oh no

this is not good at all.

Have had a great week so far - went for a great run last night - 25 minutes at 5.3 pace. My first little adventure with a heart rate monitor confirmed what I have suspected, ie. what I've been considering as "endurance building" is way outside my target HR thresholds for real endurance training. To keep my HR under 155 I had to back off significantly - I started at 5.3, then slowly backed out the hill I usually set for myself, then around minute 21 I knocked 0.1 off my pace to get my rates back down. It was amazing how much I could control it - just by thinking about my form and breathing. Anyway, it was a great run. When I stopped and I noticed that my knee was hurting. So I stretched and then got up to go change. By that point my knee was in full lock down mode and I could barely walk. I limped back to the garage, went home and spent the rest of the night sitting in bed with frozon mango slices on it.

Right now I can feel it aching - it doesn't hurt exactly - it feels like inflamation or soreness. It's right on the outside of my left knee (my problem child). What's interesting is that my knee isn't swollen or hot to the touch. It just feels super tender and I'm favoring it when I walk. I don't know what to do. My officemate, Laura, said it sounded like her sister's running injury when she strained her ATL (?) band on the outside of her leg (upper thigh), which pulls on your knee and results in these symptoms. I don't know. I will put a call into Dr. Younger Sister and see what I should do. Maybe a physical therapist. I cannot get hurt. I refuse to get hurt.