A minor setback

So I had a minor setback in my running plan.  I started feeling a lot of medial knee pain in the knee I most recently had surgery on when I got halfway through my 2nd week of running.  I tried brisk walking one of the days I was supposed to run, but it was still really painful.  I was dying to use my new running shoes that I got last week and this was not helping me do that! 

Then last Friday while I was at work, I noticed that it really flared up.  As in, I was nearly limping by the time I got home from work and I was super crabby from the pain.  I thought it was just due to the fact that I was running my ass off all day at work.  I iced my knee that night and decided to take it easy all weekend (which was easy to do since it rained both days) and keep icing them.  It seemed to work and by Sunday night I was feeling like I could go back to running on my next day off. 

Enter Monday morning at work.  My knee felt fine for about the first 2 hours or so and then that same medial pain came back.  I wasn't even walking as much as I had on Friday.  Granted, I did have a "princess" patient that kept me on my toes, but it still wasn't as much walking as I did on Friday.  I started thinking that maybe it was the shoes I was wearing at work.  Merrill clogs.  I have been wearing this type of shoe at work for the last year or so, but recently got a new pair and that seemed to be when the knee discomfort increased.  Couple that with a new running routine, and I think I found the culprit.  I iced my knee that night and by morning it was feeling good again.  I decided I was going to wear the Nike Shox that I had with me at work on Tuesday and see if it helped.  In fact it did, and I had ZERO PAIN all day!!!  Amazing!

So now that you've read way more about my knees and shoes than you ever wanted to, let me get to the point of this story.  So I went back to my running plan today.  I figured since I had taken a little over a week off from running, that I should start back at the beginning and see how my stamina was.  I wore my new running shoes (which are heavenly) and got all the way through it without dying.  It was better than starting the first time, but I'm glad I did that first workout again.....it was still tough and I don't think I could've gotten through the Week 2 run today. 

I made sure to stretch REALLY well after my run....something I don't think I was doing well enough before, which could've contributed to the pain.  And now I'm sitting on the front porch cooling off, sipping water, and icing BOTH of my knees (just for good measure).  Hopefully this will get me back in the swing of things.  I still have 20 pounds to lose and I haven't lost anything since I started this journey.  Well, I had lost 3 pounds, but gained it back when I took my hiatus from running. 

Wish me luck and say a little prayer that my knees get stronger.  Happy running!!