Friday Night Theory

It is Friday- a great day. Although I am sure I told Dave I did not have to work today- my 1 day off for the whole clinical rotation, he still made sure to let the dogs in this morning at 7:15am to "wake mommy up." He is such a sour grape- just because I get to sleep in and he doesn't, he has to find some way to sabotage.

That is okay, though, because I spent the a.m. catching up on blogs, scrubbing the bathtub, dropping my bike off at the shop, eating jelly beans, etc. I made my way to lunch time master's swim class, only to find that I was the only person there. Thankfully the coach gave me a workout and left, because I really didn't want a ton of attention and stroke work today. So, 3000 yards later, some more jelly beans (and a banana to make myself feel healthier post jelly beans?), and I was off to ride. It was a crazy, windy day with Laura, Layla, and Ashley, but I really enjoyed myself and have found that sometimes I can embrace the wind and not be in such a battle with it.

What happened next made the wheels turn in my little brain. I got off of the bike and felt medial knee pain immediately in my right knee. I thought of my smart friends, Kerrie and Marit, who have suggested that this may not be running related at all. Marit even suggested I get back on my road bike until I we figure everything out and I can run again. Have I listened to my smart friends? No...... not me. I am still on my cute little new tri-bike that has not been fitted to me with a brand new peddling system. Not anymore! Starting tomorrow I am back on the road bike. I have a standing appointment for a fit on my tri-bike in a few weeks.

Maybe I am grabbing at thin air with the new bike theory, but the more the little detective Columbo in me works, the more I start to think about the common denomator in this whole equation. Damie= healthy in February. Damie=healthy half marathon in February. Damie=riding tri-bike in mid March in aggressive group rides. Damie= an unhealthy half marathon in March and cannot run for 25 days.

What if my lateral knee is just as unhealthy as it has always been, but the new stress that has caused everything to unravel is the bike? I am throwing this into the pot of hypotheses.

It is now Friday night. Everyone else is probably out, but mawmaw Damie is at home playing on the computer and eating tofu, veggies, muffins, and yes...jellybeans. And, even though Alyson avoided and did not respond to about 10 phone calls from me this week, I still persisted in my efforts to make her answer the phone and have been rewarded with a cycling partner for the morning- road bike, of course.

Day 22 Updated Knee

My life is not about training. It is not about my knee, or running, or triathlons, or exercise. My blog tends to be because I originally set this blog up to journal my training for Ironman Florida. But, I think my life gets lost in translation at times with the blog. Yes, I am going to talk about my knee and running...later on. But, I am a person with a real life that has nothing to do with training most of the time.

• I am drinking vodka and orange juice right now. Because I can.
• I read 123 pages of the Kite Runner today sitting in the doctor's office. I love a good book.
• I threw the ball with Rooney today and let the dogs snuggle on the couch with me before Dave the enforcer got home.
• I just bought 2 bags of candy- jelly belly and spice drops. Then the girl at the check-out counter told me she was on a diet. I felt like the biggest fatty, but proceeded to open both of them when I got home anyways.
• I did not exercise today.
• I have talked to my dad, mom, and sister today. I think more than once for each.
  
• I am already out of phone minutes because I gab so much on the phone to friends- and I still have 12 days till the new period rolls over.
• I wrote about Down Syndrome and Cystic Fibrosis today. I also did a 3 month follow up evaluation with premature twins.
• I ate dinner and watched goal recaps of the Championship League games with Dave.
• I am listening to and recommend Carter Burwell.
  

I say this all to let you know that in the span of a day, I do much more than train. I work, love, plot, grow, hurt, think, and wonder. I sometimes feel my personality may hide under the race reports and training days. I don't train because I am addicted or have nothing else in my life. Running, soccer, triathlons, racing, training...I enjoy it. I choose to make it a bigger part of my day than maybe the next person....or smaller, depending on who the next person is. For me, my life is not about work. It is not about school or degrees. It is not about trying to be smart, cute, thin, wealthy, charismatic, or accomplished. It is about having a great day with great people, wherever that may be for me.

So the knee.

Vocabulary words from the radiologist today during our 20 minute phone conversation about my MRI: OCD, bone bruising... bone edema...cartilage injury...fragmented..white on TT imaging ...spurs...osteophytes... Baker's cysts...articular margin...tibial plateau...anterior compartment... lateral compartment...chrondomalacia...divet subchondral...

I am not taking any of this lightly, especially since the radiologist got straight off of the phone with me and called my dad. Everyone is pretty concerned. They cannot find any one thing that is causing me medial pain, but what they can find is a really bad problem with my lateral condyle...the exact same one that I destroyed 4 years ago. (Recap- the injury that put me on crutches non weight bearing for three months with another full year of no running and a complete ruination of my soccer life. that injury). But now there is some more extensive damage in the anterior compartment, tibial plateau, and patella. Throw in a gazillion bone spurs, osteophytes, and multiple Baker's cysts, and... I think the doctor was going to cry when he gave me the report he was so concerned. While any number of these things are benign, OCD lesions with bone bruising, edema, and fragmentation are not.

Did I tell you I did the whole Florida Ironman pain free? Every single bit of training- pain free. (besides the mental anguish of the trainer on the track + 800 intervals). Thank you again, Jen Harrison. :)

Today I got a short-term solution for pain, a cortisone shot. I also had a good handful of listening ears today. I am going to bring in my 3 sets of MRIs from 2005 and we are going to compare them to this new MRI to see if there has been more degeneration and how much concern we need to have.

Long-term, we are going to look at a 10 year, 20 year, 50 year plan for me. The docs are going to consult about the damage and decide what to do next. Because that is really what this is about. I want to be a healthy person for the rest of my life. Never mind the jellybeans and spice drops.

It is humorous, though, to think that they still can't figure out why I am having pain in the medial joint line of my knee. And to be honest, I can't figure it out either. Maybe the cortisone will figure it out, though :)

And, my spirits are up. I am a busy girl with a clinical rotation to finish, a bachelorette party to attend in Nola (whoo hoo Christy!), and some candy to eat. I also plan on beating this injury just like I do every single other one. So everyone HTFU and have a great week. :)

Too Much!

I have way too much to blog about today. That is a good thing- I like my life to be full!

First, I have so many congratulations to offer. Marit had a wonderful comeback race. I am so excited for her to be healthy and happily competing again. Earning a Kona spot first race back is not too shabby either. Next on the excitement list is Maggi!!!! Hello!!!! First overall amateur at NOLA 70.3!!!  If the secret is having three young kids, running around like crazy to get everyone to school and after school activities, getting yourself to work and punching the time clock, and somehow training around that...sign me up for the Maggi plan!  Lesley Brainard- nice comback! A 70.3 success after a year of a torn hip labrum injury...and still is smoking fast and coming out of the water with the pros. Christy B...nice run- another success after a year of injuries including a broken pelvis! Not a bad way to start the wedding festivities to come. :) Heather R...you are accumulating a nice resume of half and full IMs!

First timers!!!!!! Sarah Corrigan- sub 6...I knew you could do it...piece of cake! Cindy, my hero...I am so proud of you...great job all around. Myrna- the bravest kid I know picking a half IM for their very first triathlon ever. You rock!

I wondered if it was weird to follow races online. But, as Dave watched Man U win today on TV, I realized that what we were doing was one and the same. We were both watching a sport that we enjoy and cheering for a favorite players. So, zero weirdness in my mind. Following triathlons online is fun! (FYI, Dave is not a Man U fan...he wanted them to lose for Liverpool's sake. I have to put that in because he would be upset if anyone confused him with a Man U fan.)

On my end, I have spend the weekend drinking margaritas for my sister's birthday, convincing Dave to aqua jog with me (and I am not going to tell you what I had to use as leverage for that one), taking the dogs to the dog park for some water fun, riding 60 miles with Angie because I am a sucker, and getting some Mulligan technique work done on my knee by Casey and Mark because they love me.  I am still sad to say I can't run yet- I continue to be hopeful....but three minutes is about my limit right now.  

Roo, in position for the ball. I am not exaggerating when I say that is all he lives for. He didn't notice any of the other 75 dogs out there today. He wouldn't even take a treat. He just focuses on the ball- always. I really have to get him in some agility competitions.

Cayenne and Rooney at the end of the day. We played so hard!

Rooney leading the way to the ball with Cayenne trying to keep up. There is no way competitive Roo will let Caya get to the ball first, though.