5 more days 'til I can run...ahhhh!

I had surgery about 2 weeks ago to tighten up some loose skin and to put body parts back to where they were before gaining and then losing 125 pounds. It's  stunning how the human body can expand and shrink so much! But the skin can only take so much and I was left looking like a deflated balloon.

So I fixed it. I couldnt stand looking at myself, or, heaven forbid, having someone else look at my floppy, wrinkly skin. It wasn't an easy decision, as mom didn't  survive cosmetic surgery due to a pulmonary embolism after abdominoplasty with liposuction. But I had some genetic blood testing done for blood clotting disorders and all came out negative. Also, my surgery wasn't  all that invasive. It was skin excision and sewing me back up tighter than before.

So here I am, happy with my new silhouette. So happy! I can wear tank tops now without having skin spilling out from my underarms. But I haven't been able to run since the surgery more than 2 weeks ago and my next follow-up isn't for another 5 days. I pray I get clearance to run. It is so hard to watch others as they merrily trot down the street each morning. I walk a minimum of 3 miles per day, so I am moving. I want to move faster though.

I am taking solace in other activities.  I joined the gym and am allowed to do lower body exercises. My thighs are going to be huge! I also work in my woodshop at night. I am currently building an outdoor chair.

5 more days. I can build a lot of chairs between now and then.

The Dreaded Knee Problem

It was bound to happen, I suppose. Every runner must get injured eventually, right? It's just a matter of when. I thought my relatively minor hamstring pull of early 2016 was the injury. After that was healed, everything would be ok. I could count my lucky stars and move on.

But a little over a month ago, I really noticed some aching in my right knee. It was vague and itcrarely troubled me while i ran. It just troubled me every minute i wasnt running. And it started to affect my  walking gait and going down stairs became troublesome.

I made a doctors appointment, but the appointment was over 3 weeks away. I hoped the problem would resolve itself and i could just forget the whole thing. I decided i had to do something while i waited for my appointment. Maybe some shoe inserts or a knee brace? I them liked at the soles of my rjnning sneakers. They were worn paper thin. I had poor over 400 miles on these shoes. It's little wonder my buddy ached. I immediately bought new sneakers and within about 3 runs the knee pain was markedly better. After a week it was almost gone.

My appointment day arrived and i seriously conspired cancelling. The problem was almost gone. Going downstairs was almost normal again. But it wasn't all perfect, so i kept the appointment. I felt silly complaining, but the doctor immediately noticed swelling and she said there could be an injury to the meniscus. My heart sank.

Is this the end of my running, i thought?  How could it be? I just put down a deposit for my running vacation in late April, thirty-six miles of trail running in northern California. I cant miss it.

So i did what everyone does after they get a diagnosis. I googled it. Running with meniscus injury. My prospects seem ok for road running, but i may have some trouble on trails.

So I may not be able to run as much of the trail vacation as I want, but so long as I can still walk and hike, I will be ok. Its not exactly what I want, but I would rather save my knee for hiking than to ruin it for everything else by injuring it further.

So tonight, and probably for many nights to come, I will ice my knee. I will keep it above my heart whenever possible. I will wear my brace. I may have to avoid trail running or go very easy on trails. VERY EASY.

This may  make my weight loss efforts a bit more difficult, but if I truly watch my diet closely, I think I can still lose the 8 pounds I have gained.  Its just very important that I dont make this minor injury into something major.