Runnin' With The Devil

A couple of years back I gave barefoot running the ol' community college dropout try...it went well for a while, mainly due to the fact that I was running on an isolated treadmill. Running with out shoes on a treadmill is obnoxiously loud, so when I no longer had access to that particular treadmill I went back to shoes. I was going to try the Vibram FiveFingers, but then I heard some joker on a treadmill at my new gym pounding away...plus, I'm no where near cool enough to be a snake wrangler, which is the activity the Vibram suggests I participate in...at least according to the hero image on their website.

So, I'm back to running in some Asics, and my knees seem to be okay with it. I do have an MRI scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday so my doctor can get a peek into what is causing my left knee to give out from time to time. My 'runner's knee' miraculously went away when I stopped trying to get all Ivan Drago with the incline when running and I popped some ibuprofen...taking anti-inflammatory meds kind of freaks me out due to kidney damage, but I was assured the 400-600mg doses I was taking twice a day were well within reason. My intake of sleeping pills may be another story....yeah....

About that last knee checkup - my doctor was actually pretty impressed with the overall condition of my knees, especially given the trauma experienced by the right knee...tearing the meniscus and ACL twice and the MCL and quadriceps tendon once, that particular knee is in decent shape. Yeah, there's some wear and tear and arthritis, but nothing dramatic. My left knee is the one giving my all the trouble lately, but the x-rays were inconclusive...and the doctor said the knee was really too stable to suggest a meniscus tear. However, he ordered up the MRI given my history and the small bit of swelling...and I am fine with that. In the olden days (like 1997) getting an MRI was unheard of. I asked for one from the last orthopedic surgeon I went to and his reply was classic, 'An MRI will tell me what's wrong, then I have to operate and repair...let's just get to the operating and repairing bit.' He was a big Texan, and he had me back on my feet and riding my mountain bike in less than 10 days. Good times.

We'll see what the MRI has to say, and if there is a slight meniscus tear I think I'm going to let it ride until it becomes a major meniscus tear....