The Pain in My Butt Makes My Knee Hurt Less

I love high heels.

Until I was about 22, the only time I didn't wear high heels was when I was waitressing or biking.

Then, I got old. Things started to hurt.

And then I added running. In Auburn, when I amped up my miles, I realized that my footwear really had to become boring and 'sensible'. I cried a bit.

But I also get illusions of invincibility. And I've still got some really cute shoes.

I also have really really steep stairs. Not a good combination with old knees and 4-inch heels, when you are going up and down the stairs repeatedly because you are having people over.

Great Thanksgiving. The brussels sprouts, vegetarian shepard's pie, mac 'n' cheese, etc. turned out well. Company was fabulous.

Shoes were a major mistake. Had to take off 3 days because of a shooting knee pain when going up or down stairs - and sometimes, even, when just walking.

I was a mess. Too much energy and not enough exercise makes me an unpredictable person. Likely in a bad way!

So, I gave myself until yesterday and then let myself try the knee out before going to a board meeting.

Lacing up my shoes as soon as possible after my last class, I raced out into the cold to do some solo evaluation. In Central Park.

Because, you know, there's no better 'easy run' than two loops of Central Park when you are used to Brooklyn.

Yeah. Right. At least I started out the hard way, to get it over with.

Or, I should say, the hard-er way. Neither was a picnic!

Even last year, when I'd grab a run between classes, I was never in Central Park after dark. The only time I'd be running in Manhattan without the benefit of some sun was commuting to or from work on the West Side, never in the park itself.

It was kind of creepy. Cool but creepy. I can see very little, period, when I'm running and can see even less without the benefit of el sol.

That might have been a little dangerous. Oops! Of course, I concentrated on looking intimidating. Not much of a stretch, of course. People meet me and think, "Wow! She is so intimidating! Look at those amazing color combinations! And that huge hair and squeaky voice!"

I resolved, in looking intimidating, that I would not speak.

Warm-up from my office, a clockwise loop and then a counter-clockwise loop, then a warm-down to near the office before walking the rest of the way. 1:50:42 total. Pretty slow but, then again, I wasn't pushing it. Wanted to make sure my knee didn't get tweaked.

Actually, the knee didn't hurt until the very end. My rear was too busy hurting. The change in my gait post-quad-injury plus the hills in Central Park did a good job in transferring the pain to my rear end from my knee.
Today, my hamstrings are tired! Those hills are no joke for a Brooklynite! More practice.......

Psychologically, it was hard for me, too. I hate doing loops! My inherently lazy self always thinks, "look, where you started is right there! One loop, two loops....It's all the same, right?"