Wazzzuppp!

I've been remiss in posting here lately. I'm not sure I much new to say. I feel like it's the same old story, different day. I have runs that seem to go well, some that don't, and some that have not-so-pleasant after effects. I had one such run last Thursday. My Tuesday run was kind of a bummer (for a variety of reasons; mostly aches and pains OTHER THAN my usually offending heel), so what better way to erase that memory than to run a fast mile during Thursday's run! After a slow mile, I kicked it into gear and ran a 6:42 (very fast for me at my current fitness level), then finished off with a slow mile. It hurt bad, but it was satisfying. Unfortunately, it hurt bad in a different way the next two days. My recently bothersome right knee was very angry, along with my right Achilles and parts of my right foot (ironically, the heel itself seems to be dormant recently). In fact, I had shooting pains coupled with tightness on either side of that knee all day Friday (lots of ice). Consequently, I bailed on my Saturday morning club run.

So what now? There are days when I feel like my comeback is eminent, and others when I'm ready to walk away from this sport for good. I hate wallowing in self-pity (and really don't want to drag others down with me), but it's so incredibly frustrating. There's another doctor I've been wanting to see, and I know I need an MRI on my knee (I had one in '97, and it showed damage way back then), but my running injuries are turning into a money pit that I can't afford to keep financing.

I know, I didn't answer my own question. I guess I don't have a concrete answer at this point. I guess it could be as simple as continuing with the swimming program, and also working on my cycling. If I can just bag the idea of running fast and far for awhile and focus any hard efforts on the swimming (and possibly cycling), that might be the course I'm stuck with.

It's times like these I wish I didn't love running so much.