PT - Next step!

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time."

Joe Girard

Love that quotation! Some of you may have noticed that I deleted my last post. When I reread it the next day I thought, "Who wrote this...and why?" It sounded like a neurotic attempt to maintain control over my marathon training. You see, I've spent many years of my life trying to remain "in control" and it is only when I got sick with asthma that I finally accepted that there are some things I can't control. I deal with adversity in the best way I can, but I can't control everything! I've learned to let go of those things I can't control, while taking charge of those things I can. Which brings me back to my last post (the one I deleted). Reading it reminded me of the "old" me, the one who tried so hard to maintain an illusion of control when faced with uncontrollable circumstances. I'm glad I wrote it, as rereading it gave me the kick in the butt I needed. So...here's the deal...I have an injury and it needs time to heal...TIME! Of course, there are things I can do, but I can not make time go faster...no, I can not control the passing of time. :)

My PT appointment was this afternoon and there's some interesting stuff to share about that. However, first I'd like to tell you about my morning run. This morning, I ran at the gym on the treadmill. I had my new shoes on. It was such a nice run, I was comfortable and I was totally enjoying myself...and when Celine Dion came on my ipod with "I Surrender" I did just that...and almost burst into song (almost :)). That's when I had this soothing thought, "I love running...even if it's only for 5K...if for some reason I can't run my marathon...I can still run and I can still love running!"

Then I had my PT appointment. I told him I thought I may have overdone it again last Sunday...he smiled knowingly "Let's check your knee then". He did his thing and it seems that of the three minor injuries, two are pretty much healed and only one is left (goosefoot tendon). He was very pleased with my new running shoes..."Perfect", he said. He then had me run on the treadmill with my new shoes. He liked. Then, again barefoot to compare. Once again, he liked, "I'm always impressed with how softly you run barefoot!" I'm pretty surprised everytime myself. However, although the new shoes are perfect for me and he's pleased with my running form in general, there is one thing that is not improving and that happens even when I'm barefoot sometimes.

See for yourself:

   

    On the left, bending my knees naturally, my right knee goes inward (photo taken in mirror, so knee on right side). On the right, me consciously placing my right knee straight. If you follow the line inside my leg, you can see how much straighter it is on the right.

Joseph explained to me that I need to make sure my knee is always straight if I want to avoid further injury, so I now have exercises to do (three times a day). First, is the regular knee bend, while looking in the mirror to be sure I am straight. Second, I need to balance on a block while raising my left leg, going through the running motion and making sure my right knee is straight (I can look in a mirror).

Back and forth 20 times!

Third, I am to do the same as above, but when my foot is in front, I don't touch down, but I jump off the block onto my right foot (landing first on the forefoot, then heel) and bending the knee, making sure it remains straight (20 times). Sometimes I fall off, but I'm getting better. Finally, the last thing is to go on a mini trampoline and do knee bends, initially I can stay in the bend for up to a minute. I must have my eyes closed and need to "feel" that my knee is straight. Once I've been in my knee bend for a few seconds, I am allowed to take a peek to make sure I am straight, but the point is to get me to feel it without looking.

According to Joseph, once I've corrected that and with my new cadence, running technique and shoes...I'll be able to run as many marathons as I want! I like Joseph a lot :) :)

So I'm just going to follow my schedule, not overdo it and not try to make time speed up. In a couple of weeks I should be pretty much on track and if that's the case...once again, who knows what my limit will be...perhaps the sky!

Cheers!