And Just Like That....It's Back

I've been working hard at trying to keep a positive mindset about this whole knee issue thing and I was making great strides.  Things were looking up.  Pain was subsiding and I was slowly starting to get back into running.  Not to be a drama queen, but I feel like that has all just gone to hell in a handbasket.  I'm not sure where the issue is stemming from but it all started last week at the gym.  My physio wants me to start incorporating body weight squats and lunges into my workout routine.  I've tried but I can't seem to get them right.  I really concentrate on using my glutes and not my quads, making sure that my knee doesn't go over 90 degrees but I STILL end up with sore knees after.  I did one set of 5 lunges and 2 sets of 10 body weight squats on Tuesday last week and my knees were sore for the rest of the week.  They were finally better by Saturday evening.   I put on my positive pants and kept telling myself that everything was going to be ok.

Being the diligent patient that I am, I figured I'd try again on Tuesday.  I made sure I did everything in front of a mirror and even used a bench to help guide me in my squats (so I didn't go too low).  Once again by end of day Tuesday my knees felt like they used to feel.  I experienced pain going up and down the stairs and the feeling that my kneecaps are kind of floating, just general tenderness.   It's put me in the most foul mood ever.  They were even sore during my swim this morning.  I feel like this is a giant step backwards and it's all I can do to keep myself from crying in my Friday night beer.

The ONE positive thing is that my knees didn't hurt when I was running last night.  There was no pain at the start, which I fully expected, so I suppose that is good news.  Towards the end there was a bit of pain on the outside of both knees but I'm chalking that up to wearing different shoes.  

I had and MRI of my left knee last Wednesday and I'm going in to Pivot tomorrow to get the results.  I'm curious to know if there is some kind of impingement under my left kneecap.  I go back to see my physio next week so I may end up with some different exercises, who knows.  

The other thing I know I need to look at is my bike fit.  I've gotten back on my tri bike which has put me in a different position.  I had the front end dropped a little bit to see if I liked it but the rest of my fit needs to be dialed in as well.  I've been riding on it without issue since the end of December so who knows.  I figured if I had issues they'd show up right away but maybe not.  Either way, I'm growing incredibly frustrated.  I just want to be pain free.  Is that too much to ask?