I run only uphill on the road. If it's flat, I can do it for a little while without pain, but even a little decline causes pain after 20 or 30 seconds. I know what you mean about the dirt reducing impact. Just can't handle the terrain changes though.
Physio just told me to strength train (did give specifics, but things I already do and not helping), gave me the electric sticky pad thing and showed me how to tape it. I took that to mean shrug…you're screwed. I tried one other place with not much better results. Will look into your recommendation for Lynn Valley Physio though.. Thx!
If anyone has a marathon/ultra marathon friend that I can get some advice from, send them my way. I will compensate a little if necessary.
At Lynn Valley Physio ask to see Steve Brannon, he's very good and helped me get through PFS two separate times.
Seriously, get the Chi Running book from the library and it will at least give you a lot to think about. His whole emphasis is on running pain and injury-free. When I was starting, I surfed YouTube a lot for form/gait videos but there is just too much out there that is of variable quality. I think you would benefit from a cohesive method, adapting it to your needs. At the end of the day it has to work for you.
I would suggest finding a coach who has been trained in Chi Running, Pose Running, etc. Specifically try to find someone who has been through the knee issues him- or herself (maybe they all do?).
I did my longest run today at 2 hours (trail) and I'm pretty sure that I will be pain-free and able to do a bike ride and evening run tomorrow. If I can run with my gimpy knees, misaligned hip and LLD, anybody can.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk