Time to rest

Yesterday, as I was laying on an exam table, hooked up to an ultrasound machine, with an orthopedist showing a resident different parts of my left knee joint, a nurse who was also looking at the screen that I couldn't see from my vantage point, said, "Is that the meniscus bulging out right there?" 

"That's it," the doctor said.

"Hey," the nurse said, turning to me, "you're a cool person to look at!"

OK, I guess. I'm just glad I still have meniscus in there to bulge out.

It seems my knee joint has compressed a little over the years, mostly on the inside, and gotten to the point where it's fairly painful most of the time. I got a nice little injection -- ouch -- during yesterday's two-and-a-half hour adventure at the clinic, and I'm hopeful that a stretching routine I'll start on Wednesday will help re-create some space in there and ease the pain.

Right now, about 12 hours after the injection, it feels a lot better. Not 100 percent, but I'm supposed to rest it completely until Wednesday, and even though I'm cleared to resume full activity at that point, I think I'm going to ease back into things a little bit. I can't imagine ever having someone slice my leg open, saw through my leg bones, take my knee out and throw it away, then stick some metal contraption in there and sew it back up.

Seriously???

You'd better give me some really good drugs.

So, I'm going to put my three-month pole vault conditioning program on the shelf for a few days, and bring it back out next week. And I'm definitely going to modify it some, tone it down a little bit, try and adapt it to accommodate a 62-year-old guy in halfway decent shape, but still needing to lose 25 pounds and realize he ain't a young buck any more who can go full-bore and turn himself into a lean, mean, vaulting machine overnight.

I'm not giving up -- no way, no how, not ever -- but it's time to also play it smart, if I want to be in this for the long-term.

It's been an awesome journey so far, this pole vaulting thing. Read about it HERE in my book, "Finally Fit." 

Adios,  y'all ...