So what have I learned?

Ok ok, I'm injured and I haven't run in about 10 days. There. I said it. And I'm not running OUA's either.
This post has been a long time in coming, but I have held back for a few reasons. First, school has been flipping hectic and I really couldn't justify a half hour of blogging when I could use that time for studying. And second, to put the words "I'm injured" into print really seems to make them more of a reality.

So what happened? We'll I guess my rumble with the Rwandan took a bigger toll on me than I thought. The day after the race I went out for an easy 10miler and with about 2 miles left, my right knee started bugging me. A sharp pain on the inside of my knee cap which made me stop every half mile and walk for a bit. The next day I couldn't run at all, and that's how its been since then. Turns out that I have patella femoral syndrome, which essentially means that my knee cap is not sliding correctly in its groove when I flex and extend my knee. Something is pulling out of place and it is grinding on my femor. So what is the cause and why did it seemingly spring out of nowhere?
We don't know and we don't know. The physio can't see any glaring issues with my posture, flexibility, range of motion at certain joints: it may just be the accumulation of several small factors. And the race may just have been a little too much of a strain that pushed everything over the edge.

So this past week and a half, I have been rehabbing as much as I can: stretching, core strength work, cycling, and 2 different physios. I haven't felt any improvements yet, but as I keep being told, the process make take some time - there are no magic bullets!

So what have I learned? 1) Patience (self explanatory) 2) That I really miss running! 3) That the body is a delicate system in which the smallest inbalance can have drastic effects. 4) The importance of complete body care: including the aspects of strength and conditioning that runners tend to neglect. 5) Perhaps I'm not ready to take on the Africans (yet).

Anyway, I'm going to keep up with the rehab and will hopefully be back soon. I'm going to have to miss OUAs but will try to get back for CIS and nationals. I guess the injury game is all part of the running; you pound around for long enough and something eventually gives. All you can do it head back to the drawing board!

That's all for now folks. Will keep you updated as my progress improves. I can't guarantee the regularity of my posts, but there will be definately be one when I can finally run again so watch out!

Be Easy.