December 2018 Monthly Running Challenge
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Question for the sensible minded and the experienced runners round here (I know, not necessarily the same thing!)
I know full well that it's a waste of time and space even asking this and that common sense must prevail but I seem to have lost mine.
As you all know (from how much I've gone on and on about it) I ran my first HM last Sunday. It was the furthest I'd ever run so I expected to be sore, especially as my legs were sore after the previous Sunday's 10 mile run. So the couple of days of sore knees and calves were not unexpected and I rested my legs dutifully. On Wednesday as they felt tight but not painful I took them for a 3 kilometre shake out run, which went ok (although the last kilometre or so was hard work). Felt fine on Thursday, did an hour's walk on the treadmill and an hour's upper body strength workout with light weights. So far so good. Yesterday I went out to run a slow 5 kilometres. After about 12 minutes my knees started to hurt. I stubbornly continued, shortening my intervals to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Came home, iced them and slapped on some anti-inflamatory gel and put them up. They seemed ok, until I had to walk up a steep hill twice in the afternoon to take my daughter to a class. The second time I had to walk down that hill it felt like my left knee was on fire, and by the time I got home everything from my hip to my ankle on that side felt like it was in a scalding iron brace. The other knee was complaining too, but not so badly.
So rest of the day on the sofa with feet up and cold compresses, and more anti-inflamatory gel before bed.
This morning they don't feel too bad yet but I haven't moved much, I'm pretty scared of how they'll react when I do. Stuck a couple of those nasty cheap elasticated knee support bandage things over them just cause they were in a cupboard.
Ok, so, I realise that I should probably not even try to run for a couple of days, even though my plan had been to try and get 6-8km in tomorrow. What worries me is how much rest I can get away with without it affecting my fitness level I suppose?
I have a 14 week training plan for another HM which starts on Tuesday and should have me run 20km altogether for the week. Should I skip that entire week? If I do will I be ok to jump straight into 4 runs totally 21km in a week after 2 weeks off? Should I just take tomorrow and Monday off then maybe try to just do 3km runs next week instead of longer ones?
I know, none of you are doctors or can tell me what to do, guess I'm just using this as somewhere to write down all the thoughts spinning round and round my head. What I'm secretly hoping is that one of you is Harry Potter and can point your wand at my knees and turn them into nice young healthy uncomplaining joints that allow me to run all the miles without them *kitten* up my plans!
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@eleanorhawkins I’m not experienced enough to say much, but I would think rest is more important than sticking religiously to the plan.
Most HM training plans assume you are coming from something less than a HM base. So skipping a run in the first week or reducing the mileage is unlikely to be bad FOR YOU as you’ve only recently done an actual HM. You’ll find you can catch up quickly enough but better to rest now than screw up the whole thing.7 -
girlinahat wrote: »@eleanorhawkins I’m not experienced enough to say much, but I would think rest is more important than sticking religiously to the plan.
Most HM training plans assume you are coming from something less than a HM base. So skipping a run in the first week or reducing the mileage is unlikely to be bad FOR YOU as you’ve only recently done an actual HM. You’ll find you can catch up quickly enough but better to rest now than screw up the whole thing.
Thanks, yes that seems the sensible option. Just I have a little crazy part somewhere that seems to think if I stop I lose my entire base and would need to work back up from zero and then of course the panic kicks in cause I don't have time to start from zero! lol brains should come with an off switch
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eleanorhawkins wrote: »Question for the sensible minded and the experienced runners round here (I know, not necessarily the same thing!)
I know full well that it's a waste of time and space even asking this and that common sense must prevail but I seem to have lost mine.
As you all know (from how much I've gone on and on about it) I ran my first HM last Sunday. It was the furthest I'd ever run so I expected to be sore, especially as my legs were sore after the previous Sunday's 10 mile run. So the couple of days of sore knees and calves were not unexpected and I rested my legs dutifully. On Wednesday as they felt tight but not painful I took them for a 3 kilometre shake out run, which went ok (although the last kilometre or so was hard work). Felt fine on Thursday, did an hour's walk on the treadmill and an hour's upper body strength workout with light weights. So far so good. Yesterday I went out to run a slow 5 kilometres. After about 12 minutes my knees started to hurt. I stubbornly continued, shortening my intervals to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Came home, iced them and slapped on some anti-inflamatory gel and put them up. They seemed ok, until I had to walk up a steep hill twice in the afternoon to take my daughter to a class. The second time I had to walk down that hill it felt like my left knee was on fire, and by the time I got home everything from my hip to my ankle on that side felt like it was in a scalding iron brace. The other knee was complaining too, but not so badly.
So rest of the day on the sofa with feet up and cold compresses, and more anti-inflamatory gel before bed.
This morning they don't feel too bad yet but I haven't moved much, I'm pretty scared of how they'll react when I do. Stuck a couple of those nasty cheap elasticated knee support bandage things over them just cause they were in a cupboard.
Ok, so, I realise that I should probably not even try to run for a couple of days, even though my plan had been to try and get 6-8km in tomorrow. What worries me is how much rest I can get away with without it affecting my fitness level I suppose?
I have a 14 week training plan for another HM which starts on Tuesday and should have me run 20km altogether for the week. Should I skip that entire week? If I do will I be ok to jump straight into 4 runs totally 21km in a week after 2 weeks off? Should I just take tomorrow and Monday off then maybe try to just do 3km runs next week instead of longer ones?
I know, none of you are doctors or can tell me what to do, guess I'm just using this as somewhere to write down all the thoughts spinning round and round my head. What I'm secretly hoping is that one of you is Harry Potter and can point your wand at my knees and turn them into nice young healthy uncomplaining joints that allow me to run all the miles without them *kitten* up my plans!
I agree with @girlinahat
This doesn't sound like normal "post-race soreness", and at least in my recent experience, the longer you keep trying to stick to a plan, the longer it's going to be a problem for you and you could end up losing even more time.
Try to stop thinking about "how long before I lose fitness", and concentrate on "how long do I need to be fully recovered?". And yes, you should probably get it checked out if you can.5 -
polskagirl01 wrote: »eleanorhawkins wrote: »Question for the sensible minded and the experienced runners round here (I know, not necessarily the same thing!)
I know full well that it's a waste of time and space even asking this and that common sense must prevail but I seem to have lost mine.
As you all know (from how much I've gone on and on about it) I ran my first HM last Sunday. It was the furthest I'd ever run so I expected to be sore, especially as my legs were sore after the previous Sunday's 10 mile run. So the couple of days of sore knees and calves were not unexpected and I rested my legs dutifully. On Wednesday as they felt tight but not painful I took them for a 3 kilometre shake out run, which went ok (although the last kilometre or so was hard work). Felt fine on Thursday, did an hour's walk on the treadmill and an hour's upper body strength workout with light weights. So far so good. Yesterday I went out to run a slow 5 kilometres. After about 12 minutes my knees started to hurt. I stubbornly continued, shortening my intervals to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Came home, iced them and slapped on some anti-inflamatory gel and put them up. They seemed ok, until I had to walk up a steep hill twice in the afternoon to take my daughter to a class. The second time I had to walk down that hill it felt like my left knee was on fire, and by the time I got home everything from my hip to my ankle on that side felt like it was in a scalding iron brace. The other knee was complaining too, but not so badly.
So rest of the day on the sofa with feet up and cold compresses, and more anti-inflamatory gel before bed.
This morning they don't feel too bad yet but I haven't moved much, I'm pretty scared of how they'll react when I do. Stuck a couple of those nasty cheap elasticated knee support bandage things over them just cause they were in a cupboard.
Ok, so, I realise that I should probably not even try to run for a couple of days, even though my plan had been to try and get 6-8km in tomorrow. What worries me is how much rest I can get away with without it affecting my fitness level I suppose?
I have a 14 week training plan for another HM which starts on Tuesday and should have me run 20km altogether for the week. Should I skip that entire week? If I do will I be ok to jump straight into 4 runs totally 21km in a week after 2 weeks off? Should I just take tomorrow and Monday off then maybe try to just do 3km runs next week instead of longer ones?
I know, none of you are doctors or can tell me what to do, guess I'm just using this as somewhere to write down all the thoughts spinning round and round my head. What I'm secretly hoping is that one of you is Harry Potter and can point your wand at my knees and turn them into nice young healthy uncomplaining joints that allow me to run all the miles without them *kitten* up my plans!
I agree with @girlinahat
This doesn't sound like normal "post-race soreness", and at least in my recent experience, the longer you keep trying to stick to a plan, the longer it's going to be a problem for you and you could end up losing even more time.
Try to stop thinking about "how long before I lose fitness", and concentrate on "how long do I need to be fully recovered?". And yes, you should probably get it checked out if you can.
Thanks, yes I see your point. Will try to get to see my GP on Monday, although I doubt I can expect anything other than a strange look and a recommendation to rest, ice, take ibuprofen and stop doing things you're too old for (insert rolly eyes smiley here)
I guess the thing that upsets me the most here is that I literally just paid and signed up for my next HM on March 24th. 2 days ago. And now this. And it's an awesome race with awesome bling that I've been looking forward to for months already. But I guess in the end it's just money and there will be other years. Sigh.
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eleanorhawkins wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »eleanorhawkins wrote: »Question for the sensible minded and the experienced runners round here (I know, not necessarily the same thing!)
I know full well that it's a waste of time and space even asking this and that common sense must prevail but I seem to have lost mine.
As you all know (from how much I've gone on and on about it) I ran my first HM last Sunday. It was the furthest I'd ever run so I expected to be sore, especially as my legs were sore after the previous Sunday's 10 mile run. So the couple of days of sore knees and calves were not unexpected and I rested my legs dutifully. On Wednesday as they felt tight but not painful I took them for a 3 kilometre shake out run, which went ok (although the last kilometre or so was hard work). Felt fine on Thursday, did an hour's walk on the treadmill and an hour's upper body strength workout with light weights. So far so good. Yesterday I went out to run a slow 5 kilometres. After about 12 minutes my knees started to hurt. I stubbornly continued, shortening my intervals to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Came home, iced them and slapped on some anti-inflamatory gel and put them up. They seemed ok, until I had to walk up a steep hill twice in the afternoon to take my daughter to a class. The second time I had to walk down that hill it felt like my left knee was on fire, and by the time I got home everything from my hip to my ankle on that side felt like it was in a scalding iron brace. The other knee was complaining too, but not so badly.
So rest of the day on the sofa with feet up and cold compresses, and more anti-inflamatory gel before bed.
This morning they don't feel too bad yet but I haven't moved much, I'm pretty scared of how they'll react when I do. Stuck a couple of those nasty cheap elasticated knee support bandage things over them just cause they were in a cupboard.
Ok, so, I realise that I should probably not even try to run for a couple of days, even though my plan had been to try and get 6-8km in tomorrow. What worries me is how much rest I can get away with without it affecting my fitness level I suppose?
I have a 14 week training plan for another HM which starts on Tuesday and should have me run 20km altogether for the week. Should I skip that entire week? If I do will I be ok to jump straight into 4 runs totally 21km in a week after 2 weeks off? Should I just take tomorrow and Monday off then maybe try to just do 3km runs next week instead of longer ones?
I know, none of you are doctors or can tell me what to do, guess I'm just using this as somewhere to write down all the thoughts spinning round and round my head. What I'm secretly hoping is that one of you is Harry Potter and can point your wand at my knees and turn them into nice young healthy uncomplaining joints that allow me to run all the miles without them *kitten* up my plans!
I agree with @girlinahat
This doesn't sound like normal "post-race soreness", and at least in my recent experience, the longer you keep trying to stick to a plan, the longer it's going to be a problem for you and you could end up losing even more time.
Try to stop thinking about "how long before I lose fitness", and concentrate on "how long do I need to be fully recovered?". And yes, you should probably get it checked out if you can.
Thanks, yes I see your point. Will try to get to see my GP on Monday, although I doubt I can expect anything other than a strange look and a recommendation to rest, ice, take ibuprofen and stop doing things you're too old for (insert rolly eyes smiley here)
I guess the thing that upsets me the most here is that I literally just paid and signed up for my next HM on March 24th. 2 days ago. And now this. And it's an awesome race with awesome bling that I've been looking forward to for months already. But I guess in the end it's just money and there will be other years. Sigh.
I really think you have plenty of time to recover from this and then build up to a half. Don't despair just yet
ETA: plus it's not even necessarily "building up", as you're already at that level. It won't take as long to get back there again.5 -
12/1-9 Totals: bike 41 minutes, run 39.1km
12/10 - run 16.5k
12/11 - run 4.4k (w/250-meter hill x4)
12/12 - bike 40 minutes
12/13 - run 9k
12/14 - rest
12/15 - run 10.1k
Dodged some ice and saw some deer today. Now to continue enjoying my first free Saturday in over a month, and make Christmas cookies with the kids!
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eleanorhawkins wrote: »Question for the sensible minded and the experienced runners round here (I know, not necessarily the same thing!)
I know full well that it's a waste of time and space even asking this and that common sense must prevail but I seem to have lost mine.
As you all know (from how much I've gone on and on about it) I ran my first HM last Sunday. It was the furthest I'd ever run so I expected to be sore, especially as my legs were sore after the previous Sunday's 10 mile run. So the couple of days of sore knees and calves were not unexpected and I rested my legs dutifully. On Wednesday as they felt tight but not painful I took them for a 3 kilometre shake out run, which went ok (although the last kilometre or so was hard work). Felt fine on Thursday, did an hour's walk on the treadmill and an hour's upper body strength workout with light weights. So far so good. Yesterday I went out to run a slow 5 kilometres. After about 12 minutes my knees started to hurt. I stubbornly continued, shortening my intervals to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Came home, iced them and slapped on some anti-inflamatory gel and put them up. They seemed ok, until I had to walk up a steep hill twice in the afternoon to take my daughter to a class. The second time I had to walk down that hill it felt like my left knee was on fire, and by the time I got home everything from my hip to my ankle on that side felt like it was in a scalding iron brace. The other knee was complaining too, but not so badly.
So rest of the day on the sofa with feet up and cold compresses, and more anti-inflamatory gel before bed.
This morning they don't feel too bad yet but I haven't moved much, I'm pretty scared of how they'll react when I do. Stuck a couple of those nasty cheap elasticated knee support bandage things over them just cause they were in a cupboard.
Ok, so, I realise that I should probably not even try to run for a couple of days, even though my plan had been to try and get 6-8km in tomorrow. What worries me is how much rest I can get away with without it affecting my fitness level I suppose?
I have a 14 week training plan for another HM which starts on Tuesday and should have me run 20km altogether for the week. Should I skip that entire week? If I do will I be ok to jump straight into 4 runs totally 21km in a week after 2 weeks off? Should I just take tomorrow and Monday off then maybe try to just do 3km runs next week instead of longer ones?
I know, none of you are doctors or can tell me what to do, guess I'm just using this as somewhere to write down all the thoughts spinning round and round my head. What I'm secretly hoping is that one of you is Harry Potter and can point your wand at my knees and turn them into nice young healthy uncomplaining joints that allow me to run all the miles without them *kitten* up my plans!
First, you lose fitness MUCH slower than people think. Skipping 1 of the midweek runs to rest/heal will not likely set you back. Taking a week off now, 14 weeks out from your next race is also completely unlikely to have any impact at all race morning. Just start the plan on week 2. The people who have lives that permit them to exactly follow a plan with no missed runs are very few and far between. So do not worry about missing. Taking care of an injury NOW 14+ weeks out is way better than pushing it off and potentially doing more damage.
Second, make sure you are seeing a doctor that knows about sports and endurance sports. Most GPs will not likely understand sports injuries and dealing with training for races and the like. Physical Therapist tend to be better prepared in this regard.7 -
ContraryMaryMary wrote: »Yes, my physio has warned me that reinjury is common. Mine was initially a strain following an intense running event in late november, then last Tuesday I went to dash across a car park as it was pouring with rain and my calf ‘popped’. Stupid.
I tore mine while playing tennis. I made a quick change of direction and heard the pop and couldn't walk. Had to be carried from the courts. About 2 days after I was told I could get out of the boot part of the day, I was walking in my yard and that heel went into a hole and I felt/heard not one, but three pops. It wasn't good and took me about 4 month before I could do much at all. That's when I gained about 50 pounds. Yikes! Why is it so easy to gain and so hard to lose? (I guess that is a subject for a different day.) Anywho, that is why I am trying to get back to consistent exercise/running. It's the only thing that seems to work for me to maintain a healthy weight and, I really do enjoy running and feel a lot better when I do. I hope you are able to keep from re-injuring it again and it heals up soon!
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polskagirl01 wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »girlinahat wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »It was 48 degrees for my run. I have obviously completely forgotten how to dress for such a heat wave as I was pouring streams of water off me by the time I got back after 12 miles.
Due to the tilt of the Earth and all that it is now full dark when I am on my return run through the park. There are no lights, plenty of shade trees, and lots of potholes and other trip hazards plus bicycles racing down the trail. So I run with flashy armbands and a waist lamp. Yet I am constantly coming across walkers and runners dressed in all dark clothes with no lights at all.
Please do not be stupid like them. They are asking to get hurt. Light yourself up so that you have a chance not to get hit at the very least.
Oh. This morning I went out at before-sun-up-o’clock dressed in dark navy tights, a black top (maybe it had some dark pink trim), black gloves and a black hat. No high vis, no light, nada. I didn’t trip or fall, I didn’t get run over (I stopped for cars before crossing the roads or used the pedestrian-controlled signals (and believe me, we have plenty of visually impaired drivers here), and no one crashed into me. Most of my route is in the dark too.
I guess what I’m saying is dress up like a Christmas tree if it’s appropriate. Otherwise, let the rest of the world enjoy the darkness while it can.
Depends on where you're running. If you're running on the road itself or the shoulder like in much of rural USA, I agree with @PastorVincent. But if you've got even sidewalks, trails, and pedestrian-controlled signals, it's not as necessary. For example, I have lights, but don't turn them on when I'm running down the sidewalk, unless I literally can't see where I'm going.
even with sidewalks. because eventually you have to cross the street.
Ok but in that case, you need to be wearing a bright yellow hi-vis vest during the day, too
Finally I may have said something controversial enough to get an actual "woo!" But I still don't like it, because they're anonymous and you can't respond with an actual conversation.
Oh sorry that was me. I didn't woo you intentionally. Its just in the right spot that i scroll through.
So, yall get woo'd might tag me to check it. I do it all the freaking time. That button is nothing but trouble.4 -
polskagirl01 wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »girlinahat wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »It was 48 degrees for my run. I have obviously completely forgotten how to dress for such a heat wave as I was pouring streams of water off me by the time I got back after 12 miles.
Due to the tilt of the Earth and all that it is now full dark when I am on my return run through the park. There are no lights, plenty of shade trees, and lots of potholes and other trip hazards plus bicycles racing down the trail. So I run with flashy armbands and a waist lamp. Yet I am constantly coming across walkers and runners dressed in all dark clothes with no lights at all.
Please do not be stupid like them. They are asking to get hurt. Light yourself up so that you have a chance not to get hit at the very least.
Oh. This morning I went out at before-sun-up-o’clock dressed in dark navy tights, a black top (maybe it had some dark pink trim), black gloves and a black hat. No high vis, no light, nada. I didn’t trip or fall, I didn’t get run over (I stopped for cars before crossing the roads or used the pedestrian-controlled signals (and believe me, we have plenty of visually impaired drivers here), and no one crashed into me. Most of my route is in the dark too.
I guess what I’m saying is dress up like a Christmas tree if it’s appropriate. Otherwise, let the rest of the world enjoy the darkness while it can.
Depends on where you're running. If you're running on the road itself or the shoulder like in much of rural USA, I agree with @PastorVincent. But if you've got even sidewalks, trails, and pedestrian-controlled signals, it's not as necessary. For example, I have lights, but don't turn them on when I'm running down the sidewalk, unless I literally can't see where I'm going.
even with sidewalks. because eventually you have to cross the street.
Ok but in that case, you need to be wearing a bright yellow hi-vis vest during the day, too
Finally I may have said something controversial enough to get an actual "woo!" But I still don't like it, because they're anonymous and you can't respond with an actual conversation.
Oh sorry that was me. I didn't woo you intentionally. Its just in the right spot that i scroll through.
So, yall get woo'd might tag me to check it. I do it all the freaking time. That button is nothing but trouble.
Lol. I was going to say it wasn't me2 -
polskagirl01 wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »girlinahat wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »It was 48 degrees for my run. I have obviously completely forgotten how to dress for such a heat wave as I was pouring streams of water off me by the time I got back after 12 miles.
Due to the tilt of the Earth and all that it is now full dark when I am on my return run through the park. There are no lights, plenty of shade trees, and lots of potholes and other trip hazards plus bicycles racing down the trail. So I run with flashy armbands and a waist lamp. Yet I am constantly coming across walkers and runners dressed in all dark clothes with no lights at all.
Please do not be stupid like them. They are asking to get hurt. Light yourself up so that you have a chance not to get hit at the very least.
Oh. This morning I went out at before-sun-up-o’clock dressed in dark navy tights, a black top (maybe it had some dark pink trim), black gloves and a black hat. No high vis, no light, nada. I didn’t trip or fall, I didn’t get run over (I stopped for cars before crossing the roads or used the pedestrian-controlled signals (and believe me, we have plenty of visually impaired drivers here), and no one crashed into me. Most of my route is in the dark too.
I guess what I’m saying is dress up like a Christmas tree if it’s appropriate. Otherwise, let the rest of the world enjoy the darkness while it can.
Depends on where you're running. If you're running on the road itself or the shoulder like in much of rural USA, I agree with @PastorVincent. But if you've got even sidewalks, trails, and pedestrian-controlled signals, it's not as necessary. For example, I have lights, but don't turn them on when I'm running down the sidewalk, unless I literally can't see where I'm going.
even with sidewalks. because eventually you have to cross the street.
Ok but in that case, you need to be wearing a bright yellow hi-vis vest during the day, too
Finally I may have said something controversial enough to get an actual "woo!" But I still don't like it, because they're anonymous and you can't respond with an actual conversation.
Oh sorry that was me. I didn't woo you intentionally. Its just in the right spot that i scroll through.
So, yall get woo'd might tag me to check it. I do it all the freaking time. That button is nothing but trouble.
Haha, and I was actually proud of myself for getting woo'd that time 5 -
@mbaker566 I figured it wasn't, because you responded in a way that made sense
and for the record, I was the first "like" on your post, because it sounds like you are consistent with your safety measures. 1 -
12-1 7k easy
12-2 10.5k slow
12-3 7k recovery
12-4 rest
12-5 7k easy
12-6 7k recovery
12-7 rest
12-8 7k easy
12-9 10.5k easy
12-10 7k recovery
12-11 rest
12-12 7k intervals
12-13 7k easy
12-14 rest
12-15 7k easy
December Total: 84k
December Goal: 100k
Next year when you pop in here claiming your December 2019 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?
Run at least 4 5k races.
Get under 30:00 and a PR for 5k.
Average at least 135k per month, which would put me over 1,000 miles for the year.
Cloudy with temps in the low 40s F today, with a gusting wind out of the northeast making it feel much colder than it actually was. Weather has really been good for running this month - much better than I anticipated.
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Anyone have any alternatives to the cool year-end Strava visualizations so many of you did last year using madewithsisu.com ? It seems the site has disappeared
or maybe I (and everyone with online links to it) have the wrong address. 0 -
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It's taken some time to figure out a useable format for my spreadsheet. DH is 19 weeks from his second marathon. So I figured I'd try a 10 week half plan and just duplicate each week to give me time to acclimate.
Of course now that I see that I've only done 4 miles this week... I understand why I'm not building miles. After yesterday's run I have some niggles, left ITB and foot is nervy. DH said to just run through it all. Which I had done leading up to the two surgeries, I was just hoping to self rehab a bit and avoid further damage and pain. Today is nice, think I'll do some active recovery/intervals and see how cranky things get. DH also mentioned that perhaps it's time for me to embrace alternate forms of exercise. Maybe I canI should take the XT schedule seriously and swim, bike or lift.
the "apply online" tab is school- not work in case there are any nosey-Nancies from work here. Kid needs to get with it.1 -
If it were me I would start by taking Aleve. For some reason it seems to work miracles for my knees, while ibuprofen does nothing but upset my stomach. Also, foam roller that side since it's all the way up and down.eleanorhawkins wrote: »polskagirl01 wrote: »eleanorhawkins wrote: »Question for the sensible minded and the experienced runners round here (I know, not necessarily the same thing!)
I know full well that it's a waste of time and space even asking this and that common sense must prevail but I seem to have lost mine.
As you all know (from how much I've gone on and on about it) I ran my first HM last Sunday. It was the furthest I'd ever run so I expected to be sore, especially as my legs were sore after the previous Sunday's 10 mile run. So the couple of days of sore knees and calves were not unexpected and I rested my legs dutifully. On Wednesday as they felt tight but not painful I took them for a 3 kilometre shake out run, which went ok (although the last kilometre or so was hard work). Felt fine on Thursday, did an hour's walk on the treadmill and an hour's upper body strength workout with light weights. So far so good. Yesterday I went out to run a slow 5 kilometres. After about 12 minutes my knees started to hurt. I stubbornly continued, shortening my intervals to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Came home, iced them and slapped on some anti-inflamatory gel and put them up. They seemed ok, until I had to walk up a steep hill twice in the afternoon to take my daughter to a class. The second time I had to walk down that hill it felt like my left knee was on fire, and by the time I got home everything from my hip to my ankle on that side felt like it was in a scalding iron brace. The other knee was complaining too, but not so badly.
So rest of the day on the sofa with feet up and cold compresses, and more anti-inflamatory gel before bed.
This morning they don't feel too bad yet but I haven't moved much, I'm pretty scared of how they'll react when I do. Stuck a couple of those nasty cheap elasticated knee support bandage things over them just cause they were in a cupboard.
Ok, so, I realise that I should probably not even try to run for a couple of days, even though my plan had been to try and get 6-8km in tomorrow. What worries me is how much rest I can get away with without it affecting my fitness level I suppose?
I have a 14 week training plan for another HM which starts on Tuesday and should have me run 20km altogether for the week. Should I skip that entire week? If I do will I be ok to jump straight into 4 runs totally 21km in a week after 2 weeks off? Should I just take tomorrow and Monday off then maybe try to just do 3km runs next week instead of longer ones?
I know, none of you are doctors or can tell me what to do, guess I'm just using this as somewhere to write down all the thoughts spinning round and round my head. What I'm secretly hoping is that one of you is Harry Potter and can point your wand at my knees and turn them into nice young healthy uncomplaining joints that allow me to run all the miles without them *kitten* up my plans!
I agree with @girlinahat
This doesn't sound like normal "post-race soreness", and at least in my recent experience, the longer you keep trying to stick to a plan, the longer it's going to be a problem for you and you could end up losing even more time.
Try to stop thinking about "how long before I lose fitness", and concentrate on "how long do I need to be fully recovered?". And yes, you should probably get it checked out if you can.
Thanks, yes I see your point. Will try to get to see my GP on Monday, although I doubt I can expect anything other than a strange look and a recommendation to rest, ice, take ibuprofen and stop doing things you're too old for (insert rolly eyes smiley here)
I guess the thing that upsets me the most here is that I literally just paid and signed up for my next HM on March 24th. 2 days ago. And now this. And it's an awesome race with awesome bling that I've been looking forward to for months already. But I guess in the end it's just money and there will be other years. Sigh.
And I agree with @PastorVincent about the importance of a doctor who knows runners. If I had listened to the first doctor I went to with my knee injury, I would never have run again. Which according to my current doctor was a "ridiculous" recommendation.
My hip took about a month to stop whatever it was doing after my half. So don't despair just yet.
3 -
PastorVincent wrote: »
oh man knock it out! could we get 20 WOO'S? hahaha! have fun mods.0 -
@eleanorhawkins Glad you're seeing a doctor.
You may also be just freaking out like I do pretty much all the time over niggles.
I think it was @MobyCarp who said:
"Endurance athletes only have two modes of dealing with injury: denial, and hypochondria."9
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