Medical Monday: Better Knee And Good Head!

   *giggle*
   Okay this is a Saturday but for the purposes of clearly delineating what this post is about and allowing the reader to either sit there, rapt, or move quickly on, I present to you another Medical Monday post! 
   I could almost have actually posted this on Monday but I really wanted to wait til at least Tuesday because that was the day I was getting the results of the excisional biopsy they did on my head three weeks ago. There was a spot on my left temple which an earlier punch biopsy had determined was squamous cell skin cancer. The excisional biopsy (a considerably larger removal of tissue around the affected area) determined that there were, indeed, no remaining cancer cells! So...basically...YAY! What I will have as a reminder of this procedure is about a 2 inch scar along my hairline (which will in the future be known as the "knife fight in the alley" scar!) I will now return to regular visits with my dermatologist and the adventures of The Old Man And The Sun will continue. I use a very light tone when talking about all this but, essentially, and as nice as it seems with its warmth and ability to gladden, the sun is a fucker....
   Now, back to my right knee.
   My physio appointments have ended and it is now my job to take care of and assess my knee on my own. It is quite clear to me that the knee is fine for hiking and trail-running, so that part is all good. What has not been so clear is whether the knee will hold up under the duress of sprinting and/or sports.
   

My taped right knee. I've learned how to tape
the knee so that the kneecap is tracking securely.

It was the nagging suspicion that it might break down while running full-out which took me to physio in the first place but I've had a hard time finding a way to test it comfortably. Some of this has been due to the weather, more of it has been due to the psychological barrier I've set up around possibly injuring it all over again.
   This past weekend, I decided to head to the nearest football field and try my damnedest to run hard on it. I wanted to run on grass---something has been telling me that if the knee gives out while I'm running my fastest on a hard track then I'm gonna be in much worse shape than if I'm on a soft, grassy surface.
   It sort of worked out okay.
   I headed to nearby St. Thomas Aquinas high school, slipped on a pair of football cleats, measured out about sixty metres, warmed up a little, and then tried running hard.

Where I ran--football filed at Thomas Aquinas

 
   The knee didn't give out and I was running faster than I'd run in the last two years. This was encouraging. There was no pain, just a nagging sensation that a part of my body was being asked to do something it had almost forgotten how to do. I am hoping that this sensation eventually goes away, with more training and practice. 
   However, I was not running at full speed. I was running very fast but not full speed and that is the remnant of the psychological barrier I was just describing. I have the funny feeling that I actually need to have a reason to run at full speed and I suspect this will only happen by getting re-involved in some kind of sports.
   Maybe ball hockey...
   Finally, to cap off the week that was, I made it out on to the Thames Valley Trail on Monday for a hike with my co-worker friend, Philip. Philip followed my last summer's tales of hiking the Trail end-to-end and was intrigued enough to purchase the guide book and also join the Thames Valley Trail Association. His plan is to do the trail as part of his Type 2 diabetes recovery so more power to him!
   

Philip's first visit to Kains Woods!

We met at the Kains Woods section of the trail, near the Oxford Street entrance, and left Philip's car there. We then drove to the other entrance off of Westdel Bourne and hiked the trail from there. It was pretty summery and an excellent day for hiking! We took a couple of water breaks and another break for munchies along the way. It was wonderful to see the very beginnings of the plant life starting to re-appear. It was also possible to see the aftermath of recent, almost historical, flooding in the area. Sections of Kains Woods go right through the Thames Valley flood plain and it was very clear that where we were walking was clearly underwater not all that long ago. The bases of the trees off to our right (the river was on our left) had piles of debris gathered around them, from where limbs, leaves and branches had been swept downstream and gotten caught. Quite the sight, really!

Piles of debris at the bases of trees!

   At the end of the hike, Philip seemed to have managed well and we agreed to get together again and hike another portion sometime soon. Looking forward to it!