Hear the solemn knell of the funeral bell. See the mourners draped in black, their veils masking their tears. The elegy floats sweetly through the stagnant air and sweeps across heartstrings like a soft violin bow. A little girl steps defiantly from the crowd, her courage alone is enough to absorb the attention of the gathered masses. She clears her dainty throat and speaks forth, "Oi! Stop being so bloody dramatic, you prat!"
To which Paul bolts up in his chair, his spine straightened as if plugged into the mains. Offended, he whimpishly replies, "But muh knee still huuuurts".
The worst thing about this is that I haven't done anything. I've barely started. The soles of my trainers have barely worn, the only indication of usage being dog poo remnants (seen under a UV lamp...I imagine). I had dreams of circumnavigating the town with morning shoppers waving to me as I pass and kids running to the school gate screaming, "Look at him go" as I effortlessly glide across the K's. I was supposed to be running 10K in May, I had the desire, the enthusiasm, the heart, just not the knee.
I used to play football well into my 20's. I was out drinking Saturday night, rucked up Sunday morning, kitted up, warmed up by tying my boots, killed myself for 90 minutes, ached for 7 days and repeated. I completely forgot why I stopped; or more likely, time has been at my memory with a rose coloured emulsion, slapping it on like a drag queen's rouge. Now I remember...
...it was a knee, groin, knee, groin, hip, knee, groin combination like a prizefighter who's pinned his opponent to the turnbuckle.
Now I remember.
What's worrying me most is that I had no pain during running, or at the gym. Other than your odd ache here and there, there was no communication between legs and brain. No distress calls sent upstairs saying, "Whoa Nelly, this ain't like the old days". I went from being elated at breezing through my run, to later that night being in agony when my knee locked. Then the hip started (I'm guessing as a reaction injury), which feels like it's getting worse. I'm visibly limping and have a constant dull pain that's at its worse when I'm releasing pressure from my right leg and interspersed with a dagger through my left knee joint. After 4 days of complete rest it feels, if anything, like it's gotten worse.
I'm in more of a pickle than a jar of onions at Christmas.
I feel like I needed to write this down. I wanted a written log of my journey through this process, and if I'm to be honest with myself then it's got to include the lows as well as the highs. Maybe I can read this back and say pah! but at this point in time it feels like my legs have sent me a Dear John and have shacked up with the milkman.
Happy running everyone. If I don't see you out there, it's been a lot of fun but incredibly brief. Like a teenage romp. That's how I'll remember you all. *waves*
Written by
PaulS83
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Nooooo! Please let it be down but not out! Get yourself off to a physio, find out what the problem is and the solution too, take the time out to sort it all out n then please come back to regale us with your funny posts once more 🙏
In all seriousness, I really hope it’s a fixable issue, you were doing so well n it’s be a real shame to give it all up. I will keep my fingers firmly crossed for your speedy recovery🤞🤞🤞
You can still do this... you have an injury that will heal and then you can work on strengthening it... it’s not like our youth, we haven’t started this in the best shape, we don’t bounce as well as we used to, and every bit of us isn’t used to making the effort... but with time we can be back fitter than we used to be, if not faster. Really hope you heal well and come back.
Once you know what's wrong you can get it put right (and if your GP says running is bad for your knees tell them in no uncertain terms that their info is out of date!)
I had a similar issue a couple of years ago. Two weeks of anti-inflammatories and 2 weeks of exercises from the physio, and I was fighting fit again.
Listen to the little girl, she is clearly the voice of reason in all this. And maybe if you weren’t imagining 10k’s, effortless victory, adulation from children and shoppers... you might hear your knee?!
Waiting for GP/physio appointments and doing exercises with stretchy bits of elastic may be less glamorous than a dramatic Lawrence Oates ‘I may be gone for some time’... but you might find something more lasting...
Whatever your decision, I do hope your hip and knee stop giving you gyp.
I really enjoyed the fun of reading the melodrama... 😄 .. but back down to earth... many of us have had injuries, seen drs & sports physios, done exercises, recovered & then enjoyed building up our running.
If you want to exit running, that’s your choice... I’m a 59 year old who has weathered assorted illness /injuries & then built up my running all over again because the physical & psychological benefits are great. 😃
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I'd have been lying to Laura
New here and need encouragement!
Parkrun done, ambition accomplished!!
Wk3 R2&3 - Still here
