Nope, it is NOT just like riding a bike...





...apparently you CAN forget how!

Despite that my knee still hurts and it's excrutiating to walk down even ONE flight of stairs, I ventured out this morning in a big wooded park here in the Balkans to see if I could handle running/jogging for 15 minutes (uphill and flats only; no downhills).  I'm sure I'm not helping other parts by landing more on the balls of my feet rather than center like I normally do, but I found that using my ankles as suspension too takes the full load off of my knees. 

It was sunny and reggaeton was on the ipod and I guess I got carried away...I made it about 20 minutes before I realized I'd run longer than I'd planned/expected.  Yes, it hurt, but really no less nor more than it has for the past 3 months.  (The problem though lies in the fact that I'm probably causing more long-term damage than simply "toughing it out".)

I decided to make it an even 30 minutes, enjoying my first "runners high" in about 3 months, then WHAM, I tripped and flew through the air and, once again, looked like I was sliding into 1st base.  Faaaaar less grace than a burly Pete Rose!

Sticks in my flesh, blood on the autumn leaves, and egg all over my face.  hought #1 - how's the knee?  Thought #2 - please dont let the wild dogs eat me alive (like they claim to do here).  Thought #3 - get up and go before you cry like a big baby!  (I dont think anyone saw the launch, & though it hurt, it was actually pretty funny.) 

I can't believe I was running so many miles just a few months ago, and was actually getting pretty fast.  Until then, I'd been sorta like a sturdy goat...good balance, sturdy limbs, very sturdy ankles...I sure wasn't THAT girl today.  I knew it was time to go home because due to the new pains in my elbow, hand, hip, I totally did NOT feel my bum knee.  I didn't want the "pain-masking" to make me do something stupid like run another 20 miles. :-)   So, I came back and am now icing my knee and letting the neosporin seep into my booboos.

Cheers...

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