4 Miles

in 34:53 today. That's an 8:43 pace. It's the furthest and fastest I have run since November '09. I did the run on the treadmill today. The knee felt great so I kept going. I stopped at 4 miles because I did not want to overdo it. It was an easy run and now my urge for racing is even greater. My legs have given me 7:30's and I'm looking to get back to that again. Could this be the year they give me 7:15s???

I guess I should share the news with my knee. As most of you know, I have been dealing with an annoying knee injury since MCM. My knee tightens up after so many miles/minutes of running. Thanks to our lovely health care system, I had to first get an x-ray to make sure nothing was broken. The x-ray showed everything was fine so off I was sent to physical therapy. I engaged in therapy for two months- resting the knee, avoiding running, doing various stretching exercises, having my ITB massaged by the devil and pumping electric stimulations into my knee. The knee was slowly getting better but I was not seeing the results I would have expected after laying off of it for so long. So I went for the MRI. (I should have had this done in the first place but the stupid health insurance company doesn't want to shell out the money for it right away. First they put you through x-rays and pt and if that fails, you go for the MRI. Well, I did not save them money- all those x-rays and pt were their loss)

MRI results said..........I have a baker's cyst in my knee!!! It's not large and it's ruptured and leaking (not sure if this is good or bad but the knee felt fine today). I was so happy to hear this. Now I know what the problem is and hopefully I can solve it. I have an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon tomorrow. Can't wait to get this knee fixed right this time.

On another note, two of my best college friends and I made dinner plans for Wednesday night. They are coming in from Jersey so we can eat, drink and catch up. It just so happens to be restaurant week which makes this little get together even sweeter. We're heading to a Japanese restaurant which I know is good. I can't wait. I love these girls. They hold a very special place in my heart. I don't see them as often as I would like so I cherish the moments we get to spend together. They make me happy and whole. When we are together, it's as if little has changed since college. Wednesday couldn't come fast enough :-)