Another week of marathon training done! Still some more highs, and some slight lows. Fighting the good fight with a suspicious knee. Here’s how my week went:
- Training for: Glass City marathon, 4/28/19
- Miles run last week: 39
Monday – 3.11 miles. This was supposed to be 5 miles. I went down into my basement feeling pretty good. My knee wasn’t in pain when I ran, but it just felt a bit off. I took it slow. But when I went back upstairs to wake my son up for school, my knee was complaining. That was a good enough sign that I needed to bail on my run and stop while I was ahead. Spent my day moping around, and icing it. Quick Google search came up with the generic “runner’s knee” (jumper’s knee) or Osteoporosis. I’m going with the lesser of two evils – runner’s knee it is! Here’s me in deep thought about what to do. haha!
Tuesday – Unscheduled rest day. Trying to be good to my knee! Strength training day instead. I did get super exciting news that the book Matt Fitzgerald had interviewed me for is now being published. He’s sending me a copy super soon!!! I still can’t believe I know him now!! #starstruck
Wednesday – 5 miles, treadmill. Decided to give my knee another try. It honestly doesn’t bother me at all when I run, but when I have to go up and down stairs, it’s questionable. Thought about ending this at 3 miles buuuuuuut, I opted to run the other two miles on the plan because I was enjoying my run 🙂 Iced it at work, and it didn’t feel too bad. Oddly enough, I got a big blister between my toes. Ouch. On an easy run. WTF?? Is that a sign?
Thursday – 9 miles. Tempo run day! Just like last week, this run went exceptionally well. It was 7 miles of marathon pace miles in the middle. My goal pace is 8:50, but I was feeling good at a faster pace, so I went with it. My knee felt fine when I ran. A little pesky feeling afterwards though.
I thought this was really odd – I got totally ripped off in the calories calculation on this run! Guess it was due to my watch HR sensor not reading through my sleeve?
Friday – 5 easy miles. Debated not running, but my knee was feeling almost better so I ran easy miles. Was supposed to run with Alan in the woods, but he needed a rest day. So, I ran around my neighborhood instead. First, a walk with my friend – always good to catch up with her!
After my run, I hit the gym. I skipped the really “knee intensive” stuff, but still got a good workout in.
Saturday – 16.5 miles long run. In a last minute decision, I was a sub coach for the Dave’s Marathon In Training group. My group’s goal pace was 9:45-9:55. We did run a little fast (mostly 9:42) for the run, and picked up the pace in the last two miles. This was my longest run in almost 2 years! Woot!!
It’s always fun with I get to run with the guys! These are the runners who did the full marathon miles, and about 5 other people ran the shorter half marathon miles with us earlier.
I’m terrible about fueling after a run. First I enjoyed a nice treat from Starbucks.
Then my family enjoyed a treat around lunch time (Shamrock Shakes are back!!).
And finally, another liquid treat after dinner. Hey, I’m staying hydrated… but I admit it could be better choices!
Sunday – Rest day!!
As for my knee, it isn’t getting any worse, and not really any better! Since it doesn’t hurt much, I’m going to keep being cautious with it. I’m also starting to do some PT exercises for runners knee and icing. Fingers crossed it goes away soon!!
Q: Do you like Shamrock Shakes?
Q: Have you ever had runners knee?
Q: Do you foam roll??
I’m also trying to roll out my IT band with a foam roller. That’s a whole new level of pain and uncomfortableness!!
I went to Home Depot and bought a Black & Decker buffer to use on my legs. It vibrates and spins at the same time. Feels great on my hamstrings, quads, and calves. Got the idea from YouTube. Check it out and see if you think it would help.
Wow! I hadn’t heard about this hack before. But yes, Google filled me in on the details! The one they mentioned was a $30 buffer. That’s cheap! I remember seeing a large massager at a race expo and thought it was pretty awesome, but didn’t want to spent the $$$ for it. Great idea!
I do roll my ITB: it’s a kind of pure pain, I quite like it. Weirdo that I am. I really hate rolling my calves, though. I would have that knee checked out as it could be a number of other things – my old knee came from my glutes (same problem now but they hurt my hams). So I’d just get it checked out just in case – you have loads of data points to give a physio about when it hurts, etc.
I’m pretty good at post-run fuelling but do listen to my body and can’t abide a lunch or heavier meal after more than 15 miles. It’s natural to me now but was odd when I first realised it!
I just read something yesterday about how you’re *not* supposed to roll out your IT band. There was some science behind it, but I find that odd because it’s so conflicting from the other info I’ve read!
Oh no, I hope your knee feels better quickly! It sounds like you’re on the right track with PT exercises and icing it.
If shamrock shakes are mint flavored then count me in!
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…A Run is a Run, No Matter How Short!
They are mint! A few years ago McDonalds also let you order them half mint and half chocolate, but I guess that was too much work for them because they are straight mint now. Bummer.
Omg don’t do the leg extension machine with runners knee!!
I was pretty gentle on it last week, but this week I did all the leg machines. It really wasn’t much worse feeling, so that was good. Each day seems a little less. Yeah!