Knee’s Up

The pain in my left knee that I alluded to in my last entry remained rather persistent. And it looks like it will be a companion for a few weeks to come. After being in quite some pain after the end of Wednesday’s 17 mile run, I googled for the likely explanation, and the one that sprang out immediately was Iliotibial Band Syndrome, or ITBS. That’s, of course, an injury that’s all too common in runners, and it would make perfect sense to add it to my list; after all, I’ve had most other common ailments in the last 2 or 3 years, and that one was still missing in my collection. I’m not 100% sure if that’s really my injury, though. The knee first started hurting when running uphill, while ITBS is supposed to hurt when running downhill, and on Thursday I was in serious pain after the run, when that injury is supposed to stop hurting immediately after your run.

Whatever the exact cause, after a few miles into Thursday’s planned 8 mile run, the knee got worse with every step, and eventually I had to cut the run short and slowly make my way back home. I was already at the 3.5 mile point of an out-and-back run, which meant I only lost 1 mile of my planned mileage, and towards the end of the run I actually seemed to feel better again. However, as mentioned, I was in quite some pain afterwards, and very reluctantly came to the conclusion that I was injured and most likely would have to rest. ITBS can easily take 6 weeks to heal, and in the dark clouds forming in my head I could see the marathon drifting away.

However, I started doing the stretches mentioned here, and I also came up with some strengthening exercises from that site (which, btw, I find excellent). I’m a great believer in strengthening exercises, I prefer them to ice, drugs, rest or any other treatment (plus, of course they can be combined with any of them). In the past few years I’ve overcome achilles tendinitis, shin splints, plantar fasciitis and a few more twinges, and strengthening exercises always seemed to help very quickly.

The stretches had one immediate effect, namely they immediately alleviated any discomfort in my knee, at least for some time. This ensured that a) I did them frequently and b) I got more optimistic as the day wore on. By the evening I had formed some kind of plan. The originally planned 20-mile run was out of the window. Instead I would set the alarm in time for 15 miles, and I would run a series of 5-mile loops to Ard-na-Sidhe, giving me the chance to bail out at any time. I also promised myself to go straight to back if the predicted heavy rain would materialise.

Come next morning both the weather and the knee cooperated and I set out. The knee started hurting after a few miles, but it was more a discomfort rather than pain. It definitely was worse on the downhill stretches; the uphills were mostly pain free. After 5 miles I did not hesitate to turn around for a second loop, and after the end of that the knee still had not gotten any worse; the discomfort just stayed at a manageable level, so I set out for a third loop. I was happy to just be able to run, maybe that’s why I got slightly taken away as far as the effort level went. The times for each 5-mile loop were roughly 41:00, 38:30 and 38:00. While that isn’t exactly flying, it was faster than what I had planned.

Again, the knee held out for the rest of the day, and I decided I would be able to slightly increase my miles for the weekend. There’s no rational explanation to this. I had lost 6 miles of my planned weekly mileage of 83, so if I added 3 miles to the weekend runs, I’d still be able to reach 80. Of course 80 is just as arbitrary a number as any other, but psychologically it will make me feel better about my training. Of course, that’s under the provision that my knee will hold up.

Anyway, following that reformed plan I ran 12 miles today (Saturday). The knee was similar to Friday, it remained at a certain level of discomfort; bad enough to be conscious of it at any time, but not so bad as to cause me to bail. I guess I get injured easily, but I also heal quickly. I’ve had plenty of twinges and tweaks in the recent past, but they always got better even without too many compromises in my training, and mostly without the use of drugs. The packet of ibuprofen that I bought a long time ago is still in my cupboard. It’s nearing its expiry date – a sign that I’m rather restrained when it comes to using it. I know, most people wouldn’t hesitate in popping those pills far more regularly than I do. I just happen to believe in the natural healing capacity of your own body, and drugs are very much a last resort, when I’m getting desperate.

21 Jun: 7 miles, 56:09, 8:01 pace, avg. HR 143
22 Jun: 15 miles, 1:58:23, 7:49 pace, avg. HR 154 (split paces 8:12, 7:42, 7:36)
23 Jun: 12 miles, 1:34:17, 7:51 pace, avg. HR 153