PT Beatdown

I was hoping to be running and racing by now, but instead I'm calling it quits after 6 weeks of physical therapy that resulted in little or no improvement. I rested, cross-trained, reduced inflammation, and retrained my muscles. Every time I try to run, even just a mile or so, the knee pain has come right back. So I'm going to take the rest of the month off.

The good news is things feel pretty good after another couple of days, i.e., it's not chronically hurting. Will have a follow up physicians visit in October. So if things aren't better we'll try something less conservative, like cortisone or an injection of synthetic synovial fluid.

So it's living dangerously, vicarious cheering for my kids and runners I coach. Mikko has taken off "like a gangbuster," as my old college coach used to say, and has been running varsity as a sophomore. He ran a PR 17:22 5K last week and is now the fastest runner in our household. By the time I get back to 17:22, if ever, he'll be another minute faster. So the torch is passed.

Also exciting to see that Kuba, Peter, and Erich all of whom I coached over the summer, are also making big waves. Kuba set a soph record, with a 16:19, Peter ran sub 17 for the first time, and Erich just a freshman, is looking like a veteran right in there with Peter and Mikko.

Meanwhile, Tristan, an 8th grader now has been running at/near the top for middle school races, with a 1st at the Golden Heart race the other week, and a 2nd at an all schools race this week.

Trying to keep the faith.