Week 13 - I Kneed A Break!

Before we get started this week, I want to thank Kathy H., Alex B. and Kathleen M. for their recent donations to my Team Victory fundraising page!  I am now just over $5,600, which is more than I could have ever hoped to raise.  Now that $6,000 is so close...I kind of want to hit it!  If you'd like to make a gift, please click here.

Weak in the Knees

Post run selfie with Heather

Ever since I saw the orthopedic doctor back in the fall, I've been working on getting my knees stronger and up until recently I felt like I was making great progress and then...BOOM!

After my long run last weekend I could feel some soreness in my right knee (it was my left in October) and knew it meant Sunday needed to be a rest day of the highest order and it seemed to have done the trick.  My knee felt oodles better on Monday.  So much better, in fact, that when I went to the gym on Monday evening with my friend Heather, I logged a full 6 miles.  In retrospect, this probably wasn't the smartest idea. My knee pain came back and continued to nag me for the rest of the week.  I knew I wanted to get my long run in on Sunday so it was imperative that I not put any unnecessary stress on it so I took most of the rest of the week off.

I just finished my long run an hour or so ago (more on that later) and although I do feel a little soreness, I think taking the time to rest really made a difference.  From here on out my long runs are no joke - 18, 19 and 21 over the next three weeks before tapering for the marathon.  I'll be monitoring my knee and training accordingly.  I haven't made it this far to be stubborn and injure myself before the big day.  As my orthopedic doctor said - LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  It can be really hard to pull back on training - especially at this juncture when you feel like you need to be ramping it up even more than normal, but keeping the goal in the forefront of my mind means making smart choices - not emotional ones.

Ironically, I came home the other nice to find my new issue of Runner's World in my mailbox with a headline on the cover about how to keep your knees healthy.  It's like they knew!  The spread on the inside gave 4 common knee injuries, what the symptoms are, how to treat them and of course how to avoid them. It looked like I had a case of the ol' runners knee.  Hurts after a run and mostly acts up when I am going down stairs.  The magazine said to treat it, I should ice my knee for 15 minutes, 5 times a day, take ibuprofen, foam roll my quads and reduce my mileage.  It, of course, said to see a doctor if paid doesn't cease.  I think I'll be ok if I continue to follow those guidelines, as my knee has felt better and better every day since starting to take care of it on Tuesday.

Team Victory Meeting

On Tuesday, my coworker Shauna who is running our Team Victory efforts organized a team meeting with marathon charity trainer Rick Muhr who spent about two hours with us sharing tips on our training and the marathon course.  Rick was really fantastic and I was so glad we had the opportunity to learn from him.  He stressed the importance of cadence in our running and suggested that we try to keep a pattern of 180 foot strikes per minute.  He told us to count the number of foot strikes we make with our dominant foot (my right) and you should hit 90 foot strikes in one minute.  If you can keep that cadence going, he said, you'll be making the most efficient use of your energy.  I knew I was going to utilize this exercise on my long run!

I also had the opportunity finally buy my official 2015 Boston Marathon jacket.  I didn't want to risk waiting and having them be sold out by the time the Expo rolled around the weekend of the race.  I also know it's bad luck to actually wear your jacket until after crossing the finish line so I bought it, took a requisite selfie with it and put it in my closet until the mission is complete!  I plan on asking my boyfriend to bring it with him so I can put it on as soon as possible after finishing!

Cross Training Instead

To be honest I have been terrible at cross training from the get-go.  There isn't much other activity I really enjoy and since I'm on a budget, adding spin classes or yoga classes is a luxury I really can't afford.  This week, however, with my knee acting up the way it was, I knew I had to try something to get the ol' heart rate up that would have less impact on my joints.  So on Friday, I went to the gym and did three miles on the elliptical machine.

It's funny because a few years ago when I was trying to lose weight the elliptical was my favorite machine.  I'd do it for an hour at a time like it was nothing and now I really struggled to get through just over 30 minutes.  I had a hard time getting into a groove and it was so boring!  I'm going to have to suck it up, I suppose since I want to be conservative with my knee going into this next week and will probably replace one or two runs with elliptical work instead.  Blech!

Last Short Long Run

To be totally honest I had no intention of doing a short long run this week.  I planned on doing 18 miles, but - again - I knew I had to play it SMART and be flexible so I don't cause any damage to my body before the big day.  I knew I still had three solid weeks of long runs left so I should just roll it back a little this week and cut myself a break.

A friend of mine on Facebook had posted that the bike trail from Davis to Arlington was, for the most part, clear of snow and ice and I knew that from my house to the Arlington line and back was about 10 miles so that's what I decided to do.

My friend hadn't steered me wrong! The path was pretty clear until the last leg heading toward Arlington when there was a stretch with three or four unavoidable ice patches.  I saw several runners just keep going across them (how on earth do they do that!?!), but I stopped and walked/slid across them until clear ground showed up again.  I actually almost fell a few times just trying to walk on it!

On my run, I practiced Rick's cadence count - 180 steps per minute - by counting my right foot strikes until I got to 90.  I did the exercise 2-3 times per mile and was happy to see I was right on track!  The biggest aid in this, I think, is that Rick told us we should run like little old ladies walking on ice.  Teeny tiny steps.  I usually keep a short stride to begin with, but any time I felt like I was stretching out too far, it was a mental reminder - BE AN OLD LADY!

I finished my 10 miles in about 1:50 - although I did pause at the half way mark to try the Clif Shot Energy Gel.  These will be the gels passed out along the marathon course so I wanted to be sure to try it and make sure it didn't mess with my stomach on race day.  I am relived to say it settled nicely and I'll be sure to use them along the course along with the Clif Blocs that I have been using since my half marathon training over the summer.

Next Week

I am excited to finally hit the 18 mile mark on my long run next week!  I plan on doing the long run with the folks from South End Athletic Company again (I had to get my taxes done this Saturday, otherwise I would have been with them again this weekend).  It's insane to think there are only a few more weeks left until the big day!!!!