one step forward, two steps back

I would much prefer "two steps forward, one step back"!

This past week has been a test of patience and willingness to listen to and stick with my own advice.  The left knee pain that I thought was feeling better at the beginning of last week reared it's ugly head once again.  In the middle of last week after a few days of rest, rehab and recovery I ventured out to give it an easy test.  Within 2 minutes it was back! UGH!  So instead of saying "it hurts a bit, but I can run through it" as a younger me probably once would have done, I simply shut it down and walked home...dejected.

Pain and symptoms reproduced over the
soleus and peroneus longus
 insertion on the fibular head.

So as result of the pain and symptoms I departed from my training plan to work diligently on recovery.  It does me no good to train while injured...my goals are just too big. I initially had difficulty pin-pointing the precise point and structure causing me the pain and symptoms.  Typically during the initial phase of inflammation it's difficult to discern between various tissues as the whole area was inflamed.  Is it my meniscus?  The lateral collateral ligament (LCL)? The Calf?  Well after a few days and lot's of ice the inflammation subsided and I was able to get a better idea of what was going on.  you see I really never had pain when I wasn't running.  I could twist, turn, bend, walk etc without eliciting symptoms.  So when Renee (who is a physical therapist too...and yes it's nice to have a wife who is a physical therapist) and another friend of ours (also a physical therapist) were hanging around we investigated (this is what PT's do when they hang out sometimes...we discuss unsolved ailments).  After some poking and uncomfortable prodding...EUREKA!  This posterolateral knee pain I have been having looks to be consistent with a strain of the solues and perhaps peroneus longus attachments on the fibular head.  I spent much of the week applying ice, ultra sound, heat, electric stimulation, stretching, cross friction massaging, night splinting, strengthening followed by a little more stretching.

Over the past 3 days I have run twice, each time on a treadmill to simply test how my leg is feeling.  The first was 1 mile @ 6.0 mph at a 4.0 grade.  The result...no pain or symptoms...I am encouraged, but cautious.  The second was 2 miles @ 6.0 with a few spurts @ 7.0 and @7.5 at a 2.0 grade.  The result...no pain or symptoms.  I actually felt better following the run...whew!  Very encouraged, but not getting too excited yet.  I have continued my treatment each day.

Today, I'll be able to get out and try my first run outside and see how it feels.  Wish me luck!