My knee was not exactly quiet as a lamb, but it didn't hurt, either. I guess I'm just much more aware of it and every time I leap from sidewalk to road surface, I'm wondering if it's going to scream at me. We probably just need to work our way back to trusting each other again (ooh, deep).
To give my joints the best possible chance of success, I went to see the nice folk at Fleet Feet in Menlo Park. After some very low-tech staring at my knee caps, I came home $140 poorer, with a new pair of hold-me-stable shoes and some fancy insoles. Yes, of course I'm skeptical, but sooner or later you just have to let go and trust someone.
Hence, I'm breaking in new shoes as well as testing out my doddery knee, so there are a couple of variables at work.My other new piece of kit was a birthday gift: a runner's headlamp. When I first saw other people wearing these, I pretty much thought, how geeky, until I tried running around our neighborhood at 6AM. I'm not too worried about perverts, but tree roots and uneven sidewalks strike fear into my heart. I tripped while running a couple of years ago and believe me, in your thirties, these things really hurt. So I'm now happily able to trot at a decent pace and not fall over any dozing raccoons, squirrels or Canada Geese. Which was the unfortunate fate of this runner:
Better safe (and geeky) than sorry, methinks.
Photo thanks: REI, Failblog
Good luck with your running! When in the dark I tend to just focus on living my feet a bit higher, but I know what you mean about tripping. Not sure about birds. Had a running friend attacked by a mating/nesting seagull once and Bill got pooped on by a pigeon (I was with him and it was hard not to laugh). So far (touch wood) I've not had any bird problems.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the knees are doing well enough to keep running, even if it's for shorter distances. I have special insoles, too. They take a big chunk out of your wallet, that's for sure. But they do help. So hopefully you'll agree they're money well spent!
ReplyDeleteOH that picture is killing me! It makes me feel like a wuss for complaining about the pigeons that hit me... Also-- I'm very glad to hear that you're getting back on the road...keep being patient with your knee and yourself! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha! That's to funny!
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