Surprise!...I'm getting old(er)...

There are several things I am learning as I get older:

1. I now understand the reason why older women have affairs with young, hot guys.  Just because you're old doesn't mean you're suddenly attracted to old, wrinkled men with bad eyesight and hearing loss.  In your mind you're still the same 20 year old you've always been and hence you're still attracted to the guys you liked in college.  (Not that I'm having an affair with a young, hot guy...it's just that sometimes when you see one and have that initial "wow he's hot" thought followed by "eww, I'm old enough to be his mother" you realize you understand these things.)
2. My body does not handle late nights and junk food like it once could.  I remember the "good ol' days" back at BYU when my roommates and I would head out for 7-11 nachos at 1 a.m. and stay up all night.  Now, if I ate nachos any time after 7 p.m. my poor stomach and missing gall bladder would throw a full on revolt and I'd probably end up in the emergency room.  In addition, I think I've become a narcoleptic.  Anytime I decide to sit in a comfortable position for longer than five minutes I fall instantly into a deep sleep and wake up with a small string of drool hanging off my lip.  It's especially embarrassing when it happens in public.
3. Although I once loved roller coasters and spinning rides (okay, actually I still love them) I just can't really do them anymore.  It has nothing to do with being a party pooper--I'm actually saying that my body can no longer tolerate them like it used to.  I realized this a couple of summers ago at Disneyland when I got on California Screamin' and spent the entire ride feeling like my head was going to explode and worrying that my heart had actually stopped during the take off.  The old me would get back in those lines endlessly but the "new (old)" me can only do it once and even that is pushing it.
4. Joints get old and there is nothing you can do about it.  Blowing out my knee is the incident that suddenly got me thinking about how age sneaks up on you.  And that brings me to the reason behind this post.

I was just starting week seven in my P90X journey (that was two weeks ago).  Monday morning I started my workout as normal and everything had been going well.  I could actually tell I was improving and many of the workouts that I had dreaded in the beginning suddenly weren't so bad because I was getting better at them.  I got down on the floor to do push ups (on my knees...because I'm still too weak to do them on my toes...no laughing, please) when all of a sudden my knee made a horrible cracking, popping sound and my kneecap quickly dislocated then popped back in.  It was a lightning bolt of pain followed by minor achiness but I didn't worry too much.

Tuesday morning arrived and my knee was slightly sore but I wasn't in terrible pain so I proceeded as normal.  45 minutes into the plyometrics workout and I knew something was terribly wrong.  Suddenly I could barely stand anymore.  I stopped, iced up my knee and decided I needed to be more careful.

Wednesday was all upper body, so I went ahead and did it, even though my knee was slightly uncomfortable (it always feels better in the morning) but by the end of the night I knew it was time for a break.  That was the last day of P90X for awhile while I healed....but unfortunately, healing isn't what happened and as the week and weekend proceeded the pain got worse.  By Monday I was at the doctor's to find out what was going on.

So...I have strained my meniscus (in the back, probably by hyper-extending it)...and I have strained both the MCL and LCL...plus my kneecap is not tracking correctly since I dislocated it.  All this probably explains why I feel like my leg is a wobbly noodle when I walk.  The good news is I haven't done anything that requires major medical treatment--all can be fixed with TIME and possibly physical therapy.

So as of last Monday, I am officially "off" the P90X program for 3-8 weeks, depending how long it takes for my knee to be completely pain free.  The doctor said I can still exercise but it has to be completely non-impact and only work my knees in a forward or up and down motion (no twisting, jumping, etc.) so basically that means the elliptical or a stationary bike.  Once my knee pain is gone I can go back to water aerobics.  And from now on, all exercise must be done with a (very expensive and sweaty) knee brace.

The good news is my leg feels AWESOME with that brace on.  It's the only time I don't have a noodle leg.  Too bad I can only wear it for a maximum of three hours a day.  The other good news is that I "caught" this injury while it was minor and no surgery is needed.

The bad news is, I was really enjoying my P90X program.  It's the first time in my life I've done exercise where I can actually feel measurable improvement.  Having to quit now really sucks.  I am still going to do the upper body workouts during the week, so I'm not really quitting altogether, but it's far from being able to finish up the way I had hoped.  

So now it's time for a new goal... I am planning to start the program again from the beginning (and possibly do the Doubles version) in January.  That is after eight weeks of recovery time, so hopefully I'll be ready.  If I start from the beginning with the knee brace hopefully it will go easier on this aging, tired body.