Update....

My life has been pretty hectic lately trying to juggle Skinfit, the bike shop job, coaching, rehab, doctor appointments, training, etc. I don't have much free time these days but it is all good and things are moving in the right direction (for the most part). Still a lot of uncertainty with the knee. At this stage we are trying to rule out certain things and fighting to find a diagnosis. Yesterday and today I am trying to aggravate my knee with hard riding and running and at 10:15 this morning I will get an injection to numb the interarticular joint. If the pain goes away instantly then it indicates that I have something wrong deep inside my knee (probably with the cartilage) and I will likely need a scope to see what is really wrong in there and hopefully get it surgically repaired. If the pain remains then it is a soft tissue issue most likely and I will continue on the path I have been on with rehab, ART, and time.
I am a bit torn here b/c part of me just wants a diagnosis and wants to move forward with whatever needs to be done, but part of me is a bit nervous that they are going to find a more serious issue that will likely plague me for the rest of my life and restrict me from doing the sports I love at the level I want. We will see today I guess (or not see since no one can figure out what is wrong). It is all a guessing game at this point.
Yesterday I rode for 2 hrs pretty hard and ran for 40 min at a good clip on a hilly course. My knee certainly felt it but it tolerated the hard training pretty well actually. I thought it would bother me more this morning but right now it doesn't feel too bad. Of course, I need it to hurt before my appointment so I am running again this morning to flare it up. I even stopped taking NSAID's and icing to make sure it is acting up. This has been really hard for me since I have been nursing this thing for 6 months. I basically had to go against everything I believe in regarding injury/illness and push to the point of pain...this all for a diagnosis. If it remains a soft tissue issue then I am sure these two days of hard training will set me back several weeks but, then again, what do I have to lose right now. I can't go on like this if I want to race in 2010 so we are taking all the steps necessary now to come up with something.

On another note, Skinfit had another successful World Championship weekend with Lesley Paterson and Nico Lebrun both placing second and Christine Jeffrey placing 9th. Stoked to see our athletes doing so well and living the Skinfit lifestyle. I am also really excited to see our NEW website...it should be done in the next couple weeks and it is going to be so nice!

--Nice green Speedsuit Nico!

--Lesley rocking the red Speedsuit!

So, that is it form here. I will let you all know how it shakes out today. Wish me luck! Have fun out there.