I'm going to have the Xrays this week but I'm not going to have any surgery and this is why ....
* I have had surgery on both my knees in the past. No fun. Not worth it.
* Any surgical option would mean 3-6 months of no running and not much of anything else either. No fun. Not worth it.
* The best possible outcome of any surgery woud be "modest improvement" for a "few years". No fun. Not worth it.
* The worst possible outcome of any surgery would be no improvement and/or risk of complications. No fun. Not worth it.
While none of this may sound like a "highlight" there are some highlights to the story overall and being a "glass half full" person, it is those highlights that I am concentrating on. The highights are:
* Now I have a definitive diagnosis, the waiting and wondering is over, and I know what I am dealing with.
* The surgeon has put me on some osteoarthritic specific anti-inflammatories which have apparently given even the worst sufferers some relief from the relentless pain and stiffness.
* I can continue to run and do other physical activities without doing more damage or making the condition worse "within the limits of pain".
So ... the "highlight" of my running week is knowing that I may be able to get enough symptomatic relief to be able to run a bit, cycle a bit, trailwalk a bit, gym a bit without making the condition worse and within the limits of pain. That's a highlight.
3 comments:
Not much of a highlight! Anyway Liz, love your 'glass half full' attitude. Hopefully the new anti-inflams will help you to keep running with a smile (and not the grimace that Jim White displays ;)
As you say, now you know. Is the distance of the marathon, or the training for it, too much for your knees.
Whatever happens, keep enjoying the great outdoors & the life it gives us. Take care.
I'm asking the same question Two Fruits. 1-2 weeks of being on the osteoarthritis medication should help answer it from a "within the limits of pain" perspective, and the xrays should help answer it from a "without making it any worse" perspective. So, within the next two weeks I should have a much clearer picture.
My hunch (ie, the surgeon's warning) is that I won't be able to log as many kms as I'm used to in training and that that will either limit my capacity to run marathons and ultras per se, and/or run them at a decent pace or both. But, the jury is still out and so I'm holding on to my "glass half full" attitude and hoping (for now) that I could still run marathons/ultras but perhaps less per year. Stay tuned ...
BTW, you seem to be logging lots of kms and running well. Good on you.
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