Three summers ago I was biking home with my family when my bike suddenly collided with my husband’s bike. I’m sure this accident wasn’t my fault, but while my husband, Matt, jumped over his bike and managed to land on his feet, I fell to the left and landed hard on my knee with bike on top of me. The next thing I saw was Matt and the kids standing over me as I lay in the middle of the street. I remember crying, but I eventually rode myself home and found relief in a gin and tonic.

I didn’t realize until later that I suffered a small tear in my menial meniscus during that fall, and that knee tear has plagued my running ever since.

I’ve tried many alternative therapies, I regularly visit an acupuncturist, and my physical therapist has taught me to run properly. These therapies have helped, but running long distances is painful and I worry during each run that I will do more harm to my knee, which will ultimately send me under the knife.

Training for the Ascent is both a blessing and a curse. Running uphill is almost pain free and magical, but running back down the mountain can be treacherous, so I run as gingerly as possible, and watch my big feet.

I share this story because my knee issue is so much a part of my life as a runner and thus I will occasionally include the latest knee report within my blogs. I am also happy to hear about your injury or pain, along with any sure-fire remedies for tendon tears, as I desperately want to run up that beautiful mountain again in late August.