IWK 5k - DNS

This was my first DNS - Did Not Start. 

My knee bothered me a bit during the Penguin Run yesterday and then got progressively worse on the walk back to the car and throughout the rest of the day. By bedtime I could barely put weight on it to hobble across the floor.  I went from thinking I could walk the 5k today, to thinking of down grading to the 1.5k seniors walk, to just going to support friends and take pictures, to.... hmmm I don't think I can go at all.

This was a un-timed, fun run to raise money for our local children's hospital, so I have no issues with having spent the money on the race entry and then not being able to do the run.  I would have loved to have gone and spent time with friends (there was a group of 21 going from Team Myles) but I knew that resting my knee was more important if I don't want to risk serious long term damage.  I need to get it better soon as I start my training for my next half marathon in just 3 weeks.

So today I am taking it easy, icing my knee, using heat, gently stretching it out and enjoying the day on the couch.  But I'm very proud of everyone else who ran today.

Injured

This is not how week 3 of my half-marathon training was supposed to go. It was supposed to include beautiful runs in the cool October air, some hill training, speed work and the slow start of my mileage increase. Instead it includes ice packs, limping and more than a few tears.

The good news is that I set my half-marathon training plan at 24 weeks, 4 weeks longer than even the Couch-to-Half training plans that you can find online. With the Fool’s Run not being until April 2017, I knew I had the time, so why not use it? And with training over the winter, I figured I would likely lose weeks to bad, icy weather, or illness, so I liked having a buffer. I just didn’t expect to start losing weeks so early on.

My injury is not serious, and hopefully I can recover from it quickly. I have what is commonly known as runner’s knee. It started last Wednesday, the day after I did my speed work. It felt fine while I was running and that whole evening, but something happened and then the pain started. I had an instance of this once before, brought on by doing hill repeats this summer so I know that the best cure is resting it.

I didn’t run for a couple of days, iced it, elevated it and it felt better. So I went for a run on Friday. That was a bad idea.

I didn’t run for a couple more days, iced it, elevated it and it felt better. So I went for run on Monday. That was a worse idea.

I made it a whole km before admitting defeat and limping my way home in tears. The tears were 10% from pain and 90% from frustration. I let my mind go down the road of defeat – I was NEVER going to be able to run the half marathon that is FIVE MONTHS AWAY. I had my pity party, hung out in the shower for a while and with Hilary’s words of encouragement, I came to my senses.

Yes I am injured right now. No, I won’t always be injured, especially if I ACTUALLY rest my leg for more than 48 hours. There is still plenty of time to train for the Fool’s Run (a whole 20 weeks in fact…..). My world is not collapsing.

The plan now is to REST my knee. I won’t even consider running again for a minimum of one week, and only then if I am pain free while walking. I’m going to continue to ice and elevate as needed. More importantly though I’m going to work on cross training and hip strengthening exercises. Runner’s knee is commonly believed to be caused more by hip issues than actual problems with the knee itself. I have free weights in my office for working on my arms and shoulders (did I mention my shoulder is injured too? It doesn’t actually interfere with running except that I can’t put on my sports bra by myself…..) and a yoga mat at the ready to do clamshells, leg raises, bridges and more.

Maybe this is all a blessing in disguise and this injury will help me become stronger overall in the end.

Standing

Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven't before
R.E.M. “Stand”

For more than 20 years I have had jobs that require me to sit and work at a computer for 8 hours a day. While I often walked at least part of the way to work, the majority of my day, even at home in the evenings, has been spent sitting down. This past February I slipped on the ice during our winter of doom and twisted my knee. What should have been a simple injury, healing up after a few days of rest, is still bothering me 5 months later.

But only when I sit down.

There is something about the angle of my knee when I sit that aggravates the pain in my knee cap. I can walk, run or stand for hours without any issue, but if I sit for more than 10 minutes, the pain begins. It’s not excruciating or unbearable, just annoying*.

This has obviously become a problem at work, but one that I have been able to solve with some improvisation!

With the help of an empty box, an upside down flower pot and a box of staples, I have turned my desk into a standing desk. I don’t think I would win any ergonomic awards, but it works for me. I still have my chair so that if I want to sit for lunch, or just to take a quick break I can. And if I have days where my knee isn’t bothering me and I want to sit for longer periods of time, I can simply move the box aside and I have a sitting desk again. I bought myself a mat to stand on, because I did find my feet were getting sore.

It might be unconventional, but it’s a lot cheaper than the real standing desks you can buy and they only accommodate a single monitor, not the 3 I use at work.

*Don’t worry, I’m not just ignoring the knee pain. I’ve been doing a series of stretches and strengthening exercises that have really been helping.

Injury

It’s week 1 day 3 of my 20 week ½ marathon training plan and I need to skip tonight’s run.

Sigh.

I had a great TKD class yesterday full of kicks and cardio. I was sore afterwards, but it was a good sore, one that let me know that I am in touch with all my muscles. I went home, relaxed in a hot shower, worked out the last few kinks, and then headed out to pick Liam up from Cadets.

It had started to snow, a light dusting that was just covering the ground. As Liam and I headed to the parked car, I stopped him to point out a patch of ice in front of him, since he didn’t seem to be paying any attention. Then I stepped forward and the world spun sideways as I slipped on a hidden patch of ice and started falling. I didn’t go all the way down; I was able to grab the front of Liam’s jacket with one hand and a piece of scaffolding with the other.

While I didn’t fall, I did twist my left knee.  It didn't swell, but it hurt enough in the car ride home to bring tears to my eyes.  And not quite 24 hours later it is still tender when I bend it.  Once I'm up and walking it seems fine.

So even though I want to get out and run, I don't want to risk further injury.  So today I rest and hopefully tomorrow all will be right again.

Hip Pain

I've been very lucky that in the year I've been running, and the two years I've been doing Tae Kwon Do, I have not injured myself. So the fact that I am having hip pain 4 days before my first 10k is a little distressing.

The pain is not severe, but enough to be uncomfortable when I walk. I first noticed it on Saturday morning. I think it’s from the combination of the 2 hour drive Friday night, sleeping in a strange bed and then standing/sitting around for 4 hours Saturday morning at the TKD tournament. I was able to run 9k on Sunday with no pain, but by Sunday evening it was bothersome again. I skipped TKD last night and bought myself a foam roller instead. I've read lots of great articles on how foam rolling can help, so I thought I would give it a try.

It’s really quite awesome! While the pain isn't completely gone, it really did help. And as an added bonus the foam roller let’s me give Hilary great shoulder massages too! I’m going to go for a short run tonight to keep myself limber before the Ocean Breeze and fully plan to rolling my hip out when I get home. Hopefully everything will be fine by Saturday.

Do you use a foam roller? Love it or hate it?