Advice, please! 4 days til half marathon

seif0068
seif0068 Posts: 193 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi folks -

I have my first half marathon on Saturday (yay me) and I am hoping some of you more experienced runners can advise. I have been dealing with knee issues for the last three or so weeks, most likely runner's knee confirmed by a friend who is a physical therapist. I've done lots of reading and have been doing quad strengthening, ice, wrapping it, etc. It threw off my training but I got in my last long run last week at 11.75 miles.

I ran 4 miles on Sunday and it was really hurting by the end and very sore all day yesterday. I did lots of icing/wrapping last night and today it's improved quite a bit.

So the question is - would it be better to completely rest from now until race day, or should I try to get in a couple of short, easy runs before Saturday? I am leaning towards rest and continuing quad stuff, icing and wrapping but thought it would be good to get additional opinions. It seems like at this point, a couple short runs aren't likely to make much difference on Saturday but could potentially aggravate my knee.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • runningbs
    runningbs Posts: 132 Member
    In all honesty--I would ATLEAST rest until then--but I'm questioning whether you should do it at all. I've run with sore ankles and feet, but it was a minor injury. Knees are major--BE CAREFUL.

    I guess it depends on the severity of your pain. You risk really injuring it and being out for a while.
  • marathon_44
    marathon_44 Posts: 62 Member
    Rest it! I've done over 75 marathons and 3 ironmans, so I should know what I'm talking about. :) I know you are geared up and nervous for your first, but all of your training is in the bag already. You will make no improvements over the next 4 days, you could only aggravate your knee. It is far better to be conservative with a little injury and rest it before it becomes a very big injury that could take you away from training for many weeks. Rest, Ice, stretch, take ibuprofen, roller massage. But don't run. Good luck!
  • Jenner9169
    Jenner9169 Posts: 57 Member
    I agree with you, I wouldn't call myself experienced but did my first half marathon back in december on a bit of a dodgy knee. I found resting it to be of far more benefit that trying to squeeze in some shorter runs. Keeping the strength training in will probably help as well. But in the end you have done all the training up until now so nothing you do in the next few days is going to make a huge difference and you just want a good knee to run the race on... cause after the race who cares you can take as much time to rest as you want after :) Good luck with the half and have fun... be warned they are addictive :)
  • conchita962
    conchita962 Posts: 327 Member
    REST!!!!!!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    Absolutely. REST.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    Personally I would do a couple of very short shakeout runs, just to keep up your confidence and keep yourself loose, 2-3 miles each. Take it easy, be sure to warm up and cool down, and ice it down afterwards.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Another vote for rest.......you're not going to realize any fitness gains this close to the race (this should be your taper week anyway)

    It's a little late for this race but when you're training for your next one try to focus a bit more on hip and glute strength - surprisingly muscular imbalances, weak glutes etc will manifest themselves as knee pain. Runnersworld.com has some great videos of exercises - not a huge investment in time but the dividends can be enormous.
  • mrpurdy
    mrpurdy Posts: 262 Member
    Most definitely REST! Best of luck to you- your training will pay off. Make a conscious effort to take it slow and listen to your body. It's okay to walk if you need to. I typically walk through the water/fuel/sponge stops.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
    How many more half marathons do you want to run? And how soon do you want to do them? As hard as it may be to hear... I would suggest, stopping, not doing the half, getting the issue fixed, and try again in 4 weeks as compared to the 4 months you will most likely be not able to run at all.

    IF you are going to run - you need to work on hip strengthening right now - quads yes but most knee pain is hip weaknesses. I say get a massage to get those IT Bands loose. Foam roll religiously numerous times a day. Check your shoes and mileages - It was a hard lesson for me to learn that while even half training I was putting in too many miles to make it from start to finish with one pair of shoes. My latest brooks didn't make it 200 miles.

    After knee pain from my first marathon, I started doing Brazil Butt Lift, it was way more fun than any of the exercises the physical therapist had given me plus it was more complete. It's saved me many more miles of knee pain.

    Best of Luck, I know you think dropping out isn't an option, but it's a tough decision only you can make.
  • seif0068
    seif0068 Posts: 193 Member
    Thanks for all the advice everyone! I don't think that it is serious enough that I need to drop out of the race. I also am planning on transitioning from running to more strength training after this race, so I will be taking it easy on the running after Saturday. But this is good reassurance of what my gut has been telling me, which is that rest will do more for me at this point than any runs during this final week will be. I had planned on doing a few 2-3 mile runs this week but I think I will just keep resting and maybe take a couple of brisk walks just to stay loose.

    I am doing some hip/glute stuff too along with the quad work - I have been doing that for about a week now and will continue this week so hopefully it is enough to at least make a little bit of a difference. I had been fairly religiously doing more cross-training for the first couple months of my training, which included a lot of leg work. But I had been slacking off with that lately, and that's about when the knee issue flared up (never had knee issues before). So hopefully paying attention to legwork again will help balance things out!

    I probably only have 50 miles on my current running shoes, so I don't think that's it.

    I will be sure not to overdo it Saturday, I have no qualms about walking if I need to for part of it and really don't care what my time is - my primary goal is to finish! It will be a great way to start off my 29th year - the race is on my birthday. :)

    Thanks again!
  • mrpurdy
    mrpurdy Posts: 262 Member
    I will be sure not to overdo it Saturday, I have no qualms about walking if I need to for part of it and really don't care what my time is - my primary goal is to finish! It will be a great way to start off my 29th year - the race is on my birthday. :)

    Fantastic attitude! Happy Birthalfday!
  • catneon
    catneon Posts: 911 Member
    Great advice given here, rest up until Saturday for sure, you may want to look into taping your knee for the race.
    If you haven't heard check out kt tape (not sure where you are or if it would be available to you) or someting similar if you feel it's not serious enough to keep you from running. I have a friend who's used it after injurying himself a week and a half before his half and it permitted him to still run pain free and several people at the race were taped up with it and all that I spoke with were happy with it. Anyways just a suggestion, have a great race and happy b-day in advance!!

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