Think Optimistically

I spent most of yesterday with leg propped up on an overturned trash can under my desk.

At lunch I closed my office door, lowered the blinds on my windows, and did my stretching and my leg strengthening exercises.

But I still didn't feel like I should go running with my running group. My knee was still achy and I didn't want to chance it. I cried about it to Jason who then reminded me about the escalator to nowhere. Oh yeah!

So I went to the gym with my knee strap in place and did 30 minutes on the stepmill. No knee pain and I managed to get the level up higher than the past few times.

After that I had a little bit more time and I wanted to get in the same amount of cardio time that I would have if I had been running. So, I hopped on the treadmill. Just a little experimental run, I told myself. I'll stop if I feel pain. I'll go slow. I set the treadmill at a 10:20 pace (later changed it to 10:30) and set off. And you know what? No knee pain!

The first half mile was tough. It's been so long since I ran any kind of distance on the treadmill but I finally got into a groove. The knee twinged a few times but nothing serious. I ran 2 miles before I ran out of time. I didn't want to stop but I had to get home for dinner.

Sure, it wasn't the 5.5 mile tempo run I originally had on my schedule but 2 pain-free miles (plus 30 minutes and 100+ floors of stair climbing) isn't half bad. Plus, my little test run left me feeling much more optimistic. The knee didn't lock up at all after the run and even today it feels much better than yesterday.

Fingers crossed, people. Fingers crossed.