We are in the 2 weeks-to-departure window now folks!

This close to departure my excitement meter goes way up and, full transparency, I also experience a few moments here and there of anxiousness too. All part of the process I think! It helps to focus on being prepared. So, this last pre-departure stretch will be about packing, confirming travel plans, figuring out why British Airways has changed my seat on a 9hr flight from the one I paid 100 bucks for, and making sure all the things I leave behind are left in order.

Seems I also need this next couple of weeks to pick my lip up off the floor and figure out a little adjustment to my approach to the 400km I have on trail ahead of me … why?

Sadly, frustratingly, madly, grumpily, growly … I am fast and furiously wrapping my head around a new injury. I messed up the PCL in my right knee in a soccer match. Noooo!

Honestly, the knee has been misbehaving for a while now. Ever since I tore the ligaments in my right foot last year (dramatic details here) I have been landing quite differently when I jump. To protect my sore arch, I am landing flat footed which is jarring my knee. I have had some pretty sore days following soccer and volleyball matches. A jumped to head the ball in a soccer match a couple weeks ago and it did me in I guess. When I landed, I felt a rip (not a pop so that’s actually fantastic news) and yikes a good amount of pain. The PCL in my right knee now has my full undivided attention!

What is a PCL you ask?

Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) is a ligament ‘is a band of tissue that crosses inside the centre of the knee joint. It connects your thigh bone to the bone of your lower leg. The PCL keeps your knee stable when it moves forward or backward.’ (thanks HealthLinkBC.ca)

I mean let’s think about this … is knee stability important? Sure. Will I be moving my knee forward and back as I walk 400km? Most of the time. Is it a 6-12 week recovery and I only have 2 weeks before departure? Yes. Am I sad but also mad and pouty as heck? Also yes!

The good news, my PCL is intact it’s only a tear. My knee doesn’t feel too hugely unstable – just not right on inclines and declines and stairs, and a misstep over extends it quite easily. And, also good news, when hiking – unlike soccer and volleyball – I can watch exactly where I put my feet. Heck I won’t be doing anything but watching these dogs for the next month! Also good news, there is a brace on the market specifically for the PCL.

The ‘bad’ news, I had to shell out a bunch for said brace (think the equivalent of my entire spending money budget for the trip in the UK for 30 days – I am gonna need a bake sale before I go so I can refresh my pint budget). More worrisome, I am breaking my most cardinal hiking rule – never ever EVER hike in something you have not trialed at home. Nothing gets packed unless it is tried, tested and true and a BUNCH of times before you depart. Well not this time B – we will adapt on the trial with a smile and as many spontaneous energizing dance parties I might need!

Stay tuned – lots more to come as I wrap my head around this turn of events and a brace a around my rebellious knee. So much to think about but also not over think. I got this! Right? Right! Absolutely!

Brande

PS the injury has also caused a Baker’s Cyst on that same knee (lovingly named jumbo prawn thanks Lana) which I hope just magically goes away and I never have to blog about! A girl can dream …