Setbacks and Faith

"Faith: you know your gonna live through the rain

Lord you got to keep the faith!" - Bon Jovi

In life we all have setbacks that challenge us and keep us from reaching our goals. I was almost two weeks into my running program when my knee started to hurt. I should have gone to the doctor sooner. Well, the news isn't terrible - I have bursitis and/or tendonitis in my left leg. This is most likely because my hamstrings are too tight, so I've been given a prescription for physical therapy to help loosen them up. For the next two weeks I need to take it easy on my leg and switch to biking or swimming instead of running. I am still going to run the 5k in May because I know I can do it. Sometimes when things seem difficult in life, we just need to keep the faith and know ourselves. I will do it!

Last night I went to see Bon Jovi with Tolu. This was my early birthday present from her. We watched Bon Jovi power through a set list of 26 songs for almost three full hours of ROCK from the front row of the upper deck at the United Center. I sang along to almost every lyric of almost every song, having been a hardcore Bon Jovi fan for nearly 27 years. Last night we were able to set all our problems aside and be the happiest people alive for a few hours. Thank you Jon, Ritchie, Tico, and David for entertaining us with such enthusiasm. This was the best Bon Jovi show I've seen in years! I love Chicago, I love Bon Jovi, and I love the people in my life who support me -- you know who you are... thank you!

"Faith: don't let your love turn to hate

Right now we got to keep the faith

Faith: now it's not too late

Try to hold on, trying to hold on

Keep the faith!" - Bon Jovi

My Knees...!!

"You can fuck with the Gods, but you can't fuck with your knees." - Bikram Choudhury

I don't know if it's the new shoes or pushing myself too hard... or just getting old... but my knees are not cooperating with me since my Sunday, February 27th run. I put in 3.25 miles on the treadmill and had some pain walking home. The next morning I could barely walk! It started to feel better by Wednesday so I went on another run and put in 1.8 miles on the lakefront trail. Ever since that run, I have been resting because I can barely walk - let alone run. This is extremely frustrating for me as a beginning runner because all I want to do is get back out there and push it.

I picked up a gel ice pack with a compression strap and some elastic bandage so I can start icing more effectively and applying pressure. This way I can apply "RICE" (Rest Ice Compression Elevation) and hopefully recover from the pain. I've made an appointment with a sports doctor for tomorrow so I can make sure it's just overuse and not something more serious. I am also hoping the doctor can recommend either a change in running style or a better pair of shoes to fix this problem. Hopefully they don't just say, "your body just wasn't made for this, dude!"