My running group is better than your running group

The wonderful women I miss!

Our Saturday gang.

I love love love the women that I get to run with 4-5 times a week. They're all mom's and dedicated wives to their husbands. They all are amazing women, and everyday we run I just get to listen to their hectic but happy lives. We run with a group of about 5-8 women (depending on who is ready to get up for their 5:30 AM runs), and I've been running with them since August. It's the best way to stay happy and healthy, running and gabbing with your friends every morning.

About two months ago I went on an early morning run, and started to get some knee pain and was only able to finish about 3 miles. I thought, ok I'll just put some ice on it and take a few days off. Two days later we went on a long Saturday run (my favorite kind). We ran along the trails by our homes and my knee felt pretty good, by mile 7 I was in bad shape. I was trying to hold it together, and not make my friends worry, but my knee was killing me. We ran another mile, and they decided they wanted to make another loop and add on a few more miles. I thought: "no way am I going to add on to this pain," so I walked/ran back to our cars. My knee was not good. I kept ice on it, took some anti-inflammatorys and stayed off of it. Fortunately, I work at a physical therapist clinic and they were able to check me out.

DX: Patella femoral pain syndrome, chondromalacia of the patella, and IT band syndrome.

Yikes, not good news to a committed runner. So basically I have run only one time since that diagnosis. I've stayed off of my knee by riding the stationary bike, stretched, iced, and now I've started swimming. It's rough missing out on your friends lives. I know phones were invented to communicate with people, but I miss those early morning runs where we talk about everything under the sun. We've even names our running group "TMI." You can imagine how personal things get with married women. It's hard to get the texts to come running, and your body not let you do it. Anyways, I'm trying hard to get back, and getting treated 3 times a week by my therapists in hopes of returning.

Now on to the reason why I wrote this post. Recently, one of my good friends from my group posted on her blog about her experience with becoming an addicted runner. She went from being obese and inactive to a 50 lb. weight loss and certified "runner." Her story is amazing, and so inspirational. If you're having a hard time getting motivated to start working out and being healthy, read Kelly's story, and hopefully it will inspire you. Also my friend Lisa wrote about her experience with helping Kelly complete several races. Check them out! Happy running!