Well, what can I say? It was a bad week. It started off good with the return of Sadie, but my next three runs were less than expected. The pain I felt in my right knee on a long run last month has returned. I'm pretty sure it's fatigued related. This is the third time I've felt it and the other two times I've taken a few days off and it was fine. This week, though, I was hard-headed and instead of taking a few extra days off I tried to compromise and just cut the mileage down so I could still get out on the road. Wednesday my run was supposed to be 8 miles but I could only manage a walk-filled 4. Thursday I wanted to squeeze out at least 4 and ended up with 3, again walk-filled. Yesterday (Friday) was a scheduled off day and I also went in for a massage. The massage was great and I woke up today with fresh legs and high hopes and instead of playing it safe and giving the knee some extra rest I went out on the road shooting for 4 miles to test the knee out. Although I did go 4 miles, the pain returned during the last mile and I walked the last little bit home. Not as bad as Wed. and Thurs., so I think the massage and off day helped, but still annoying enough to be annoying. And I don't even know if the word "pain" is the right word that I want to use to describe it. It feels more like my knee needs to be popped but it just won't pop like it normally does. And annoying enough were I don't want to run on it. Hmmm....
Anyway, tomorrow I had a superliciously awesome 20+ mile trail run planned near Spokane. But, after the outcome of this week's runs, and as hard as this is for me to do, I am going to take tomorrow off. My week is over. I'm going to throw this one in the waste basket and take a few days off to try to get this knee right. It's a little surprising, and frustrating, because this was the week after my cut-back week, so I was expecting to feel refreshed and ready to hit the trails for some serious miles. Maybe I pushed too hard on my cut-back week runs and on this week's Tuesday run with Sadie on Moscow Mt. Maybe there's something in the atmosphere this week challenging every runner's will. Maybe it's all in my head and I should just keep running.
Whatever it is, I'm going to take a few days off.
More rest. More ice. More pills. More calling friends and family to tell them how enjoyable Hairspray was (seriously).
Bummer. Maybe one of those bands that goes below the knee? I don't know much about knee problems - lucky for me!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day off, hope it helps.
Good choice! It's not easy to rest, but it sounds like it would be much more beneficial than risking to get the 20 miler in. Better to be healthy going into the 50k rather than being bothered with injury.
ReplyDeletesorry about your knee. rest is a wonderful cure.
ReplyDeleteHairspry is great. My entire family liked it.
Speaking of which, my BIL dated the actress that played the lead in the original movie.
gotta run, pat
Sorry to hear about the return of the knee problem. Sure is frustrating having to manage injuries. Hope it comes right after a few days.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya homie. I hate the R&R but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. Look on the bright side though, at least you don't have to ice your privates LOL
ReplyDeleteI think that resting is the right choice, even though it's the hard one. I don't know what your knee problem could be, but a few days of RICE always seems to help. That, and sometimes, new shoes?
ReplyDeleteOh man sorry to hear about the knee, but taking a few days off is probably your best bet, as annoying as that is.
ReplyDeleteAnd I completely agree that Hairspray was an awesome movie. I've been listening to the soundtrack a ton since I've seen it.
sounds like you have a good idea about the resting. i hope the knee feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteI think you are playing it smart. Take the day of ... as hard as it may be. I don't know exactly what kind of knee trouble you are having, but it sounds about as frustrating and disappointing as my right knee. I have ran less than 10 miles this month because of it, but I am attempting to strengthen it through cross training.
ReplyDeleteKeep your chin up... and things will get better!
P.S. I absolutely loved the movie Hairspray!!
Dang, that really stinks. Rest is always a wise choice. If you have access to a deep pool, that could be one option. I know that running in the pool can be boring but you don't have the impact.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your rest now...
I totally had an off week as well and it was really bothering me. I didn't get any of my midweek runs in. I have not been injured, just very, very busy. I was talking to an experienced runner and expressing my frustration with myself, and he just said, "You could look at it as a failure on your part, or a nice rest for your body so that you are ready to go on Saturday."
ReplyDeleteI think rest is a good thing. Let your knee heal so that you can really be done with all of this, as much as is possible (I don't know your knee's situation).
Good luck with this next week.
NICE BLOG.
ReplyDelete