Monday, December 14, 2009

Weekly Training: December 7 - 14

This week, I continued to nurse a sore knee, resulting almost no running mileage.  Monday morning, I set out to try an easy 2 to 4 mile run.  The soreness returned before I completed the second mile, so I ended the run at 2 miles.  I rested Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Friday morning, I decided to resume with easy cross training and no running, and allow plenty of recovery time.  I walked 2 miles, and then bicycled 1/2 hour.  A little soreness returned, and remained the rest of the day.  Saturday morning, I walked 4 miles, with less soreness than Thursday.  By Sunday morning, the soreness was further reduced.  I went for another 4-mile walk, and felt good enough that I couldn't resist testing myself with several short jogging intervals mixed in, followed by very little soreness.  Monday morning, my leg and knee felt pretty strong, but I rested again anyway. 

I feel like I'm about ready to gradually ease back into a regular running routine. :-)

2 comments:

A Plain Observer said...

I'm sure you have the right shoes (low mileage, etc) - sometimes orthotics from a podiatrist help. Don't know, there are so many causes as there are injuries but you are doing something about healing and that is good

Vern said...

I haven't been able to bring myself to buy $100 running shoes, but I buy decent medium-price shoes and watch for sales. I rotate between three to four pairs of shoes. I always hear 300 - 500 miles on a pair of shoes; I log my distance on a spreadsheet and track mileage by shoe. Three of my four current shoes have 120 -230 miles on them. My fourth pair is getting old (450 miles) but worn mostly on dirt trails and have very little wear. I wore them for the 10K race on 11/26, but hadn't worn them for months before that. I need to retire them soon.

I overpronate, so you may have a good point on orthotics from a podiatrist. It may be worth looking into if the problem continues. Earlier this year, I was able to completely heal severe heel pain from plantar fasciitis using off-the-shelf cushioned arch supports. It seems like the knee pain could be the result of mechanical issues, perhaps in combination with overuse in the preceding several days.

I've also seen some knee orthotics, but haven't heard how effecitve they may be.

Anyway, I took your advice and rested or cross trained easy for five days. I mixed some very short jog intervals into the sixth-day walk (Sunday), took Monday off, ran 2 miles Tuesday and 4 miles Wednesday, and it feels pretty good so far. I'm going stay with reduced mileage the next couple of weeks, and start on my marathon schedule at the end of the month.

Thanks for the advice and the concern!