I'm finally getting my knee checked out as absolutely nothing (excess rest, rolling, stretching) has improved the distance I can run without exquisite pain and knee failure. So Friday I should have the start of an answer. Or at least a referral to someone who can give me an answer.
Other than that, I missed the Ras na hEirren because it was daylight savings time this Saturday. So my clocks didn't get moved forward Saturday night, and I woke up an hour late to the race. Oops. But probably just as well since every other weekend I've tried to run a 5k distance things went to crap pretty quickly. I got my t-shirt at least. Oh yeah, it was downpouring all day. (Which resulted in our basement flooding with a 1/2 foot of water, but that's another story). Not fun to run in anyway, so I avoided that wet mess.
I am seriously excited to get this knee business solved though.
On another positive note, it's only 57 laps in the pool to swim a mile and it really flies by. I'm becoming a better/faster swimmer every day. By around lap 30 my form just feels really smooth, natural and powerful - like I'm a fish! The kind of wish that has to breath at the surface though - which I've seen before at an aquarium, but I can't recall what it was, although it was cute. I'm even getting better with a really shallow side breath too, so I'm not slowing my pace by sticking my face too far up. It's just not as sweat-pain inducing as running though - not remotely the same level of satisfaction. I don't know how long I'd have to swim for to get that. Maybe 2-3 miles? Ha, if I didn't turn into a prune. Although if the knee problems keep up, endurance swimming could be kinda cool... 3-4 hours of swimming...
Showing posts with label knees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knees. Show all posts
Knee Injury Revisited
Saturday, January 30, 2010 bikeway runs, ice, injury, knee pain, knees, long run
It's been a week since I took the dive. I'm healing pretty nicely. I swapped to bandaids to prevent chafing and irritation from my jeans, but the cuts are otherwise shrinking in diameter. The bruises got worse over the past week, but are now fading.
I ran 20 miles today.
I'm in severe pain after the fact, but the run itself was awesome. I felt great, strong, motivated. I got faster as I went even. Miles 6-13 were beautiful. I ran along with another marathoner along the 2-3 mile stretch through Bedford. They don't plow the Bikeway in Bedford, by the way. Heads up. Lexington and Arlington plow, but it still remains relatively icy since they don't use sand or salt. Bedford however just waits for snow to melt. Rough terrain once it ices over all lumpy too. It was encouraging not to be the only runner along that stretch however. And man, not only was she faster, but she just glided without hesitation over some icy-lumpy stretches. I stick to my theory that running on ice is all about confidence, not friction. I think when people hesitate and stiffen up when walking/jogging on ice, it changes their stride and it automatically unbalances them. It's almost better if you didn't know you were running on ice.
Anyway, great run. Sore knees - both. Long, long, long nap.
But I'm photographing my injuries again because of the weird stripes that developed on my left knee during the course of the run today. Check out the striations:
The right knee coming along and one of the bruises is yellowing:
I ran 20 miles today.
I'm in severe pain after the fact, but the run itself was awesome. I felt great, strong, motivated. I got faster as I went even. Miles 6-13 were beautiful. I ran along with another marathoner along the 2-3 mile stretch through Bedford. They don't plow the Bikeway in Bedford, by the way. Heads up. Lexington and Arlington plow, but it still remains relatively icy since they don't use sand or salt. Bedford however just waits for snow to melt. Rough terrain once it ices over all lumpy too. It was encouraging not to be the only runner along that stretch however. And man, not only was she faster, but she just glided without hesitation over some icy-lumpy stretches. I stick to my theory that running on ice is all about confidence, not friction. I think when people hesitate and stiffen up when walking/jogging on ice, it changes their stride and it automatically unbalances them. It's almost better if you didn't know you were running on ice.
Anyway, great run. Sore knees - both. Long, long, long nap.
But I'm photographing my injuries again because of the weird stripes that developed on my left knee during the course of the run today. Check out the striations:
The right knee coming along and one of the bruises is yellowing:
Pavement Diving
Sunday, January 24, 2010 falling, injury, knees
The streets of Boston are covered in ice half the time during the winter months. This makes for treacherous and challenging runs. Some address the issue with Yaktrax, some run in the middle of the street amidst traffic, others just succumb to the dreadmill. I suck it up and have developed and excellent ice-running technique. I haven't fallen once due to the ice.
So given the risk I take with icy sidewalks, it's just ridiculous that it was dry, clean sidewalk that sent me pitching into unforgiving cement. You know how Somerville revels in being Tree City USA? A tree-hugging title passed out by the Arbor Foundation each year. The city got this title due to the fact that its managed to cram a ridiculous amount of trees onto every square inch of un-cemented space in a city with one of the highest local population densities. Or rather, the city plants trees literally in the middle of sidewalks in 1 ft cement cutouts, the roots grow with the tree, upending the cement blocks that form the sidewalk surrounding the tree, which then trip up unsuspecting runners who are simply trying to improve their odds of not being hit by a car by jogging in the only other place available.
I was happily getting into my brief 2 mile jog to the grocery store, adjusting the belt that held my grocery money, when...the next thing I know I was skidding across cement. I don't even remember falling. I was blindly fiddling with the belt one minute and the next I felt stunning pain in my knees. Basically, I didn't brace myself to lessen the impact. I just went down. So my palms and elbows were relatively unscathed. The insulated running tights were cement-burned off on my right knee.
After the initial shock and cry, I realized that not only was no one around, but it wasn't *that* bad. Hey, I mean, I'm a badass runner. I'll just keep running. Sure.
So I wiped away the tears, pretended I wasn't bleeding, and continued to the grocery store at a slightly slower pace. I had adrenaline and shock on my side!
That wore off about 20 minutes into grocery shopping and was replaced with horrible pain that had my eyes tearing up as I navigated the aisles with a more and more apparent limp. By the time I got home, I realized my mistake and could barely make it up the stairs to my bedroom. I didn't leave the couch after that. Ice, ibuprofen, bandages and anti-bacterial stuff to prevent scarring.
Photos from later that evening after cleaning up:
Right knee cuts, directly after arriving home
Bruising begins to develop on the left knee
You can begin to see the bruising and swelling develop here:
So given the risk I take with icy sidewalks, it's just ridiculous that it was dry, clean sidewalk that sent me pitching into unforgiving cement. You know how Somerville revels in being Tree City USA? A tree-hugging title passed out by the Arbor Foundation each year. The city got this title due to the fact that its managed to cram a ridiculous amount of trees onto every square inch of un-cemented space in a city with one of the highest local population densities. Or rather, the city plants trees literally in the middle of sidewalks in 1 ft cement cutouts, the roots grow with the tree, upending the cement blocks that form the sidewalk surrounding the tree, which then trip up unsuspecting runners who are simply trying to improve their odds of not being hit by a car by jogging in the only other place available.
I was happily getting into my brief 2 mile jog to the grocery store, adjusting the belt that held my grocery money, when...the next thing I know I was skidding across cement. I don't even remember falling. I was blindly fiddling with the belt one minute and the next I felt stunning pain in my knees. Basically, I didn't brace myself to lessen the impact. I just went down. So my palms and elbows were relatively unscathed. The insulated running tights were cement-burned off on my right knee.
After the initial shock and cry, I realized that not only was no one around, but it wasn't *that* bad. Hey, I mean, I'm a badass runner. I'll just keep running. Sure.
So I wiped away the tears, pretended I wasn't bleeding, and continued to the grocery store at a slightly slower pace. I had adrenaline and shock on my side!
That wore off about 20 minutes into grocery shopping and was replaced with horrible pain that had my eyes tearing up as I navigated the aisles with a more and more apparent limp. By the time I got home, I realized my mistake and could barely make it up the stairs to my bedroom. I didn't leave the couch after that. Ice, ibuprofen, bandages and anti-bacterial stuff to prevent scarring.
Photos from later that evening after cleaning up:
Right knee cuts, directly after arriving home
Bruising begins to develop on the left knee
You can begin to see the bruising and swelling develop here:
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