my thoughtlessness which led to the accident, not my body. I thought about why she would think that way and why I didn't. Then I thought about my running and how a lot of runners talk about their body and their mental state as two separate things. To me, they are intertwined. I can't imagine getting through a 50km race fighting with myself. Sure, races have a huge mental aspect, but the mental state must cooperate with the physical state or you're finished. So to feel like my body betrayed me seems like I'm separating the two halves and I don't think I could go long if I felt that way. Our minds and body must work in concert, rectify any issues they might have at a given moment and move forward.
So what's my next goal? I'm toying with the idea of the half marathon in October. It's on a trail and it's a small race so both are big draws for me. Aside from that I'm going full force into preparing for the Wraskally Wrabbit 2017 edition. I've been away from my favorite race for 2 years and I'll be damned if I'm missing a third. Time to get stronger and eat some hills!

Maritime Race Weekend - Race Recap

I came, I saw, I ran. I ran faster than last year but not enough to make my goal of under 3 hours. There is just something about this race where I cannot get a decent time, no matter which distance I choose. It might be the insanely packed traffic for the first 3km, or it might be the hills, oh zee hills that never end. Either way I clearly have some work to do in the coming months. It has also strengthened my resolve to run another race in October.
The morning started out with a bit of a hiccup. I thought I could catch the last transit bus to the start line but in the mystical wisdom that is Metro Transit, the bus never came. With 45 minutes to go I started speed walking to the start, thankfully only 3km away. When I got there I meandered around, passively looking for a porta potty but finding none. I lined up behind the 2:40 Half pace bunny, optimistic about my chances. After a minute or so of standing around I got a sharp poke in my back. Turning around I saw a women with some of her friends staring back at me. "You know you're supposed to wear your bib on your tummy or it won't read the chip." I looked down at my bid, pinned to my shorts (like usual). "Oh?" I said, half amused but also slightly irritated, "I haven't heard that one before. I'll be fine, this isn't my first race." then I turned around. Holy hell I thought. Who bothers to be such a busy-body? Then I wondered if she was going to pay such a public service to the people wearing their bibs on their backs? By then the cannon had gone off and we were setting off up the road. I kept pace with my 2:30 pace bunny (I was getting really ambitious), but by the 4km mark and a huge hill, I fell back with the 2:40 crew. I didn't manage to stick with them longer than a kilometer but by then I ran into my husband and daughter who were cheering from the sidelines. I gave them a kiss and kept trucking. Since the first big hill I had developed a side stitch. It stuck with me for the next 4km but slowly went away at the 10km mark. I met up with my family again at the 10km mark, were I got a much needed apple sauce packet. From there my time slid and I started feeling the distance in my legs. By the 13km mark I was really struggling to keep a good pace going. But I rallied and tried to stick to my pace as best as possible as I climbed hill after hill. I saw my family one last time before I headed back up the long Cow Bay road towards the 18km mark. I was glad to see the last aid station as it was being manned by some of my fellow dance parents and their kids. One of the kids even ran me through the last aid station and kept my spirits up just as they were starting to get a bit defeated (I thanked her Mom later). Then it was all downhill to the shore again. With 3km left a lady ran up beside me. I decided (and I think so did she) we'd run together to the finish. We chatted about the race, about some of the faster runners and how short both of our training had been over the summer. She was a really nice lady from Bridgewater. We stuck together right to the finish line. Those race friends are always a treat to have, especially at that point when you just want someone to take your mind off of the discomfort and the distance. Cheers, lady from Bridgewater, I'm sorry I didn't get your name!
The best part of the race was that my knee didn't hold me back (much). I only felt pain around the 18km mark, when suddenly my kneecap felt like it doubled in size. It didn't really do that, it just felt like I had two kneecaps. I tried to block out the sensation since it wasn't causing me pain. My short, tired stride at that point must have helped.
Overall it was a good race day. The weather couldn't have been better and the course had lots of support. There were a few issues I hope the RD looks into for next year; namely that start when you have all 4000 people running through a very narrow road for 3km. Maybe stagger the start so we aren't arm wrestling at aid stations or spending 10 minutes zigzagging through crowds? Also, what was up with NO fluids at the finish? I mean that's kind of dangerous isn't it? I walked around looking for something to drink but was only offered a sample of pickle juice (um yeah, I passed on that). The only post-race food I could find was some dry bagels and samples from vendors. Thankfully someone offered me an apple and it was the best one I'd ever had. For the cost of the race some H2O at the finish would have been appreciated. But like I said, no issues came up that ruined the day. I'll still be back next year, trying to better this year's time.

Downsizing to the Half and could you stop pressing on my knee?!

I bit the bullet. After reading an email from the RD about the 6 hour marathon cut off time, I decided to downgrade my race to the half marathon. Sigh. While I disagree that "if you cannot finish the marathon within 6 hours you are physically unready for the distance," (as they put it), I can't help but respect the rules. Also, I didn't train through this summer heat to not get a medal.
I'm okay with running less, it means I won't be in a world of pain the next day. I now need to work on finishing the half under 2:45. Last year was a gong show of a half marathon so this year I'm determined to get it done in a respectable time frame.
All that said, these past 2 weeks have sucked for my knee. The swelling that was kept at bay by the Naproxen returned really fast so now it feels like there is constant pressure on top of my knee (as if someone is pressing down on it), that I may have developed a slightly migrating form of shin splints and a nasty muscle knot on top of my thigh that even my most torture-looking of rolling sticks can't beat out. Really, that stick is freaking scary with all the pointed knobs. Ugh. I could take the Naproxen again but honestly, it made me so nauseous that I almost prefer the occasional Tylenol. And, as usual, I have no time to sit around my doctor's office, a 2 hour trip most times. Who has 2 hours in the middle of the day?! I have no sick time left and only a few sparse personal hours so I'd rather use those for an actual emergency, not chronic pain and swelling. Last night I had such a bad case of movie-goers knee that I was hobbling around like a 90 year old. Still, not an emergency. Pathetic, yes, but not an emergency.
Despite all that I continue to run. I did take some days off last weekend but it honestly makes things even worse. It's like the swelling has a chance to settle, so running keeps everything moving. I guess, I think. That's what you get when your doctor says there's nothing else that can be done. Lots of guessing.
So I'm not sure what to try from here. Thankfully most physio clinics and my chiropractor work after work hours (yay), so I have options. I just don't know which one to try since I'm not really sure who could fix the problem.

Side Effects Suck...so back to the drawing board!

The nasty side effects of the naproxen haven't completely left me. I dealt with embarrassing gas, bloating and sporadic burping for days after my vomiting/acid reflux attack. I tried to dismiss my daily nausea on psychosomatic symptoms but since I stopped taking the naproxen a few days ago the symptoms have gone away. I can't help but feel there is a correlation.  The problem is my thigh and knee pain have increased exponentially. I'm not quite at the point where pain is waking me up in the middle of the night, but I very quickly started getting "movie-goer knee" again at work. This will really suck if there's a fire drill.
Despite feeling gross and achy I've kept running. Some days it's been only 5km/3 miles, but other days I've gone as far as 10km. I need to squeeze in an actual long run this weekend when I have the time. Runs have been okay, nothing awesome except on a few rare occasions. The heat is back in full force so I try not to beat myself up about my frequent walk breaks.
The most exciting running-related news is that I was asked to be on a relay team for next spring. The race is the only one of its kind in the province and even my husband wants to run a leg! Now I just have to focus on getting my pace under 6 minutes per km (as per race rules). Currently I hover in the 8 minute range, with great runs in the 7 minute range. I'm hoping with some specific speed work I can drop my time down farther. I've got time, time to giv'r!

Scale back week and working on speed

After an extended family camping trip over the weekend it is time to get back training for this half marathon in less than 5 weeks! Ack!
I did run a bit on Saturday, even with the fire ban. I found a logging road that took me 2km into the woods before I found a sign telling me to bugger-off because of the ban. In total I managed 6km before heading off to the local family fun park to spend the day walking an additional 9km. I count it as a very slow long run lol.
This week consists of two 7kms and three 6kms. With this fire/trail ban on for at least another week I'm glad for the scaled back mileage. Running up and down streets can get pretty dull.
My current goal is to improve my speed so my average improves from the 8 minute/km to somewhere in the 7 minute or 6 minute (dare to dream) range. I know from previous experience it will take some serious effort to get the time down a minute, but it isn't impossible. Hill sprints and intervals will help, in addition to using podrunner to keep my legs operating at a metronome pace. Today I'm supposed to run the 7km in 8 minute/km, so I'll aim for at least that, with the goal of actually running in the 7's.

10km Birthday Run = FUN

Yesterday was my birthday-yay! So after last year's disappointing birthday I decided this year I would take the day off of work and try to enjoy the day as much as possible. It turned out to be a great day. I drove my daughter to camp and my husband to work then found a parking spot close to the waterfront and enjoyed running back and forth along the 4km stretch before heading into the downtown to finish up 10km. The boardwalk was somewhat busy with cruise ship passengers and local day care centers sightseeing, but it wasn't to the point it was annoying or anything. It was cute to see what the tourists deemed picture-worthy in the area as I ran around them.
I should explain why I wasn't on a trail, which, trust me, would have been preferable. The province is currently sitting under a trail ban. It's horrible and it sucks but with multiple huge forest fires out of control it is the easiest and safest thing to do. So, for the next 2 weeks at least all of the HRM runners will be invading the streets of the HRM. Boohahaha.
The acid reflux I had the other day has thankfully passed, although I'm still a bit queasy and have some gas (burping) issues but overall I feel a lot better. I took half of a naproxen pill yesterday morning and it certainly helped my knee make it pain-free through the 10km run. So I guess I'll scale back the pill to a half portion, once a day, as opposed to two full sized a day as I was originally prescribed, and see how this goes. Going two days without one sucked, and I was really surprised how fast my knee pain/swelling returned. Clearly I need to take something for this swelling but going back to the doctor and playing the medication game just takes too much time and I'm not a human petri-dish. So I'll keep with this routine until it either doesn't work for me any longer or I have some time miraculously added to my life to spend sitting in a doctor's office.

New meds and new complications

I sat, frustrated, talking with my husband last night. I was pissed off that in a trillion dollar industry they can't make a simple anti-inflammatory pill that has no side effects. The early morning hours before had me up with what felt like bubbles in my throat, a headache and eventually vomiting for 30 minutes in my bathroom while trying to stay quiet so my child could sleep. Thank Naproxen side effects for that.
When I was more coherent later, I googled it. It sounds like I had an acid reflux attack (a Naproxen side effect), so I called my GP and told her what happened and asked if I should keep taking the Naproxen, because, hey, it was working on the anti-inflammatory end. I got a call back a few hours later saying my GP wants to get my heartburn under control first, so she would be adding another pill. NOPE. After 18 months of this BS I won't. I will not add a pill to counter the side effects of the first pill. And if there are side effects for the second pill, well, we'll just add a third pill. I see why those weekly pill cases were made and have stayed so popular. I won't become a human petri dish unless I have some serious disease that requires multiple medications.
So after figuring out that naproxen has a half life of 6 hours, I figured my 24 hours of not taking one was sufficient and I grudgingly took one of my husband's proton something-or-other pills he uses for his severe heartburn. Last night I slept beautifully, thankful that pill worked.
This morning I woke up to the familiar aches and pains in my knee but no burning or bubbling in my throat, so some progress was made? I guess I'll hold onto my naproxen pills for my flare ups and try to muddle through in between. I did manage a run yesterday of 5km, which was so much further than I thought I would get. I honestly thought I'd get to the end of the parking lot at work and puke at the effort, but my tummy behaved. Today I'll go for a 6km run and hope the knee pain isn't too bad. I've been slathering my knee and thigh in BioFreeze like it's suntan lotion in the 80s and that helps, but I know it's not a permanent solution. Something tells me I'll be visiting my chiropractor again very soon...

I did a double!

Yesterday, nothing went totally according to plan. I got to work only to leave after 2 hours so I could work from home while my daughter had a fever (it broke, she's fine). Then the work I thought would take most of the day went faster than I thought so I had time to jump on my treadmill for 6km. I recently started using a new app, called BitGym, which displays a virtual scene (single track trail runs mostly), through various regions of the world. The camera tracks your movement and estimates how far you've gone based on your profile and estimated bpm. I'm using the free version so I'm limited to 10 minute circuits, but there's enough of them I could string together 5 if I need to. It certainly beats watching tv since I'd rather be running outside. I thought I had only covered 4km but it turned out I had run 6km. yay! So treadmill run done, I got ready and took my daughter to her dance practice (they were learning a new routine so she couldn't miss it, fever or not). While she danced, I decided to hit the real trails and squeezed out another 4km. I didn't really plan to run that far, in fact I figured I would go for a short walk, but because my knee felt so good I figured I'd go for a double...and I love the trail system in Cole Harbor.
So I have a birthday coming up. 38. The other day I realized how fast the big 4-0 is sneaking up on me. To celebrate I'm taking the day off of work and running a nice looong run. I want to run 38km to commemorate the day but I don't know if my legs can handle that right yet. I'll see how I'm feeling closer to the day. If worst comes to worst (maybe it'll rain) I'll deal with only running 3.8. haha

Anti-Inflammatories don't cure everything

It was another long slow slog of a run commute yesterday in the 30C temperatures and 80% humidity. But I did it! I was a gross stinky mess by the end, but I did it lol.
Today the humidity has given way to rain showers. Okay, so excuse me for the misconception but I thought if I was taking an anti-inflammatory pill that it would relieve my rain-day soreness? Apparently I was wrong. Very wrong. Ugh. In fact, it appears to have enhanced to itchy sweater feeling I have under my kneecap...not very comfortable. So did it remove the swelling to leave the crumbled bits of cartilage that I have in my knee to bump and grind as I move? 'Cause it sure feels that way! I also have some intense shin pain (WTF?!) so I'm not sure if that's swelling moving around more freely now or if this is a symptom of something else? Who knows? I'll wait this out and see how I feel this afternoon. I'm still going to try and get in my 9km run today, rain and all.

Half Marathon Goals and Hunting Pokemon

It's decision time. I've decided that to cap off this half marathon training that I'll do the Maritime Race weekend again. Last year's performance sucked, especially after the 15km mark, so this year I am determined to get it right and finish somewhere in the range of my previous half marathon times (anywhere from a speedy 2:15 to a respectable 2:45). I'll be running this one alone, which might be best since I tend to push myself harder when I'm by myself.
So to meet this ambitious new end, I've set up a new training plan on Runner's World's Smart Coach app and see that today's run is scheduled to be an easy 5km at 8:30 per/km. I can do this.
My run commuting/Pokémon hunting has been going pretty well. I've discovered the most ghetto of places in north end Dartmouth are filled with the nicest (and most curious) people. I've managed to get to level 5, which is apparently pretty freaking slow since I met a few other players at a pokestop on Friday that were at level 10 already! Sheesh, I'd better get my pokebutt movin'! Today I'm going through a more northerly route since I've bagged most of the pokemon to the south of my work.
Last week, after four miserable, pain filled days I cracked. I bit the bullet and went to my GP. I explained that normally I wouldn't bug her about this, but after four constant days of pain I didn't know what else to do. So, she put me on an anti-inflammatory pill. I take it twice a day and it gives me horrid stomach cramps, but it does help with the knee swelling and therefore, the pain. It's helped so much so that I don't need to wear KT tape constantly, so my skin is certainly happier. I still cramp up and get the occasional pseudo locking thing but it isn't anywhere near the level of pain I was in last week. So we'll see how this goes. If the GI pain turns out to be too much of an issue my GP has told me to try seeing my chiropractor again. I'm in no rush to have more deep tissue message so hopefully this pill helps long term.

Pokemon and Pseudo Locking

Yesterday's 7km run was pretty fun. I decided to try out the new Pokémon app and spent my run commute time chasing Pokémon all over north end Dartmouth. Before I knew it I had covered 6km and it was time to pick up my daughter. I also learned some interesting facts about some of the local landmarks. I'm not entirely sure why some people are so frustrated by the idea of this game, I think it's an excellent way to get people outside, walking, and learning abut their community.
I also had one of the worst sleeps in a few weeks. I woke up at 4am to searing pain in my knee, it had completely locked up and it felt like someone was trying to pull my kneecap off. I rolled around moaning for a few minutes before I got a grip and started breathing slowly while trying to force my leg to straighten. It took a while, especially since as I tried to straighten the knee I had even more pain, but eventually I was able to get my leg straight. Then the back of my knee started throbbing so I pressed my kneecap into the mattress and that helped for some reason. All I can assume is that it was due to the impending rain?
So, of course, I'm googling how to get rid of this pseudo locking crap. I know its the OA, I know it is a result of swelling in the joint. My question is how do I get this to stop? It's not like I can "make sure to move my knee" since I'm asleep when it gets locked. Today I was a hair away from calling in to the office "sick" because I was pretty sure walking would be out of the question. Thankfully I could get up and walk around, and it's slowly improving as the morning goes on. It just sucks. I tried to think practically. If this is due to swelling, then would taking a diuretic help? Is that going overboard? I refuse to just constantly mask the issue with pain killers, since that doesn't address the underlying problem. That said, today it just hurts too much to not take anything. I do have to get through the workday. So far, Google hasn't been super helpful. Every medical site and forum gives advice for preventing this when you are awake, not so helpful since it gets locked when I'm asleep. The search continues.

Making the training work for me

You might have noted my blog title change from Knee OA Sucks to Running with Knee OA. I think my former title certainly captured how I felt about my condition for my first year after diagnosis, but now I have come to see my knee OA as something that will always be with me but I will no longer allow to rule me or my decisions.
This past weekend was a struggle to fit in my 19km of long slow distance running (LSD), so I split it into two parts. I did a scorching hot 7km on Friday evening and the other 11km on Saturday morning (I am aware I only managed 18km but hey, I was in a rush). I know from experience this is not how to correctly do a LSD run, but when time is a factor and its a fall back week, I think the occasional LSD split is alright. I am very happy to report that neither run left me totally destroyed so I think my training is going pretty well.
On the long drive to my cousin's wedding this weekend my husband and I had a rare conversation about my running. He asked how it was going and how my knee was coping. I told him that while I am sure I can get my distance back up to a half or even full marathon again, my time is ridiculously slow, so slow I am assured to finish last in any race I would enter. I know what you're thinking; that's a piss-poor way to assume your speed in a few months time. I say I'm being realistic. That my long runs take almost 1.5 times longer than they used to and that puts me well at the back of the pack in any local race. I've finished last, and am okay with that to a point. My issue is keeping people around an event because I'm too stubborn to quit. So my solution is to do a virtual race. He said whatever decision I made was okay but that he thought I could do both an actual and a virtual race (a very rare show of support on his part lately). I was touched. Just that tidbit of support has me looking at the marathon plan again, thinking maybe, just maybe I can do it. This week's scheduled 24km will be a challenge, especially since I am crunched for time again with my husband headed out to a multi-day music event and I'll be chilling with our 9 year old at home. Basically I have 4 days to fit in my 4 running days. I may save the 5km run for the weekend when I can do it on my treadmill so I can fit in a rest day before or after the 24km run. The question is though, how the hell do I fit in a 3 hour run when I only have 1.5 hours to do it?!

Gettin' it Done

Somehow I summoned the inner will to keep my running clothes on as I made supper yesterday, then, with my daughter munching on tacos, I grabbed the dog (who was in full-on panic/excited mode because I had my running clothes on and hadn't left the house), and we squeezed out another kilometer around the block before I recruited my daughter for the last 2km of a total of 9kms. Today I'm a bit sore, sunburned and tired, but otherwise okay. My knee decided to have an issue with the last 2kms yesterday but the shots of pain were sporadic, so I sucked them up and focused on keeping my stride tight. It helped get me through. I did try to walk through the last kilometer but between my daughter racing around on her bike, the dog trying to keep up with her and a throw down challenge when my husband pulled around the corner in our suv to see who could make it home first, I ended up jogging the damn thing. At least we got some family bonding time in ;-)
Today is a rest day from running but a cross training day for the rest of my muscles. The weather is supposed to be a total scorcher so I'm going to keep my workout confined to a well air conditioned gym. My next LSD is a 16km run, my furthest yet this year. I am going to try and squeeze it into my Saturday but that day already looks busy. The problem is, there really isn't a better time to do it, unless I want to run on Friday evening...which is also tricky. I figure I can do an out and back around 6am on Saturday so I can be sure to be back home by 9am at the latest. I'm hoping to avoid blistering temperatures and give myself time to recover before getting ready to drive 3 hours to my cousin's wedding later Saturday afternoon. Sunday is a total write-off since my husband leaves for work around 6am and won't be back until that afternoon. So it's scheduling thing, one I'll figure out, even if I have to split the LSD in 2, it doesn't hurt every once and awhile.

Balancing Life in Da Heat

Yesterday was SO hot. Since I had left late for work I could only squeeze in a 4km run. I was so grateful it wasn't supposed to be longer. The temperatures were a humid 30C, so I didn't beat myself up when I took walk breaks. I did try to push myself to run in the shade, when it was available. As I finished I saw dark clouds looming in the sky. My knee started to ache, not because of the run, but because of the impending thunderstorm. My husband was kind to offer to help but there just wasn't anything he could do. I tried to contain my yelps when the sharp pain would hit but sometimes it was just too frustrating to muffle.
I think I'm starting to be able to differentiate between the times when my knee is sore from overuse and when it's from the weather. One is a deep, dull ache that doesn't go away and the other is a bit more painful but comes and goes in waves. Neither really holds me back from running but the overuse pain usually comes with a side of swelling so I tend to change up my workouts on those days since my swollen leg and ankle can make running rather frustrating. On top of my parenting and spouse time flexibility I now get to add knee soreness flexibility. I give myself permission when it becomes too much to give myself a rest day. Sometimes maintaining my mental health is the most important exercise. It's all about balance.

Consistency and crappy advice

Consistency is key. I just need to keep reminding myself of that. No matter how crappy I may feel, if I keep plodding along I will eventually get better.
This morning was off to a rough start. I woke up around 4 feeling like my knee was locked into a bent position. I reflexively straightened my leg and it felt like my knee broke in half. Now wide awake, I got up and hobbled to the washroom. On my way I stepped on something sharp. Ugh. Then I stepped on it again when I came back into the room. Picking up one of my daughter's headbands that either the dog or the cat dragged into the room I tried to go to back to sleep...until my husband discovered the pen my dog decided to chew and the ink spread all over our beige carpet. Wonderful. Somehow I passed out for another glorious 45 minutes until I had to leave for work. I had hoped to be up by 5 and leave early so I could squeeze out more time for a 9km run today but it looks like I'll need to switch that run for the "easy 4km" on my schedule. As long as I still get out there I can justify the egg/bagel sandwich I just ate ;-)
So the knee continued to throb off and on, with fun twinges of pain thrown in for good measure all morning. I googled it. Yeah, I know. I've had this for a year now and I should be used to the google results, but ya never know when some new breakthrough might emerge! But no. Same old, same old stupid advice. If x hurts when you do y, don't do y anymore. Well, there's rocket science for you! Honestly, hasn't medical science advanced further than this piece of non-comforting advice? I mean, really. I can't just stop bending my knees, that is kind of their JOB, so it's be like telling an asthmatic to just not breathe when they feel short of breath. Sounds completely ridiculous. So I scroll past the stupid advice in search of something better. Something that I can actually try, like some new gel that brings relief or a new type of kinesio tape that will make my knee feel like my "good" knee. None of that. In fact, a lot of the time I don't even see the stuff that actually helps, like using KT tape and ice packs after exercise. Oh well, better luck next flare up.

LSD Debates

So after a rest day and some much cooler temperatures I managed a much better 5km run than on Monday. The sky looked like it would open up any second and even my weather app told the weather to "suck it" but I headed out anyhow to make sure I got my last 5km of the week done. Now to enjoy another rest day today in anticipation of tomorrow's big 19km LSD run on the Salt Marsh trail. I've been debating if I should do two loops or do one out and back. The loops offer me the ability to change out my water half way through and possibly towel off. The downside is that once you finish one loop there is often a mental struggle to go back out again. Then there's the out and back option, which kind of makes me feel like the distance isn't as long since once I hit 9km I'll just turn around and head back, but I'll also need to make sure I carry my water and any food I'll need with me. Thankfully this isn't a big deal since I won't have my sidekick Nutty with me for this one (too long for him). I am siding on the out and back option since I'll get to explore a new section of trail, even though it seems a bit dull from my initial impression. Here's hoping the rain holds off!

Marathon Training with KT tape

Yesterday, despite leaving work an hour later than I planned (long meeting), I still got my 9km run in. Actually, to be perfectly honest, it was a run/walk. The weather was not nearly as hot and humid as the previous slog fest 5km, but it was still enough to keep me running intervals and walking the hills. That said, I was still pretty proud that I got out there and finished it. I did have a long mental debate about running a marathon at the end of this plan though.
To summarize; my shorter runs have been no real issue. It's the LSD (long, slow distance) runs that have been truly slooow, so much so I know for a fact I'd be the last to finish if I were to enter a race. Not wanting to repeat that experience again, I think if I do manage to get my runs up to the 30-40km mark I'll do a virtual run so I don't have any real spectators. So why bother? Because I need to prove to myself that I still can, even after being told I have the knee of a 70 year old, that I can run a marathon or further. That I still can train myself to get there and continue to push my own boundaries. It's a sense of personal pride is what it all boils down to, really. I need to fell like I "know" my body's limits and capabilities again. And I liked the fact I could run 20km at any given time, that was always pretty awesome.
To get there I've been really working on my nutrition and using KT tape daily. My sensitive skin isn't protesting this elastic-type tape on my leg too much yet so I try to make sure I take it off on any rest days. It makes for rather uncomfortable rest days since it is acting as a pain relief mechanism, but my skin needs to breathe at some point. Running with a brace worked alright for awhile but it was a serious pain in the butt once it got sweaty and heavy. I haven't used one yet that was truly made for a run longer than a 10km, hence the KT tape. It doesn't offer the support that a brace does so my stride has to tighten up considerably and I need to watch my knee if I run laterally on the trail (hopping from rock to rock), but otherwise it is doing a good enough job of keeping me relatively pain free, most of the time. I'll see how it fares during my crazy 19km LSD run this weekend!

Summer Slogfest

Yesterday's run commute was a hot mess. A total summer slogfest. I still got my 5km finished but it was truly a struggle. I wasn't sure if it was the heat, my sore muscles from the previous week's runs or some combo of the both. I tried not to beat myself up about my pace-I still lapped everyone who drove home!-but still, it was hard not to feel bad about such an epically bad run. I was so exhausted by the end that I skipped the 40 minute Inferno workout I was going to try and squeeze in after my run.
I'm hoping today's 9km run will be better. Thankfully I'm not rushed since my daughter is hanging out with my mom this week so she gets a ride home with her dad. I can leisurely take my time getting through those 9km, which I figure should take about 1.5 hours, but hopefully less, to finish. Here's hoping!

New 2016 PB!

I started my run thinking I would probably need to bag it a few kms in since it looked like it would start to rain any second. The air was humid but there was a breeze going that made running bearable. I knew this was my best chance at getting in a long run on the long weekend so I tried to keep my run interesting by taking a route I haven't done in a while. I thought about my friends who I knew were racing somewhere else in the city and wishing I was in better shape to be there with them.  But I had my own personal challenge that day, trying to run between 12-15km. The last two times I had finished that distance did not go well. The knee pain lasted for days and after the more recent attempt it spiraled into a major flare up that had me in the ER thinking I had torn something.
That would not be the case that day. I was determined not to push my speed, to take breaks but above all, finish the distance pain free. I had my trusty chihuahua who would also be doing a PB. We made it out to the 5km mark and I was feeling pretty good. My calves felt tight but not sore, my legs still felt like they had some "go" left in them and my dog was hyper and happy. We chugged back into town and I swung by the places I knew kind people left water bowls out for passing dogs. The town was busy with the holiday tourists and I found myself giving directions, meeting other dogs and running into lots of foot traffic. Thankfully my dog was in a social mood so he only growled at the really big dogs we passed by (little dog syndrome). Before I knew it we were coming up on the 10km mark. I was pumped and more determined than ever to finish at least 13km of this run. Dragging our butts up a large hill we both found a little bit more energy to run at a 8 min/km pace to the junior high school field, where I let Nutty off his leash so he could go exploring. A few minutes later we headed home, finishing 14kms just in time for lunch. No huge flare up followed, thankfully. I did have a bit of leg soreness but I chalk that up to running long, when I haven't been running much more than 8km recently. Even now, a few days after, my knee is complaining (a tiny bit) but not enough for me to avoid today's run.
Was it careful training? I'm not sure. I've also started a program called the Daily Burn which is a steroid version of the Livestrong workouts. It hasn't burned out my legs at all but I think it is helping condition my kinetic chain. My shoulders and arms though are another story-burn city! So, so far so good (knocking on virtual wood). I'll keep up this training plan and throw in those daily burn workouts as much as I can and see what happens.

Training Milestone!

Yesterday I had a really good run. I finally managed to crack 10 km. It took wayyyy longer than it would have 2 years ago, but I still finished without feeling completely destroyed.
I didn't actually intended to run 10 km when I packed my bag yesterday. I grabbed my VFF sprints and some toe socks and decided to see if wearing those made a difference with my knees. I picked a section of trail I've run many times so I would know how far I had gone without constantly checking my phone. I started off slow, but was happily surprised that my knees didn't twinge a bit. Keeping my stride very short I plodded along, dodging sharp rocks and roots and it rained lightly overhead. I was happy for the canopy of trees so I could avoid getting soaked. I checked my phone and saw I had covered 3.3km. So far so good I thought so I figured I would keep going until I was doing more walking than running. The next thing I knew my phone read 5.1km. Sweet! I turned around and headed back the way I came. My quads and hamstrings felt a bit tight around the 8km mark but still, no knee twinges or shots of pain. In fact, the body part that hurt the worst was the bottom of my feet. It's been a long time since I've worn my VFFs and my tough feet pads have clearly softened up.
So am I on to something with this VFF thing? I don't know but yesterday's run has me thinking maybe wearing those might be the safest alternative for my own knees.
I had switched back to running shoes a couple of years ago when I got really into trail running. The trails around my area, the really fun trails that is, require a sturdy, padded shoe. The rocks can be huge and often the trail bed is clay, which in wet weather, can make your VFFs ice skates. However, I'm not typically running those trails nowadays. Nowadays the trails I travel are pretty tame, with crushed gravel and gentle slopes. That doesn't mean I still don't hit the fun trails every now and again, but the length is usually 1-2kms, not 10 or 20. So I guess there's no harm in switching to VFFs for a bit of training. Wearing them made my calves and feet stronger than they've ever been and recovering from runs was exceptionally fast. Hopefully my previous experience with them will repeat itself.  

Hey "Good" knee-BEHAVE!

Wow, yesterday's run sucked SO bad. My tenacity kept me going through until I reached my goal. My whole body felt slow and lethargic starting out, which usually shakes off after a minute or so but just didn't this time for the whole run. Ugh. On top of that my GOOD knee kept having this periodic snapping pain across the front of my kneecap. It would be so sharp I would immediately stop running and walk like someone had kicked me square on the knee. It seemed to be worse on the inclines so I figured I was over striding and quickly tried to fix the situation by playing a 180 bpm podrunner song and shortening my stride. It helped a bit but not totally. It was only when I put more pressure on my bad knee that my good knee decided to ease up. Crazy. I can't tell anyone about it because, really, my GOOD knee now?! Seriously WTH??
I did some Googling and figured out it's probably a bit of tendonitis so I'm going to tape the good knee and see if that helps today. Holy hell, I sure hope it does because, I don't know if I can cope with both knees giving me grief. I can barely handle one!
All this on my first day of secret marathon training. I say secret because I'll tell my husband nothing until I can confidently run 20km again without pain. Once I can do that I'll feel confident to tell him my plan to conquer the marathon again. This week my mileage is 5km three times and then a 10km long run. Totally manageable...as long as my knees hold up.

Reigning in Thoughts of Lofty Goals

Running through the trails last night I thought a lot about my goals and if I even want any right now. A friend of mine had just stated that she was going to run another marathon this September and part of me wanted to say "me too!" The other part of me knows I would get zero support for that idea at home so I pushed it aside. The I started thinking.
If I were able to get through the first month of training, would the support at home change? I doubt it. In fact I would probably get reamed out for "trying to hurt myself" as opposed to trying to better myself. Could I do it? I don't know. You see, I have this medal hanger beside my bed that says "The only way to define your limits is to go beyond them." I try to aim for this in my running. I could run a marathon and 50ks before my accident and subsequent OA diagnosis, but can I do it now? Part of me wants to find out and another part thinks I'm crazy and should just be grateful to run 10ks without much pain. But could I go further?? I want to try.
Last year I trained and ran a half marathon. It went great until the 15k mark (literally, once I saw that sign it felt like someone had kicked me in the knee). From that point to the 21k finish my sweet brother and I ran/walked the final, slow 6km. I finished it but it was ugly. Should I just try and finish a half successfully or aim for the big prize of the marathon? Ugh, decisions. If I don't run a marathon this year it will have been 3 years since I completed anything longer than 35km race. For someone who usually ran at least one marathon and a 50k a year this feels like a really long running layoff.
I think I'll need to go for another run tonight to decide.

Doing this on my own-but I guess I always was

Life has gotten in the way of any decent running this past week. It's been a series of recital rehearsals then two recitals, a hospitalized uncle to visit, dance practice for my daughter, and oh my sister-in law is visiting. I am so looking forward to this weekend when I can sleep in and run on my favorite trail. The best part is, the leaves are finally out so it makes my favorite trail system feel like a scene in Lord of the Rings.
This afternoon though I'm getting a run-commute in. It's gorgeous outside so it will be a real treat. The best part is, I remembered to put on some KT tape around my knee, so I won't be hobbling towards the end...I hope. I think I'm finally starting to accept that my knee is how it is now and I need to adjust to this new reality. No one is going to adjust for me, and no one seems capable of relieving my pain, much to my disgust with modern medicine. My doctor says to giv'r, so I will. I have even ventured up and down the stairs at work more in the past few days than I have in over a year. Thankfully it is actually getting easier and less painful. I guess it's true when they say if you don't use it, you lose it. Mind you, I'm still as slow as a turtle going up those stairs and grip the handrail with life-or-death-desperation when descending, but it is getting easier!
My knee swelling is still an issue. I'm going to start icing it again at the end of the day and see if that helps. The KT tape, in an edema formation, has helped with the "water on the knee" swelling but I still have an obscene amount of swelling behind my knee. With summer coming, and leg swelling being common in my family, I'd really like to get that under control.
Well, off I go into another day. Today I'm aiming for between 5-6km for my run commute. Preferably closer to that 6km mark ;-)

Groundhog Day?

I had my follow up appointment with my new specialist. I feel like he didn't even look at my first report by the way he just brushed off my symptoms with a broad-stroked brush. He essentially said that my knee isn't as bad as I seem to think it is. That 67% of medical students showed the same amount of damage that I have, so I guess, what's the big deal with my knee? My problem is that I didn't have crepitus until after my fall, and that the pain is so bad it haunts me day and night, never mind that my knee has been twice the size of the other one for over a year. I tried to ask pointed questions but he said all my pain is caused by this cartilage damage and until I can't walk any more there's nothing he can do. He said there's no restrictions, I can run and do whatever I want. Great, I guess? So I guess I'll have at it until, what? I end up on the side of the road one day because my leg gives out? Okay...the last time I ran further than 15km I ended up in the ER but yeah, sure, I'll go train for that marathon, that sounds like solid advice. Didn't my last specialist say something like this too? I feel like I just wasted a year of trying to find out why some cartilage damage keeps me up at night and clutching my leg for 10 minutes at a time during the day to end up exactly where I was with my previous doctor.
I feel defeated. I am also fed up with the medical system. My husband wants me to try acupuncture, and while I agree it would help I don't want to see my GP again for this, never mind taking more time out to attend more appointments. After 18 months of this crap, I'm done.
So what am I going to do? Well, I am currently trying different KT taping positions to see if that helps. No matter how frustrated I get I still can't get rid of this constant pain so I need to figure something (non-drug related) out for some relief.
I hate this.

And the results are in...again

Well, it took 2 attempts but I finally got a copy of my latest MRI report. The diagnosis is bitter-sweet I guess. No major issues with my ligaments and meniscus. That's good, but it doesn't explain my medial knee pain. It again confirmed I have a severe (grade 3) case of chondromalasia patella and I have water on the knee and edema inside the knee joint. So it sounds like the underside of my kneecap resembles crab meat sitting in swelling and the top of my kneecap is swollen. Google pretty much confirmed that. It explains that floating feeling I get from my kneecap when I walk on that leg.
So, what's the treatment? I feel like I'm living Groundhog day. Strengthen the leg muscles, use heat, try injections, and avoid cut and run exercises (darn, no more football, and just when my career with the NFL was taking off-lol). It sounds like running isn't recommended, pshaw I say!  I have done all of this. And I've done it all again, and again and I still have medial knee pain. I know the itchy feeling is that crab meat rubbing around. I know the water on my knee and how it causes specific pain on the top of my knee and the patellar tendon gets aggravated. All of this I've become accustomed to and can live with. I just want an answer why the "good" side of my knee hurts worse than the side that's supposed to have next-to bone on bone damage. Honestly, that's my only question. If my new specialist can answer that for me, instead of telling me it's all in my head, then I'll be a happy, compliant patient. If I hear about how I need to strengthen my legs I might flip a table. I ran 50ks for god's sake, and ran 60k a week until my accident. My leg muscles are already stronger than most people so how is getting them any stronger going to help? I tried the injections and I tried the heat. Heat does actually help, but am I supposed to carry around a heating pad forever? How exactly will that work in the middle of a trail race? "Oh just a sec, I need to find a microwave to heat up my pad. Uh huh." It is incredibly frustrating.
The ridiculous part is that I feel like I don't have the right to complain about it. That because I did this to myself, by accident, that I need to suck it up and keep up my previous life-pace. Maybe I'm just searching for an excuse but this medial knee pain is real, and it wakes me up from a deep sleep almost nightly.
So I'm quickly getting to that point. That point where you just want the pain and the frustration to go away. Pushing the pain and feelings to the back of my mind helps until the pain gets to be too much and I'm back at a specialist or my GP complaining, again. I just wanted a simple, cut and dry answer. "X is damaged and this is how it is fixed." Instead I got nasty pain with swelling that will never go away and will get worse, and in 20 years I'll probably need a knee replacement. Double Ugh. But for now, when I still want to be active and live life to the fullest, I can't.

It was a long, sleepless weekend

What an exhausting weekend. The most frustrating part of that is that I don't know if it was my arthritis or some new issue that caused me the pain and exhaustion all weekend. I slept horribly both nights. Both nights waking up due to searing hot pain shooting through my knee. Sunday was much worse as I had to get out of bed for over an hour to wait for some pain meds to kick in enough so I could go back to sleep. Is this the kind of night I can expect going forward? Sporadic sleep, pain ridden mornings and never knowing if today will be a "good" day where the pain eventually fades and I can pretend for a few hours like my leg is not a constant source of pain?
It wasn't like I did anything special. Sure, I walked the local mall with my mother, brother and my daughter for hours, but it wasn't difficult, or taxing. Surely a 10km run would cause me more grief?
Running on Sunday was totally possible in my schedule but after only having 4 hours of continuous sleep I wasn't feeling much like running anywhere except to my couch with more advil.
So I still have 10 more days to wait before I see my specialist BUT I have devised a plan to get my grubby hands on my mri report before that. I called my GP and she's getting me a copy of it today. Today! Today I can read the medical mumbo-jumbo (if there is any) and google it up to see what's going on in there. Today I can find out if I simply have a nasty case of OA or if there is something in there they can actually fix and give me some kind of relief. Now, the treatment plan is something I need to wait on but at least I'll have a better idea if I'm walking into my next specialist appointment to hear "there's nothing we can do, here's a brace or some meds" or "you have X and this is what we'll do or not do." The anticipation!!

Just call me the Peg-leg Runner

A message to my knee: If you could please re-attach yourself to my upper and lower leg, that'd be super great. 'Cause right now it feels like you're free-floating as I lift my leg but crunching together as I step down. Fun? Not so much. And this weird hot and cold feeling, yeah if you could take that away, it'd be a help. Thanks!


There's only so much pain killers I can take and I refuse to overdose on naproxen. Just one pill makes me feel like I've had a red bull and it doesn't even totally take the pain away. Ugh. Other OTC pain meds might as well be candy, they have no effect. My luck will be when I finally get to see my specialist I'll be told there's no change from last year's MRI. That would make me feel totally helpless.
So I'm trying, really trying, to make the best of my waiting time and trying to keep up with my running and other exercises. These past 3 days though, have really tested my pain limits. The peg-leg is a constant companion now, all day, no matter what I do. This morning it woke me up, screaming that I was lying in the "wrong" position and must flip over 5 times to find a good spot. When I try to run I can get about a mile down the road before I start to notice a tightness that starts in the knee, then either changes into standard arthritis pain, with a dull ache on my lateral side (I can put up with it) or I'll quickly transform into a peg-legged runner. These past 3 days it's been the later, with me slowing to a walk when I notice my peg-leg pain is affecting my form. The only relief I get is switching to running on my toes (on the bad leg), which can work for a little while, but eventually the pain overcomes the form change and no matter how I place my foot it feels like I'm crunching bone. I just want to know why it feels so crappy and if there is anything at all I can do.

The results are in but...

I have always been called a patient person. As a teacher I heard it from both the parents and their children frequently, especially since I handled only children with learning disabilities and those with ADD/ADHD. This knee experience though has brought me to a new level of patience.
I've had this knee pain for oh, about 7 to 8 months now, ever since my patella crack healed up. I've seen specialists, a chiropractor, physiotherapists, GPs, ER doctors and finally my new specialist saw the value in me getting another MRI. Last weekend I got the MRI and now my specialist has the results. BUT I have to wait. My specialist is super popular and I get that, but between his schedule and my daughter's dance competition I now have to wait another 3 weeks to get the results and find out what the rehab plan is. This is incredibly frustrating, maddening and depressing.
My knee has felt like crap for a solid week now. Yesterday's run commute was painful, literally. I took many walk breaks because running while you can feel one side of your knee banging into the lower leg bone hurts and is incredibly distracting. I kept trying to distract myself from the sensation; think of flowers! I told myself, or focus on the waterfront! Look at the boats! None of it really helped. Then I tried changing my gait, trying to land on my forefoot, then my heel, nothing making much of a difference for more than a few steps. Walking was not too painful so I tried to speed walk to make the most of my time. So after 4km I gave up and waited for the bus to take me the rest of the way home. All I could think about was how, only 2 years ago, I would have kept going all the way home, enjoying the extra time I had available that particular day to bang out a nice 11kms. Then I counted the full marathons I've done (4) and how many ultras I've done (3, but only finished 2 completely), then wondered if I'll ever do another one again. How depressing.
My husband was empathetic about the situation but there's not much he can do. We're both trying to get through this. I'm trying hard not to be cranky and complain about my knee as much as I could. I also try to do everything I used to do physically, sometimes to my own detriment. He's trying not to be negative and bleak about the future for my knee and for my running while also being sympathetic. It's be hard for both of us. Then I feel guilty on top of all that for having the accident to begin with and putting us both in this situation. Ugh. And so, I wait, some more.

Rushing around but getting things done

It had been a long day and it was only 11:30am. I was exiting the auditorium I had sat in for the past 4 hours watching dancers of all ages perform. My pocket buzzed and I figured it was my mother's partner ringing me for an update on our lunch schedule. Nope. A strange, fast talking voice stated he was calling from the infirmary and could squeeze my MRI in that afternoon, could I come?
Shocked at the abruptness of the call and the request, but not wanting to put of this scan any longer I jumped at the chance. I quickly grabbed my dancer then started figuring out how to swing her 2 hour break, Mother's day and lunch all into my new time frame so I could make it to the hospital in time (and make it back for the rest of the dance competition).
A fast lunch, hurried Mother's Day gift opening and the loan of my mother's suv made it all happen in a pinch. The scan only took about 20 minutes but it was a very painful 20 minutes. First the technicians told me to straighten my leg into the plastic frame for the scan. I told them I had. Then they told me it was not, in fact, straight and then proceeded to "straighten it out." Ouch. Instantly everything on the medial side hurt. Sucking it up and trying to stay still, they started the scan. Not  a minute later that foot started to cramp into a charlie horse. Desperate to keep my leg and foot still I breathed through it until the cramp finally released. Now I was just back to trying to stay still while wanting badly to reposition my leg to make it feel better but not being able to.
20 minutes finally passed with the technician announcing they were checking my images and then I could go. I happily hopped off the bed, thanked the technician for squeezing me in and raced back to the auditorium for the remainder of the day.
Now I just need to wait for my specialist to call me for a follow up appointment so I can get the verdict on what's going on in this bad knee.

Flare Ups and Knee Spasms - Is it Friday yet?

Flare ups suck. Yup I said it. It's kind of funny it takes me three days to figure out I'm in the middle of one but here it is nonetheless.
On Monday the knee was cranky and sore. Oh well, suck it up and move on, right? Tuesday was a bit more sore with some stabbing pain thrown in for extra fun (it sucked but okay, I can muscle through this). Yesterday I spent the day with my knee in spasms. Literally. I didn't get an hour of peace, the medial area of my knee looked like it had a heart beat. It was weird and then it got painful towards the end of the day, to the point my husband brought me an ice pack to dull it down (it helped by the way). I considered going into a walk in clinic but with my crazy schedule and the fact I was pretty sure there was nothing they would do, I didn't bother. I did tell my husband I would go to the clinic if the spasms continued into today.
Today - only light, sporadic spasms. Thank god. My leg feels like it's been through the wringer. My thigh feels swollen and stiff, as if I just finished the leg press workout of a lifetime (and that's coming from me-who's run 50ks). My calf is swollen and sore but not stiff. My knee is sore, especially where the spasms are happening, and in the spot I'm getting the MRI for. All in all, I wanted to spend the day in bed but I also need to make money, so here I am at work. Whining. Needless to say, I'm not running today. The weather is nasty anyhow, with heavy rain and wind. The arthritis side of my knee is stiff and sore, but I'm sure that's from the weather. These spasms though? I don't know where/why they're suddenly happening.
Google did give some suggestions (of course). Some seem more plausible than others but until I get an MRI I won't truly know what's going on in there. It could be anything from loose bits of cartilage floating around, banging into parts of my knee, causing it to spasm. It could be a nerve issue, a very localized nerve issue mind you, but still, that could be the problem. Or it could be the OA, somehow causing the opposite side of my knee to spasm.
Should I bother with a walk in clinic? I just don't have the time or energy to bother with my health care system any more. It's so out of touch with the reality of chronic conditions that it seems like an epic waste of time to even bother with (unless you have a broken bone or chest pain). So, no, I won't bother with the clinic, even as these spasms kick up again, until I can't put weight on this leg I'm not wasting more time with people who just look at my knee (no physical exams-they hardly ever happen!) and tell me there's nothing they can do. A witch doctor can give me such sage advice.

I can and I will

Yesterday's run commute was tough. Not because the weather was bad or the terrain more challenging. Nope. This was a pure battle between my will and my knee. From the get-go my knee was not happy to be out for a run. The arthritis was in full swing, causing a stabbing pain straight through my knee, with twinges of pain showing up sporadically in my thigh. I was determined not to bag my run though. I plodded on, much slower than normal, needing to prove to myself I could overcome this. I took walk breaks-lots of them, but I kept on plodding away. One kilometer became two and slowly but surely I was getting to my goal bus stop where I would give myself permission to stop, and rest. By the third kilometer though I found the stiffness in my knee easing up and I could improve my pace a bit. I began to realize I was going to get there, despite the pain and swelling that my knee kept reminding me of.
Finally I got there, 4.5 km later. Now, in year past, before I messed up my knee, I'd be happy I got a run in but unless I was doing something unusual I didn't normally feel "proud" of myself. Nowadays each and every run is something to celebrate, to remember and appreciate because I could get out there and do it that day, despite what pain was holding me back. These runs prove to myself that I can and I will continue to enjoy my sport, regardless of the distance, regardless of any arthritis pain. I can and I will.

Pushing Onwards

It was a beautiful weekend. I got in a short 4.5km run on Friday evening while my daughter danced, then went again the next morning for another 7km with my dog. My leg felt pretty darn good until Saturday evening when the pain came on so fast I was popping naproxen and negotiating with my leg for tiny little adjustments so I could be pain free for a few minutes at a time. By 10pm I had had enough of trying to manage the pain and decided to hit the hay. Sleep helped when I wasn't being woken up by even more pain. My knee was feeling hot and full no matter what I did. I got a few hours of sleep at a time, so by Sunday morning I was bagging my run in favor of sitting on my couch, pale and tired.
Thankfully by noon yesterday my leg felt good enough I felt like I could handle a bike ride so I grabbed my daughter's bike and mine and off we went for another 4km on the trails. I took her on a rolling hills kind of route and thankfully she went so slow I didn't have to pedal much. We were both happy to get outside and have the wind in our hair.
It's such a strange dichotomy to have such beautiful weather and want to be outside enjoying it all but yet this dark cloud of pain keeps rolling in like a Nova Scotian jet stream. Muscling through it seems to be my only option unless I want to sit around eating bon bons all day being depressed.
This morning my leg felt pretty good so I did a Livestrong HIIT workout before heading to work. My knee twinged a bit and my quad went into full spasms during the drive into work, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I just want it all to go away. I am really hoping this new MRI shows something, anything, that they can treat. My worst fear is hearing "well, we can see you're in pain but unfortunately the MRI doesn't show anything wrong." Hearing those words would be soul crushing. To me, those words would mean there's no hope and the state I'm in right now is the best I can hope for. How depressing. So I'm trying to stay positive and live in the "now" so right now I feel ok. I can tell by noon I'll need another pill, but right now it's manageable and I can focus on work tasks. It's a new month and in 4 more days I'll hit the one month wait mark for this MRI. According to the wait times website for Nova Scotia (which have not been updated in months) 50% of people (excluding emergencies) wait 36 days for an MRI. Well, my sinking feeling is that I'm in that 90% group that waits 468 days. I guess I'll be down to 430 soon but I just don't know how people can live in this much pain for so long without even knowing what is causing it. Sometimes I wish we had a more American medical system so these wait times wouldn't be so incredibly long. So I push on.

448 days to go?

Yesterday I finally accepted that my peg leg is a real issue. For months now I thought it was a soft tissue injury that with enough rest and weight loss it would repair itself. Well it hasn't. In fact it has become a daily problem. I was enjoying my brief, easy-paced trail run on the pancake flat section of trail, doing a short out and back, when for no reason my peg leg decided to show up. I shortened my stride but it only took the edge of the pain away. I stopped to walk, which did help until even walking included the peg leg feeling. So what did I do? I googled it...again.
Okay, so based on my extensive google searching, which I am fully aware does not equal even a month of real medical training, I can assume I have a vertical medial radial tear. It's the only thing that seems to have symptoms close to what I have. Searching "my knee feels like it has a peg leg" did nothing aside from give me some fun pirate images to look at. Searching based on more specific pain symptoms did give me enough info to discard the idea that this is an MCL issue. Now, all I need is an actual image of the inside of my knee and "bam" I'm all set. Too bad I live in one of the worst places in the country to get an MRI.
Now if it does in fact turn out to be a vertical radial meniscus tear I'll be super pissed at my previous OA doctor. He was the one who first saw it on the MRI I had last year but brushed it off saying it was too small to be a problem. Well after reading various medical journals it appears that he should have actually done something about that little nick, that it would rub against the synovial fluid and cause more and more pain as it grew. Yeah, it likely grew because nothing was done and I was instructed to return to my normal activity level-which has been impossible by the way. My current OA doctor tells me to stick to the shorter distance of 5km, which is honestly the best I can do totally pain-free, but after my last few runs, even that is becoming something I have to battle through to finish. It would just be so nice to know definitively what is going on in there, because I'm more certain than ever its more than knee OA, which is a pain in on itself.
What to do? Well, there are a couple of so-called options a Nova Scotian can exercise when waiting for the MRI triage system to call my name. I can spend my time running to my GP, complaining about my knee and maybe she'll call and the diagnostic services place and they'll bump me up on the list-maybe. The other option is to spend time I don't have driving to another area of the province, some 2-3 hours away, to use a machine that also exists only 5km away from me but has a smaller line of patients waiting to use it. When you're a parent and use your vacation days for child sick days, every vacation day is carefully planned when they do happen. So to sacrifice one because our medical system isn't managed well enough that the people who live in this city can use the machines that exist here, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
My husband tells me to use my mother's money (that she has offered-twice) to get a private one done. I did this last year while I was on crutches and looking at the same wait time. To have her spend her hard-earned money on a test that my tax dollars already pay for also leaves a bad taste. So I suffer and wait. And wait. 448 days to go.

The mental over the physical

I forgot my running jacket, it was cold and rain looked like I would start at any moment, but I sucked it up and ran-commuted 5km home anyway. The peg-leg was there from the get-go but after a few kilometers it eased off and I was able to maintain about an 8:45/per km pace. As usual, shortening my stride and taking frequent walk breaks helped a lot. My quadricep on my bad leg keeps seizing and releasing without effort from me, which is kind of strange. I'm not sure if the quad is trying to cope with any mechanical issues in the knee, or if its overstressed or what. So far though it isn't causing any pain. Yay, more weird stuff in my leg ;-P
So, I'm now down a whole 20 days into my 468 day MRI wait. I read the other day it could be as low (ha!) as 200 days so hey, maybe, just maybe I'll get it done in this calendar year.
This morning I had some extra time so I squeezed in a Livestrong workout and I'm hoping to grab a quick trail run before picking up my daughter this afternoon. The leg is sore, itchy even, but nothing a naproxen can't handle. I'm aiming to just do somewhere between 3-4km run, an out and back on a pancake flat trail close to home. My diet has been (knocking on wood right now) pretty darn good. I've been super conscious of my protein intake and have tried to only have one snack in the evening. So far so good.
So I'm managing. I still wake up at night with hot knee pain and my knee can swell up in an hour to the point it pulsates and I start negotiating with myself about what I really need to do versus what I can put off while my leg settles down. But I truly think I'm doing the best I can with my crazy schedule and budget. Onward and upward!

Cracking 20km in a week again

Well I did it. I finally cracked over 20km in a week again. I enjoyed a gorgeous 5km trail run on Friday evening, covering the challenging "Jodi-style" portion of the Salt Marsh trail before circling back to the parking lot. I even saw another bunny! My legs felt heavy and sore though so it wasn't my speediest run to date. Yesterday I did a longish run of 10km (I know, against doctor's orders) with my dog Peanut around the Passage. It was bloody freezing out but after a few kilometers it wasn't horrible and my leg felt pretty good so we kept on until we got around the town. I topped it off with some hatha yoga later in the afternoon to try and ward off any leg soreness from my run. Next week I'll try for a 15km long run (but don't tell my OA doc).
Today I'm a bit sore generally, but I don't mind since it means I worked hard. My leg is giving me the peg-leg feeling off and on so that's been a pain in the arse but I'm hoping it'll die down before my afternoon run commute. It's hard to tell if it will or not and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to make the peg-leg transform back to a just an achy knee. If it still hurts when I'm getting ready to leave work I won't bother trying to run on it. (When it feels like your two leg bones are crushing into each other with each step, running on that seems ludicrous.) Instead I'll do a Livestrong.com Stronger workout at home. It's something I suppose. I'm trying to manage my new normal as best I can and without causing further damage to myself.
Just 449 more days to go I guess until my MRI. I'm starting to doubt that I'll be part of that 50% who get in within 36 days since 19 have already passed. I'll keep plugging along and hope for the best.

Patience and Consistency

Alrighty, so I'm 2 weeks plus a day into my MRI wait. So I guess that takes the average wait time down from 468 to 453. Wow. Time flies lol. I wonder how much pain I'll be dealing with in another 400 days?
So I'm trying to keep my routine. I've been doing at least a Livestrong workout each day, if not also running. Yesterday I got in a beautiful but tough 6.5km trail run. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I have a whole hour to kill while my daughter enjoyed a dance class workshop. I took the toughest route on this trail system and it kicked my butt, but it was great. I was super stiff to start but after about 30 minutes I warmed up enough to have fun jumping from rock to rock and then enjoyed the more groomed trail that followed. The run showed me I need to be more consistent with my running since this route wasn't so difficult a few weeks ago. Dance competitions, a head cold and life in general has been messing with my running plans but I know with a bit of dedication I can get my butt back on track.
Today its supposed to be +14C so I'm run-commuting part of my way home. Tomorrow is supposed to be even better and with another dance-hour to kill I'll be hitting that same trail route again.
My knee arthritis has been cranky but not too bad. Really, I think that's pretty manageable at this point. It's this strange occasional burning/stabbing/pulling pain I get on the other side of my knee that's really the pain in my behind. My "peg-leg" drives me crazy and no matter how specific I input my symptoms WebMD and Dr. Google can't seem to decide if its a meniscus injury or an mcl injury. One involves arthroscopic surgery the other doesn't. I'm afraid its the former since rest and rehab has done nothing for my peg leg. 453 more days-ish to go. It's funny but its not, especially when the stabbing pain kicks in.
I wonder if I'll ever get to experience another 50k race or if I'll ever have another pain-free day again. Other runner's experiences tell me its possible but this big question mark around my knee pain is holding me back, or should I say, I'm letting it hold me back. Sucking it up is not always an option when you can suddenly wonder if you are capable of rising from a chair without collapsing. Yeah, when is that MRI?

Waiting on an MRI

Well, just like February of last year, waiting for an MRI in Nova Scotia sucks. It's bad enough to have knee OA, but to have some mysterious "non knee OA" pain just makes it worse. I am grateful though that my new OA doctor has decided to investigate further since finally realizing my peg-leg pain is not knee OA and isn't getting better with physio exercises or weight loss. Now I just need to find out what exactly is causing the peg-leg feeling (with every step it feels like my upper leg is pushing down on my lower leg bone in a very painful way-and it hurts to touch).
I'm whining about it today because I've spent the last 3 days in near constant pain. I've been taking naproxen but it doesn't do much and doesn't last long. So instead I troll the NS Wait Times website hoping that the 90% of patients get an MRI in 468 days is a bad joke and I'll fit into the 50% that gets one in 36 days. So far I'm on day count 6. There's a looong wait ahead of me if it's deemed non urgent or if some other disaster occurs in the hospital - such as another round of flooding - that causes delays. I could take my mother up on her offer to pay for a private one but she already does so much for me and my family that I can't justify spending another $700 of her hard earned money. I can wait. And wait. I just hope the pain eases off soon or I'll be digging out my cane pretty soon.
While I'm waiting I'm trying to adhere to my knee OA doctor's advice and keep moving. Since walking hurts I haven't been running much. I have been doing Livestrong workouts though almost every day, which makes me feel a bit better, like I'm not totally useless. The wait continues.

Let the waiting begin.

I saw my knee specialist yesterday. He has such an excellent bedside manner, it is truly amazing. He said it feels like the arthritis in the knee has gotten worse and he's concerned about my medial knee pain, since that's not where I injured myself. Thankfully he decided to order another MRI instead of just giving me pain pills as a bandaid. I'm looking forward to getting a baseline on the degeneration and finding out why I get such crippling pain multiple times a day on the medial side.
Of course I Dr. Googled it. It's impossible not to with today's technology. Dr. Google says the medial pain could be an mcl strain or tear, damage to the meniscus I "nicked", radiating pain from my arthritis (this one I doubt since the pain doesn't start where I have arthritis so how can it radiate), or fun-sounding free-floating pieces of cartilage that periodically run into the ligaments and soft tissue inside the knee. I really have no clue what the issue is but I'm happy to find out finally.
So after my appointment I went for a run. I had done a livestrong workout earlier so my legs were heavy. I tried not to beat myself up about my pace or my walk breaks but I did push myself to get in 4km before calling it a day. I did the run at my new favorite trail. Happily I was pretty much on my own the whole time, which was very peaceful. I even saw a rabbit hopping past on an adjoining trail.
I still plan on doing the 27km trail run in June, but depending on how quickly I get the mri done it could be a go or not. Around here mris are done on a triage basis so I could be waiting 2 months or 2 years if my case is not deemed serious enough. There's no way to know, you just get to wait by the phone and hope you get in for the test before you are too disabled to move. Last year, after I had cracked my kneecap, my mother spent the money on a private mri after 5 weeks of me hobbling on crutches. This year I'm in much better shape so I think I can wait this out.

Health Care System Frustrations

I don't know what its like in your part of the world but here in Nova Scotia our health care system is overworked, underfunded and understaffed. I recently spoke with another person who has been waiting over 900 days to see a knee specialist. I understand his frustration at our system as I was in his shoes just last year. If my mother hadn't stepped up and gave me the hundreds of dollars to have a private MRI done I would have been walking around with a cracked kneecap and severe osteoarthritis in my knee without knowing why it hurt (the crack was through my kneecap, so there wasn't some big long crack on the surface to see on an xray, although when you look at the bone on an MRI you see the crack went all the way through the kneecap without totally splitting it in two).
As it was, even when I got a diagnosis it didn't mean I got help. I was told the typical line to do physio and if that fails to get an injection. No cast or splint was put on my knee, I was told to take it easy and use crutches, which I had to pay for myself. After that they threw up their hands. My GP had me try a chiropractor, which helped for a while, but never really got rid of my pain. As some sort of last resort and in an angry huff my last OA doctor told me my pain was in my head and I should take a nerve pill. Well we all know how badly that went.
When speaking with this other person we discussed how many times we had both been to the ER because of our pain. Personally, in the past year, I've been checked three times for DVT and four times for broken bones. Each and every time I walk out of the ER feeling like I wasted my time since no one can tell me why I'm in pain. My new OA doctor says its all part of having OA but everything I read says where I have pain is NOT where I have knee OA. It doesn't matter, no one thinks it merits any further testing or investigation. It is truly no mystery to me why some people will drop dead because of some "unforeseen medical issue" that they were probably told multiple times "is nothing" by an ER doctor and sent home. After visiting the ER at least 5 times in the past year I've given up on my provincial medical system since they only want to either give me pills to shut me up or tell me my pain is in my head. So as I sit for the third day in a row with this crazy pain on the opposite side of my bad knee, I just hope it isn't DVT or some ligament tear. No point in getting it checked out since they will just say they can't find anything wrong.
So is this what our medical system has come to? Patients that are living in daily pain without any sort of help? Patients being told that because we're too young we can't get a knee replacement because they would have to do another in 20 years. So apparently we are all supposed to live in pain for 20 years before we get to spend our geriatric years undergoing surgery? What kind of sense does that make? Because our province doesn't want to spend the money and time on a possible cure for some patients they will spend the money on god-knows how many ER visits, pills and diagnostic tests. Lunacy. I see why a lot of people travel to the US where they will actually try to fix your health issue, for a price.

Okay, what is THIS?

I've been sticking to my new exercise regimen and trying to eat as well as possible each day. I have been drinking more water, sleeping better and making sure to keep most of my exercises to non-impact on my bad leg, which is a nice break if you are doing a squat jump on one leg then only have to standup and stretch on the bad. All that said I'm experiencing more pain than ever. Grrr.
Okay, please tell me if this is "normal" for someone with knee OA. I occasionally get tibia bone pain at the top of my tibia (inner side of the knee). It aches and hurts but usually I can take the edge off with a naproxen pill. I get general achy-ness on the OA side of my knee that sometimes makes my IT band ache, but again, nothing a pill can't take the edge off. This new pain, just to the right of my patella (NOT the OA side), feels like someone is trying to rip something out of my knee. It's clearly a soft tissue issue but holy heck it hurts so bad I literally cannot concentrate on my work when it hits. Yesterday I sat, clutching my knee for a solid 10 minutes before it eased up, and then hurt like proper hell for the rest of the morning, despite having taken a pill as soon as it hit. It is so bad I am afraid to move my leg an inch for fear of making it worse. If I had to run out of the building I'm not sure I could. Is that normal? If so I think I've reached a whole new level of sympathy for anyone with severe knee OA.
So did I run yesterday? Yup. Believe it or not, it doesn't matter if my knee hurts like hell all morning. When it comes quitting hour I can still run without pain. Weird. For the past year a bad morning like yesterday would have had me hanging up my shoes a few days but now I know my pain can come and go at will, without rhyme or reason, so if it doesn't hurt at that given moment I can go for a run. To me, this makes no sense but it appears to be how my knee works now. My run was nice and easy, so it was a bit slower than lately, but still I was proud I got out there. Knee OA is teaching me to live in the moment more than ever.