I have to rest my knee

"I have to rest my knee". That's what the doctor said.

I HAVE TO REST MY KNEE!

Do you know what that means?!

I'm saddened, but this is not the end of the road.

I have been running for a little over 10 weeks now, and have been making steady progress toward my goal of running 5k in 30mins or under.

Take a look at this chart and tell me if that wasn't good progress. I hit sub-7min at May's end and was confident I could get sub-6min in the 4 weeks left of my 12-week timeline, but now, I might have to give up that goal entirely.

I started feeling the pain some time back. Pain was all over my body: shin, calf, ankles, thighs, upper arms, upper body, etc. It would come and go, so I took that to be my body adjusting to the new source of stress. But the pain in my knee wouldn't recede. It became even more obvious when I continued to feel the pain as I walked. When I ran, it was unbearable.

I saw the doctor last week and had an x-ray of my knee to satisfy my curiosity on whether or not I have suffered some significant damage. I haven't. But I have to rest the knee—avoid intense pressure/stress to the knee.

At this point, cutting off my weekly exercises feels like I would be threatening my very health. I just can't quit cold-turkey any longer. I will do these instead:

• Get better running kit
  I'd been running with a general sports shoe. I'll get proper running shoes instead so I benefit from the protection and performance improvement that actual athletes enjoy
• Get knee braces
  The doctor recommends knee braces, less intense running, and pain meds (if the pain continues). I'm averse to meds and can't quit running entirely. So, I'll greatly reduce my intensity and protect myself as much as possible while at it.
• Switch to a different sport
  I have to do some research to understand how much strain my knee would receive while swimming.

This is it for now.

I'll see my 12-week regiment through and write a proper review.

Cheers

Deji