This isn’t exactly how I saw the first week of official training going. In fact, I was pretty excited about the work I put in last week and I was going to cap it off with a 15 miler. I started late after a lazy Sunday morning. The Man and I have been running the 2 miles to the lakefront together as a warmup before our own long runs. It makes the trip to the lake more fun. There’s a section of this street that I’m always careful on. I cross a small set of train tracks, being careful with my footsteps. And, after that, there’s this section of gnarly pavement. It’s been this bad as long as I’ve been running this section (which is about 1,500 times in the past 3 years). I wasn’t paying attention this time. I’ve run it so many times that my brain must have switched off.
My left toe clipped the ledge of this “sidewalk pothole” and, with 100% of my weight, I fell straight down on my right knee cap. Cue immediate pain and lots of tears. It hurt like hell and I was just sitting there howling. Manny said I bounced I fell so hard. And thank goodness he was with me. With all the adrenaline after falling, I thought the best thing to do was to loosen it up… by jogging slowly the 4 blocks back home. I had blood running down my leg and I couldn’t stop crying.
I spent the rest of the day being a big baby, icing my knee, and watching episode after episode of Orange Is the New Black. An hour after the fall, it was really swollen and I had a very, very limited range of motion. Bending it or straightening it didn’t feel good.
Two days later and some of the swelling has gone down. I can bend it very slowly (still painful and uncomfortable) and it feels better when I keep it loose. If I sit in one position for awhile, it gets cranky. A 4 hr flight on Monday was less than ideal.
So, what do I do now? I am traveling this entire week and won’t be home until late Friday night. If it’s still this painful, I’ll head to the doc. I’m encouraged by the fact that my range of motion has improved from Sunday-Monday. I’ve been icing it every couple of hours and taking Ibuprofen regularly. I can’t help but wonder if it’s something serious but I’ll take it day by day and see how I feel at the end of the week.
Note: I find it somewhat hilarious and ironic that a Chicago pothole has caused this fluke injury.
-J
We Wander And Ponder 
I’d go ahead and make your doc appointment for when you get back. It may take that long to get in. You can just cancel if you feel better.
I agree. I just tried to make an appointment at http://www.rushortho.com/ and the earliest they could get me in was August 22.
Good call. I have an appointment with a doc I’ve seen before on Wednesday. Glad they could fit me in so soon
Ouch. Hope the swelling is almost all gone. I rolled my ankle when I awkwardly stepped off the Lakefront Trail 10 days before Boston 2012. I hate those kind of stupid injuries (better to have an overuse injury in my book)! Hope you have a speedy recovery. 🙂
Just noticed your comment – right after I commented on my stupid fall injury right before Boston 2012! Only mine was literally an hour before we left to catch our flight. Not too fun to run on that sucker.
😦 hope you heal quickly, Jenny!
Thanks Hyedi!
That really sucks! Feel better!
Something very similar to me happened RIGHT BEFORE THE BOSTON MARATHON and I also had to take a long flight (to Boston! ) actually right after the fall. My knee was enormous – I couldn’t even wear skinny jeans – and leaking everywhere. I recommend smearing it with a ton of vaseline (after cleaning it with soap and water) and covering it with a large bandage. That will prevent a scab from forming as you sit on the flight – which is terribly painful later when it breaks/tears as you try to move. See horrendous knee here: http://complicatedday.blogspot.com/2012/04/boston-mini-recap.html
Eeek! That sounds painful – and I know exactly how you felt on that flight. The scar isn’t so bad, but the inflammation under my knee cap is pretty severe. It’s improved each day throughout this week so that’s a good sign. Still no running but I’m staying patient.
Eek sorry to read this, hope the knee feels better soon! Some of the paths I run on are really crappy too and its hard not to zone out sometimes…definitely taken a few spills.
Thanks Laura. I’m pretty bummed about the whole thing especially because it’s so silly. Not sure if/when I’ll run this week but hoping to get some answers on Wednesday at the doc.