I was feeling rather rambunctious on Saturday and I thought I'd see if my knees could handle a little two-three mile run. I mean, two-three miles is nothing right?! I should be fine. My physical therapist said that I should only do about 20 minutes of cardio that engages my knees so I don't get too inflamed. So I'm thinking sweet, I can AT LEAST get in two miles. (Oh how my goals have changed..)
I head out the door and I'm a little stiff, but feeling good. My ankles need a a couple minutes to warm up, and then I fall into my pace. I feel a smile creeping onto my face, Oh running, how I miss thee.
And then I hit the sidewalks. The ground is really uneven and it puts some pressure on my right knee. No problem though, I'm allowed to keep running if the pain stays below a "3."
Man, I'm not even breaking a sweat! I'm still in great shape. Yippee! Maybe I'll do five miles instead. I mean if I feel okay, why not?
And after about about ten minutes, my left knee starts to tinge a little. Both knees are creeping up to that "3" threshold. It's definitely the ITB, not the tracking problem. So that's good... I guess. I'm good though. I'm good. Must. keep. going.
11 minutes in: Ouch! The shot up pain runs up the outside of my right knee all the way up to my hip. I stop and walk it out. Maybe it will go away?
So I walk for a few minutes and then try to get in the groove again. But, sadly, no can do. The pain is entering the "4" and "5" zone so I have to stop-- unless I'd like a severe lecturing from my PT.
20 minutes into my run/walk, I am clearly nowhere near five, or even three miles.
Boo knees. Boo.
The good news? My lungs felt great. True, it was only a couple miles but I think all this cross-training and gym time will pay off because I didn't feel out of shape at all. I felt a little stiff, but I think if my knees would have been able to handle it I could have easily busted out an eight mile run. Or so I tell myself.
Wulp, I get an A for effort. I think I'll try this again next week. Now it's back to the gym.
So after days of moping, eating and coping with the loss of my training plan. I'm ready to move on. Best case scenario: I cross-train my butt off for the next month, fly through physical therapy and as a result will be able to do a 14-week marathon training schedule, which, being a newby to running, is pretty short. Worst case scenario: I have to do a marathon in February or March instead. No big thang. Either way all is well.
So my new training schedule looks like this:
M,W,F: Spin class at the gym and/or cycling at night with cycling buddies
T, TH: Running 1-2 miles until there's pain; strength Training and such with Personal Trainer
Other stuff: yoga, swimming and physical therapy and a strict diet
Goal: Lose 5-10 pounds, tone up and get in fabulous shape to start training
Mid October: Start Marathon Training Plan!! Woot! Woot!
And here's some stuff in my head concerning running:
* There's something so peaceful and wonderful about spending two hours with just me and my thoughts, pounding my feet against the pavement and canal dirt, fighting through the pain and letting my thoughts wonder. I miss it already.
* It's about time for a new shoe. I'm thinking I'm going to go minimalist. I think it will be good for me. Any thoughts?
* I passed out again. I was with my personal trainer and I passed out. Someone explain to me why I pass out on random occasions. I don't think it's often enough to be considered a condition. But it is scary. And it's horrible. Fainting SUCKS. I get nauseous and clammy beforehand, and when I wake up I have no idea where I am and my body feels like it weighs 500 pounds. And it happens at such random situations. I mean always when I'm working out, but never when I'm overly fatigued. It's usually when I combine resistance with cardio, but it also happens at other times. So who knows. Blah. I hate it. Boo.
* I'm sorry that my running blog doesn't only concern running. But to me, a blog should be a personality encompassing platform. That's why we like blogs, right? Because they've got personality. So if I only blogged about running, that would be a completely inacurate portrayal of myself. I would be lying to you. Because, believe it or not, I don't think about running all that much in comparison to the rest of my life. I mean gosh, I hope that's not a mood killer for ya'll but it's only one part of me and... I think I'm rambling. You get the idea. I just think we like blogs because of the people who write them. And I don't like to write only about running.
* I'm really jealous of people that have been running their entire lives. I'm jealous of them for a long list of reasons, but one of the biggest ones is that they're fast. I'm never going to be fast, I just don't have that many miles under my belt. That's fine. It is. But I do love the thrill of competition. It must be such an amazing feeling to win a race. So for those of you that win races, cherish it. For those of you who might be able to win a race some day, cherish it. For people like me, it's all about accomplishment and PR's. Which again, is fine. But it's not the same.
That's all for now. I love running. I love life. I love this blog.
Toodles!
