Ice, ice baby.

So, yesterday I finally was able to see my doctor after getting checked out initially two months ago, ordered to do x-rays and an MRI, and the standard cancellations, rescheduling and organizational chaos that seem central to trying to get anything done in this region. After all that, I don't know if I am much clearer on what is going on with my knee. It appears to be an overuse injury (duh?). My doctor said there was patellar pressure. He didn't mention any conditions that have become familiar to me after all my obsessive online research so I'm still a bit mystified. He did however make me feel like a complete idiot for trying to train for a marathon. The exact flow of the conversation is now lost to me but I can share with you some highlights of his pep talk:

-why would I want to do this? (he asked this about 4 times)
-a marathon is a completely unhealthy and unnatural thing to do to your body
-the first person to ever run a marathon died right after finishing
-he has treated a man who ran 2-3 marathons and now cannot walk properly
-I could give myself arthritis later in life by training for a marathon
-it would take a year to be ready
-basically I will never be ready by April
-why don't I just go swimming?

Awesome. He should write for the New York Times. Maybe it doesn't sound that bad, but to me it was a bit devastating. I was hoping to finally find out what is wrong and be told how to stay healthy and keep going. Instead, I felt totally confused and disheartened. I knew I'd have to explain myself to some people as to why I'd want to do this. I just didn't plan on a doctor having such a completely negative reaction.

My knee has been manageable for the past few weeks. By manageable I mean icing it 3-4 times a day and ignoring its existence for the first 5-10 minutes of each run. My bag of frozen peas is my best friend these days. I am just about up to running 4 miles straight. I know you are all well past that but I hope I can catch up eventually! As long as it doesn't get worse I think I can keep going. Kneeling during my wedding ceremony will be interesting though! My hometown of Westfield, NJ hosts a 5-mile "Turkey Trot" every Thanksgiving. I'm going to give it a shot. I feel like my running is about as graceful as a turkey so it seems fitting that this will be my first race.

I thought the hardest part of this project would be sticking to the plan and putting in the time and effort. I thought that once I decided to go through with it, my body would just comply and deal with the punishment. But navigating the minefield of running injuries has become my greatest challenge. I just want my knee to stop bugging me and let me get on with it! My fear of it keeping me back is just about equal to my fear of actually having to run for 5 hours.

On a happier note, my wedding is coming up in about 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to being home in a week and experiencing my first run outside (that isn't preceded by crazy Dubai drivers nearly running me over). And I hope I will be able to finally meet and go for a run with my fellow teammates! I will be in Philly November 27-28. I'd love to get together the morning of the 28th. Hope to see you then!