Article of interest

It's a really slow day at work, so I'm being rather naughty and posting to this blog. For anyone who cares, my work schedule is 100% flexible, so I'm not actually stealing "company" time. I'm not on a clock. Regardless, it feels sort of naughty.

I just saw this article on MSN and wanted to post it. When I started running in earnest, just about a year ago, I had concerns about my left knee. I had surgery on it in 1995 and was concerned that running would further tear the cartilage. I was concerned enough to talk to my general practitioner about it. She told me that many people have noisy knees and that it's no cause for concern vis-a-vis running. She said that if I start to get an ache, take some glucosamine and ice my knee. In the whole course of training for the CDC last year it never became a problem. As the article mentions, I hear a lot of people use this fear as a reason not to begin running. I'm encouraged that the article advocates responsible running and points out the dangers of sitting on the sideline.

In the world of Joanna, things are going well. I've been mixing walking, light to moderate weight lifting, and prenatal yoga. Never before have my muscles been as consistently tight as they are now (I'm at 34 weeks, for anyone who is curious). The yoga makes a noticeable impact by loosening up my legs, back, and arms. I feel like brisk walking is keeping my cardiovascular strength up somewhat, for which I'm grateful. My doctor gave me the best news of the week, though. As long as I slow down and am careful, I can still go run the occasional mile. Given what the nurse had told me at the last visit, and the fact that my ligaments are loose now, I had thought it was discouraged. There may yet be another mile or two left in this pregnancy. Now that the weather is turning toward spring, it's torture for me not to run a lap here and there.

And finally, I have some commentary on spring runners. When it's 55 or 60 degrees out, you do not need long sleeves to run. Regardless, it makes me happy to see everyone out putting in some miles, enjoying the spring weather.