But Doctor, It Hurts When I Do This...

A long time ago, in a land about 6 hours north of here, I was a varsity high school swimmer. Unfortunately, I was also prone to hyper-extending my right knee. Between the two I quickly developed tendonitis, requiring about 2 years of physical therapy and a prescription for Vioxx. Part of the PT was for me to not kick during swim practices for something like a month.

Fast forward to current times. Now I'm a runner, taking two active dogs out for 2+ miles, 5 days a week. While I had a few scattered days where my knee would hurt, it was not a regular occurrence. Until this week, that is. Now it starts to 'warn me' about a half mile into the run, and actually hurt nearer to 2. That means I stop running around the two mile mark every day, rather than push for 3 or more on a regular basis. Overall, I'd say this will cost us 5 or more miles a week is lost distance. Not insignificant.

So I've been thinking about the best way to handle this. I've imagined going to the doctor for advice (though I won't, and don't need to) and come up with these two scenarios:

Scenario 1
Me: "Doctor, my knee hurts when I go running."
Doctor: Looks at my knee, does a few simple flexibility and strength tests.
     "Well, you seem to be having a relapse of your tendonitis. Lucky for you we have this magical new treatment that I can administer right now, and you can go back to your old routine tomorrow."
Me: "Thanks, doc!"

Scenario 2
Me: "Doctor, my knee hurts when I go running."
Doctor: Looks at my knee, does a few simple flexibility and strength tests.
     "Well, you seem to be having a relapse of your tendonitis. You need to stop running for two weeks, take 2 Aleve or similar with each meal, and ice every four hours throughout the day. Also, here are 5 exercises to do three times a day. When you start running again, start short and slow, then build back up."
Me: "Thanks, doc! Now my Aussie will get practically zero exercise, get wound up and bored, and destroy the apartment. In the meantime I'll start boredom eating (more-so) and get fat because I'm not exercising. This is gonna be great!"

Which sounds more likely to you?

Sadly, I really should try to give my knee a chance to heal, which means shorter runs, and not pushing myself too hard. Tomorrow I'm going to a sporting goods store with my boyfriend. I may try on some inline skates. Then I can let the dogs run, but still save my joints.

Of course that begs the question - How do I make them stop?