Saturday 11 September 2010

Saturday 11/9 - A long needed update

Sorry for the lack of posting of late but (and yes, you may have guessed) I have been injured. The problem I spoke about in my last few posts with my left knee has reached a peak and I am positively panicking about Loch Ness in 3 weeks time.

First off, a run down of my work outs over the past few weeks and then an explanation as to my thoughts from today onwards.

Friday 10/9

Type: Swim
Distance: 56 lengths (46 f.c/10 backstroke)

Wednesday 8/9

Type: Cross Train (25mins elliptical xtrainer, 30 mins cycle (x-country), 10 mins row)

Tuesday 7/9

Type: Swim
Distance: 74 lengths (f.c)

Sunday 5/9 - Great Scottish Run!

Type: Run
Time: 1hr53mins
Distance: 13.1miles

This race killed my knees (which were very sore the whole way round) but I actually grinned through the pain and just kept going...thought I'd finished in a much better time than this but think the congestion at the start of the race didn't bode in my favour. (was on holiday the few days before this so no workouts)

Wednesday 1/9

Type: Run
Time: 22mins
Distance: 2.45miles

*Testing my knee more than anything else. Was sore afterwards.

Tuesday 31/8

Type: Swim
Distance: 50 lengths (f.c)

Monday 30/8

Type: Swim
Distance: 52 lengths (f.c, fast)

Sunday 29/8

Type: Run
Distance: 5.6miles
Time: 47mins 10secs (6min gentle jog)

Decided to avoid the hills on this run and my knee was almost fine. I think starting off on a big hill is not a good thing for me and as long as the run if fairly flat I'm generally ok.

Friday 27/8

Type: Run
Distance: 11.9miles
Time: 2hours 10mins (stopped for a while though)

All down my left shin was agony here and actually brought me to a halt (hence the time) Walked for a bit up a massive hill and then when I started running again it was my knee that was sore...it was really pretty tender but I managed to keep on running through it.

Wednesday 25/8

Type: Swim
Distance: 52 lengths (f.c, 22 fast)

Tuesday 24/8

Type: Run - speeds on treadmill
Distance: 3 miles (4.8k)

Warm up then 5.30min/km increasing pace to 4.15min/km steadily every 250m.


................

So basically, I've not NOT been running for the whole time, but I've notcied that every time I go out now it hurts and also takes longer to heal. I have an appointment at the physio on Monday and I'm hoping with everything I have that she can diagnose it.

The problem either started with the Devil race (maybe I was unprepared? maybe the big downhill took its toll on me and hurt something worse than I thought? Could this be the case??)
or
it started with me going back into training too quickly after the Devil race (the Friday after the Saturday race I did a 4-5mile run with my insoles in...which was fine...but it was the NEXT run on the Sunday (8 days after the Devil race) (7-8miles in insoles) which the leg really started to hurt. And it has hurt since.
or
it started with the insoles. Maybe I shouldn't have worn them on the 7-8mile run 8 days after the Devil race? I wore them the week after on an 11 mile run (knee very sore) but I've not worn them on any run since and have still been getting pain.

I must also point out that the pain generally starts below the left knee on the outside of the leg and feels quite like growing pains...then I try to push through it (but ususally have to stop it's so sore) and that's when it migrates across to the inside of the knee and across the knee cap. I come home from my runs with what looks like bruising on the inside of the knee cap.

So... The big questions.....

Should I keep running with the insoles in and try to let my body adjust to the new posture?

Did this all happen because I didn't let my toe fracture heal properly?

How long do I leave it before running again? I often think the pain is gone and go running but it starts as soon as I hit the first hill (unavoidable round my area)...

WHAT ON EARTH DO I DO ABOUT THE LOCH NESS MARATHON>???? My biggest worry as you can see. I basically have (starting tomorrow) 3 weeks until the race and the longest training run I've done is 12 miles plus one half and an ultra.

If I manage to get my knee sorted do I try to train even though it;s a little sore? I.e. if it's not unbearable do I go out and continue my training from next weekend? And if so...do I do 18miles next week, 23 miles week after then race on 3rd? Or do I do one long (18-23 mile) run then taper? Or do I just taper from here onwards? With the latter I would not feel confident at all.



Please, please, if anyone has any advice you would be a lifesaver.

1 comment:

John Kynaston said...

Hi Christine

Thanks for your comment on my blog.

I was able to get a quick appointment as I'd already been an out patient and only needed a new fitting for insoles.

It will be a few weeks before I get the new insoles but when I do I will be breaking them in as I have a feeling they are going to be quite different to my current pair.

As far as your situation I am reluctant to suggest anything as I've learnt that you need to get some expert advise from someone who knows what they are saying!

All I can say is that I tried to ignore the pain in my foot and just keep running through it but my problem is biomechanical and I needed something to be done to get rid of the pain.

So I would recommend getting help asap. I also found that I just wasn't enjoying running with pain.

A marathon is a long way to be running with pain so I would be very careful about running if you know things aren't right.

Personally I would rather not start than have to dnf.

Hope you can find a solution soon.