Big Leap

Last week, I suddenly felt that stinging pain again on the side of my knee. I haven’t felt this in a long time and it annoyed me that it’s there again and that it came when I had toned down my workouts for fear that I might be pushing too hard. You can just imagine how pissed I was that this happened again.

I’ve decided that the only way to rid myself of these fears and get some piece of mind was to see Dr. George and ask him my questions directly. So, I went last Feb 26, 2008 to his clinic and had myself examined. George went through the whole routine and told me that my knee is doing really well and that I can start running and biking outdoors already. I was so shocked that it took a while for me to remember the list of things I wanted to ask him. Quickly I threw all my questions and here is essentially a summary of his answers.

1. I can run and bike outdoors at my own pace at any distance.
2. More than watching out for a distinct pain, I supposed to watch out for swelling in my knee. If this happens, I should just lessen my intensity and the distance I cover and apply ice on my knee.
3. The stinging pain I felt on my knee was still connected to my hamstring which according to George was where he got the ligament to fix my injury
4. Strength training is very important
5. Equally important, I can start stretching already. Any stretch (without resistance) is OK
6. I can’t swim especially where I have to use my legs.
7. If everything OK, I may be back training for Triathlons in a month.

I was so happy and excited as I told Mayi the news. The following day, I put on my gear and ran my first 10 k on the road. It felt great. The funny part was that it was my right knee that hurt and felt some strain. Perhaps I was unconsciously compensating for my left knee or maybe it became a little weak as much of my strength training was focused on my injured knee. But all in all it was fantastic and it’s nice knowing that I’m doing this with George’s GO signal.

Since then, my run and bike workouts are more regular and I've also doubled my strength training routines.

Running Scared

It has dawned on me that while I continue to try to keep my workouts and progress on schedule by keeping my intensity level up, I also have a feeling that I am being pulled back by constant fears lingering in my head. Often, while running, biking, or even doing weights, I’ bombarded with questions in my mind of whether I’m doing the right thing or not. Questions like, “Am I going too fast or too slow?”, “Is my form OK?”, “Can I do More?”, “Can I start stretching already?”, etc.

It’s hard enough working back into fitness. It just makes it worse dealing with these self-imposed issues in my head.

• Footnote – This is a delayed post that should have been published weeks ago.