Wanting to run, but I haven't been

I have a confession to make.

Since Ragnar I've run one time. Once. Three miles. That's all. It's not that I haven't wanted to. It's because I'm a tiny bit scared to.

See for the last three weeks or so I've been dealing with some strange pain in my knee area. I've mentioned that I've been struggling with some IT band issues in my left leg for about, oh six months or so. It hasn't been anything too awful. Lots of foam rolling, some icing, KT tape on the long runs and I've been good to go.

But sometime around Green Bay it changed. Yes, the soreness was still there in the IT band area. But the week leading up to the race it was odd. When I would go upstairs, it was a little more painful. It was taper week though, so I backed down on mileage. Ran the half, recovered for a week and got back into running with just the IT band issues again.

Then we get to a few days before I was set to go to Ragnar.

The knee hurt again. But in a different spot. It moved to the inside of my knee. Not the IT band area. And it felt stiff. And random sharper pains. I almost wanted to cry. I iced big time, taped my knee. I ran. During my second leg of Ragnar I had to throw in some extra walk breaks because it was getting cranky. But I could run.

And in the week since Ragnar? It's been on and off pain. In different spots depending on the day. Some days it doesn't hurt - like the day I actually ran - and then it will. I can't think of anything that I've done lately that would have caused me this pain. The only thing that does come to mind was when I feel off the 12-foot wall at Tough Mudder last year and banged my knee.

So I'm confused. Thankfully I've already got my appointment made with my primary care doctor on Monday for my yearly physical. I'm telling her about the cranky, troublesome knee. I'm pretty sure she'll point me in the direction of a specialist. I'm OK with that. I just want to know what's wrong and how to fix it. Honestly I don't think it's anything super serious. I'm hoping it's just some kind of strain that I can address with some PT and stretching.

In the meantime, I took the night off from running tonight so that I can run/walk with two of my Panty Raiders teammates tomorrow during their Longest Day event for Alzheimer's and so I can get another run in on Saturday with Peggy.

Because this girl is going stir crazy not running.