Doctor, Doctor, Gimme the News...

Monday I woke up bright and early at 5:30 a.m. to head to Columbus for my appointment with my orthopedist, Dr. Jacobson at The Hughston Clinic about my knee.  After taking my vitals and doing some x-rays, the doctor came in.

He said that my x-rays looked fine, but he noticed when I was walking to get them done that my right leg swings out.  He suspects that I may have torn my meniscus cartilage (again).  He also said that my knee was puffy and inflammed and that my right quad was weaker than my left quad.  I told him that I was training for a half marathon and had a 15K coming up this weekend, and he said I didn't have to restrict my running.  Score!  For my treatment, he sent me to a physical therapist so they could give me some exercises to do at home to strengthen my leg, told me to take 2 Aleve twice a day for the inflammation, and gave me a brace to wear during physical activity to help stabilize my knee.  It looks like a spiderweb!

The Hughston Clinic is close to 3 hours away from my house, so I stayed with my parents Sunday night so I wouldn't have to drive as far Monday morning to get there, especially since I had to be there by 7:30 a.m.  When I was done meeting with the doctor they sent me over to the PT area of the clinic and, of course, they had no openings to see me today.  They have another office in LaGrange, so I was sent there to see if they could fit me in.  Luckily, they could see me at 2:30!  But...that meant killing 5 hours of time in between appointments.  So, I found a Starbucks, bought a coffee, and sat on their patio for 3 hours, playing on my iPad.  My dad works in LaGrange so I picked up lunch and took it to him and spent some time with him.

My PT appointment went well.  All of the PT's know my parents since they both came in for physical therapy.  We joked around and had a good time.  I got my exercises and then they hooked me up to a machine that "ices" your knee by pumping cold water into the sleeve they put over it.  It was actually pretty relaxing :)

So....backtracking to Sunday morning....I had my 8 mile run...and the run itself went well.  I beat my 10k time by 6 minutes (yay!)  When I got home, I took a major turn for the worse.  I got hot, clammy, and nauseous, so I turned the shower on as cold as it would go until I cooled off.  I proceeded with my shower, and got nauseous again.  When I was done, I crawled into bed and absolutely could not get warm.  I was shivering under the covers, even with a hoodie, flannel pants, and socks on.  It took me about 2 hours before my body finally settled down enough for me to get up and get ready for my friend's Gender Reveal Party for their baby.  I believe either 1)I got dehydrated, or 2)I didn't eat enough to properly fuel my body for the run.  Sunday before the 15K I plan to really hydrate with Powerade, eat a little something beforehand, and have my Nuun handy.  I do NOT want that to happen again.

Last night I did a short 2.6 mile run as I taper down for the 15K as well as my PT exercises and a plank.

I can't let the post end without acknowledging what happened on this day 11 years ago.  I was at college and woke up to an IM from a friend telling me our country was under attack.  I thought he was joking until I turned the TV on.  I went to a military college and a lot of my classmates and friends were deployed overseas.  This was a day that we will never forget.

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Until next time,

Jen