Drugs are amazing!!

So I started taking my Feldene(anti-inflammatory) on Friday. So far no side affects, which is good, since apparently 30% of users have them. I ran 5 miles on Thursday with the same pain/discomfort I've been having in my knee, not terrible but not good either. Took Friday off and my first Feldene. Rode 50 miles on Saturday and never felt the knee, which is a little unusual but it never really hurts on the bike anyway. Ran 5 miles on Sunday and NEVER FELT ANY PAIN!! First time I've run pain free in 6 months. What is even better is I woke up this morning with no pain or stiffness, which I even have after riding or swimming or doing nothing. I rode 3 times and ran 3 times last week, so being pain free Monday morning is huge.

I'm hoping this is actually healing my knee and not just masking the pain. I'm hoping to try to get a 7 mile run in next week, so we'll see how it goes. I'll continue to to only run 2-3 times a week for another 2 weeks and go from there. At least I can actually start look at some goals for early in the new year, including a sprint tri in February, a duathlon and the 15K Gasparilla race.

Good news....I think

So I had my appt with the ortho yesterday and the good news is there is no structural damage to the knee. He said everything looked good. His diagnosis? Patella tendinitis . He's a little concerned with the flexibility of my hamstrings and thinks this is contributing to it. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory for 40 days and said to cut back a little on the running(cut back?? I'm already cutting back to 2 days/10 miles a week!!) He doesn't think I need to cut out running completely. He also wants me to be diligent about stretching the hamstrings and to keep icing after working out but add heat at night.

So, I'll keep this up until the end of the year and hopefully I'll make some headway on this. There have been times the knee has felt very good so hopefully this will heal it completely.

As far as workouts, I was able to get in a 50 mile ride this past weekend and hope to get in 150 miles this week with a couple days off for Thanksgiving.

Ortho appt

So I finally was able to get an appt with the ortho. It's next Tuesday, the 20th. I've been able to run up to 3 times in a week lately but after hard efforts, the knee is very sore still. Hopefully they'll figure this out and get me back by shortly after the new year.

Been biking and running enough to stay in shape but nothing more.

Century ride

Everything seemed to come together for the century ride yesterday, until I woke up feeling like dog ass. The weather had cooled off, the humidity dropped and wind dropped below the 20-30 mph winds we had most of the week.

It was a cool morning and seemed perfect, especially with the time change giving me an extra hour. But Beth has been sick since Wednesday and I think I picked it up. Woke up congested and feeling tired. After an easy week of just a couple rides and 1 run, I should have felt great, but I didn't. By the 35 mile mark(where the 100 mile and 100K rides split) I decided to cut it short as I wasn't feeling very good. Finished the 62 miles, grabbed some food and headed home. Overall it was a pretty good ride but not a lot of riders so I rode most of the last 30+ miles alone.

As far as the knee goes, it's been feeling much better until this week. Ran a hard 5 miles on Tuesday and it was really hurting for a couple days. But it felt fine on the ride yesterday. Going to call the Ortho today or tomorrow and hopefully get in before Thanksgiving.

Nothing planned for the rest of the year but with cooler weather finally hear, hoping I can get back to running soon.