Mile Marker 1

Driving home from work last night, I decided it was time.

The treadmill had waited patiently, like a forgotten toy in the corner of the playroom, since mid-January. It's funny how much I've missed it, this implement of torture that I've refered to as the "dreadmill" for years, until last December's snows and short dark days -- and the remarkable amount of fitness I was gaining -- taught me to love it.

Last night, I set it up to run 1 x 12 minute mile, 4 whole minutes slower than the last mile I clocked.

The first 6 minutes felt good...a no issues from a cardio standpoint, of course, but the discomfort in my knee was pretty similar to...well...how it felt during the 8 minute mile mentioned above. I ran the last 6 minutes in a pretty significant amount of pain.

So...is it possible that after everything, I'm worse?

I iced my knee after I ran, and it felt fine by about an hour later. I spun for 30 minutes this morning...that niggling discomfort was there, but no real pain.

What does all of this mean? Should I go ahead and work back into training knowing that ice and ibuprofen are just going to be part of the journey this year?

Since virtually all medical avenues have been exhausted, and "nothing serious seems to be wrong" shouldn't that be all right?