Ten-din-it-is

The doctor said to keep running. Honest to goodness, he said keep running. I'm not just making this up.

About 3 weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch with my right leg propped up on the ottoman (strange word, don't you think?) and my left leg crossed over it.  I fell asleep and when I woke up hours later, I noticed that my right knee was stiff, as though I had hyper-extended it.  Running on it the next day, it was a bit sore but after a mile or so, the pain became almost unnoticeable.  I went to Clearwater the following weekend (that's another story), ran twice with one being an 8 miler.  When I got up out of a chair after "resting" at the beach bar, my knee was extremely stiff.  So stiff, in fact, that it made me limp like an old man.  I'm used to that feeling after getting out of bed in the morning but not after a few beers.

I didn't run for the following week and finally, went to see my favorite orthopedic surgeon, Stan Bowling.  Stan is good...really good.  He was able to nail every one of my symptoms without me having to describe them to him - stiffness after sitting, loosening up after the first mile or two of running, some minor swelling, pain relief after Advil.  He checked the knee for all of the traditional maladies (meniscus, tendons, ligaments) and pronounced that I had a case of tendinitis of the tendon connecting the hamstring to whatever it connects to at the knee joint.  Running wouldn't cause any further damage, he said.  Advil three times a day for 10 days. Heat before a run (if I can remember it).  Cold at night. If no improvement in 6 weeks or so, come back.  I like Dr. Stan.

So for the past 12 days, I've kept running on it.  Yes, it hurts for the first mile or two but not enough to stop running.  And the pain subsides almost completely after that.  So on I go.  My knee still bothers me to some extent - I can't completely squat down as though in a catcher's squat - but then again, squatting is over-rated.  I'm pleased to be running, the mileage is increasing slowly but surely, and most of all, I am enjoying everything.  That's what this is all about, enjoying, right?