Knees are funny things. As a runner we pay a lot of attention to them. People tell us that we’re going to ruin them, that running is bad for them, that we should lift them higher, and stretch them out. We show them off in summer short shorts and they hold us when we go down to catch our breath at the end of a race.

It’s almost embarrassing when they start to hurt. Having to admit that yes, I am a runner and am having some pain in my knees is one of the hardest things to say and most people shrug off the pain and hope for the best.

The problem is knees are like bees, they’re a great predictor of overall health.  Healthy bees = healthy ecosystem. A pain in a knee probably means something else is off somewhere else on your body. Knees and bees aren’t big on the LOUD and IN YOUR FACE messages either, they’re the quiet ones whispering to be careful if you keep going on the same path. They’re easy to ignore until it’s a much bigger problem and therefore a much bigger recovery task.

There are a lot of ways to deal with knees (and bees) and I’m learning that I need to listen to them more.