Preparing for Cades Cove

I have had another setback in the protracted struggle with my right knee.  Readers of this blog will know that I injured it several years ago not by running but by hyper-flexing it building a stone wall under our back steps.  That's the offending stone, just to the right of the steps:

I was wearing knee pads when I maneuvered that stone into place, but I felt something pull in that knee, and in subsequent weeks I began to feel its effects.  It took several treatments (including acupuncture) from "Dr. Sue," our local chiropractor, to return me to running again.  Since then I have run races, long runs of up to 12 miles, interval workouts, and some 25-mile weeks.  And although I had to cancel the planned half marathon at Morehead City in March, I was able to run the 10-K. 

The tale of my recovery from injury sounds self-indulgent, especially when I realize it could be much worse.  I ran with Morris this morning, who was alternating walking and running following successful knee surgery, and he demonstrated how important a slow, careful recovery is. Martha usually tells me "Don't overdo it!" as I head out the door to go running; I reply, "Yes, but I don't want to under-do it, either!"  It's that fine balance we seek as runners, and in the rest of our lives, too.  But a lesson we all learn as runners is that injury is part of the journey, and we can recover from injury (usually) if we use some common sense and uncharacteristic restraint.

So this week I backed off from the painful eight-mile long run of last Saturday, running only twice, and this morning only six miles, followed by stretching and immediate application of ice.  And everything felt pretty good, after all.  Martha, on the other hand, was able to run eight miles, on-track now for that half marathon in five weeks and, more immediately, that Cades Cove group run that we are looking forward to next Saturday.  Ten of us will be running the loop road, a larger group than usual, and we realized that we have not been there in three years. 

What a beautiful place to run the Cove is!  I am looking forward to this run more than I have any run in a long time - the sweet smell of the open fields, the morning fog slowly lifting, the deer and bear and turkeys.  One way or another, walking or running, I intend to complete the entire loop.