Trip to the Dr.

Always fun. Not.

I kind of put off going, hoping it would just go away, but Wednesday morning came and I still hurt so I knew it was time to stop messing around and just go. I got to my appointment and waited in the little doctor room. When the doctor came in I had a sinking feeling in my stomach-not a runner, obviously. I don't generally judge but it is nice to know your doctor can relate, will understand your urgency to heal and get back on the road. When she asked me what the problem was I told her I was running a marathon and felt a sudden, sharp pain that eventually caused me to stop running then stop walking. She asked me, "Now did you train for this run, this marathon?" Uh....ok, granted my training was not spot on but yes, I trained. Seriously.

She had me sit on the table and she pushed and my knee cap to and fro, pressed on the sides, underneath (where she identified a cyst that has been there for a few months), she then pulled on the lower half of my leg and it felt like she was about to just pull my lower leg right off, throw it on a rotisserie and fire it up. As I sat there, with my legs dangling it was hurting, it felt like it was just hanging by a thread, it's hard to explain but my right leg was fine, no pain, my left, just hanging there hurt, and it hurt bad. I needed to put my foot on the ground so that it would stop pulling. It was still swollen laterally and underneath.

She asked me if I could have possibly sprained it. I knew the answer was no. I remembered my 20 miler and how we had to call it quits at 16 miles due to pain, then on our retry of 20 it began hurting around mile 14. This time I barely made it 6 miles before it started nagging at me. This was no sprain. But I humored her, she was after all the doctor.

She reached in her drawer and handed me a supplement and explained that many people with Meniscus tears have success taking this supplement and healing naturally, without surgery. I was sold.



She said around 80% see good results and go on to have no problems. She also prescribed Motrin and asper cream twice a day and put in a consult with the Brace Shop. I got this sexy thing.....



I asked the dreaded question, "How long do I have to rest?" Two weeks. Two weeks isn't bad, I'm already almost a week out from the marathon. BUT the bad news is I still have pain, just sitting around doing nothing. She sent me to x-ray for a "baseline" and told me if it still hurts in 2 weeks to come back in to schedule an MRI. Ok.

So I am resting. It seems my 50k may not happen. If by some chance I am able to run in two weeks, pain free and better than new then sure, I'll give it a try. But it isn't looking good, which is a complete disappointment. Lately it has been hard to stay positive and not focus on the negative. It seems like every time I turn around I get punched in the face. I am trying to focus on the good, actually recognize the many good things I have going for me right now. It's tough and I am ready for some good news, some good fortune...so please, if you have good news do share! I'd love to hear it!