Running is fun sometimes!

I ran yesterday, a good end to the week, and a great end to a slump over the past several weeks.

I ran 7.5 miles (9:20-ish? pace). It was quite enjoyable. I took a short detour to go down this path next to a creek and ended up at a pumping station. I don't know what a pumping station is though but it was surrounded by a tall fence. Anyway, it was a good run.

I think my knee problem is actually a hamstring problem (which is better I guess). If I strained my hamstring, I think the healing would be faster than a knee problem. I'm going to try to stretch it more before my runs though. However, after 6 miles, my knee/hamstring didn't hurt -- until I stopped :) It's still stiff when I sit for any longer than a few minutes.

Slogging Along

I managed to get up at 4:30 am again today (okay, 4:39...) and was out the door around 5:15 am for a nice 4.4 mile run. It was nice because it was above freezing! It was around 40 degrees, which felt very nice -- compared to some of the cold weather runs over the winter!

My knee continues to bother me, but oddly enough, it didn't hurt the same way it did yesterday. It hurt going downhill (probably due to extra stress on legs), but didn't feel it at all on flats. I felt it a little going uphill though. 5 hours later, it doesn't hurt too much, only when I stand up from a sitting position.

Just a short blog today...

Long Road Ahead

Okay, I ran two times this week, which is the most I've run since the week of Feb 8. Oy.

I continue to feel my left knee, but at this point, it's the chicken and the egg thing. Is my knee preventing me from running well, or does my lack of consistent running making my knee feel worse when I do run? I did take a couple weeks off (mostly). From Feb 15 - 28, I ran exactly one time. And that was an easy 4-miler. I'm hoping that my knee thing is not serious. Maybe I should see a doctor, but on the other hand, I'm worried that they'll have the ol' 'if it hurts, don't do it' attitude. My knee works as it is supposed to; I can walk on it, although I'm a little slow getting out of a chair, and it hurts to bend it 90 degrees. We'll see.

I ran 4 miles at a nice and easy 10:06 pace. Easy pace due to ice on the road (not much now, but a little) and the fact that I've run so little lately, I don't want to re-injure myself. Plus, I'm out of shape :)

Easy transition

In O'Fallon, IL again this week. Didn't run on Monday or Tuesday, as knee still hurt. Yesterday afternoon though, I actually forgot about it, so I figured today I should run a little bit.

It was rather mild this morning (45 degrees at 5:15 am) and I didn't quite have the clothes for such mild weather, so I got a little hot. I didn't get a time, because I wanted to focus just on running 4 miles, and not running 4 miles in X minutes. Coming back with about a mile to go, I turned my head hard to the left, and then noticed that my hamstring was a little tight on my left side. At that point, I began wondering if having tight or weak hamstrings contributed to my knee problem. It makes sense. My knee doesn't actually hurt when I press on it; it only feels weird when I open and close it. It's also a bit swollen. I don't think that my hamstring is the sole reason for my knee injury, but I have a feeling that it is related. I think I need to stretch and strengthen my hamstrings. This has been a weak point in my long runs since my first marathon. My hamstrings have traditionally cramped up on very long runs (and marathons).

Anyway, it's an interesting thought. I'll need to be mindful on that. Anyway, I had a good run this morning, and hope to have another good run tomorrow morning - and it's due to be much colder, lower 20's, so I'll be dressed properly :)

Didn't run today

I woke up with my knee hurting more. I didn't feel that it was worth the risk of running 10 miles this morning with that condition. Hmmmm....

One down, One to go

I ran 14 late this morning. I elected to not run 20, but run shorter runs two days in a row. My knee has been bothering me lately, and I didn't want to injure it more (as is running 14 miles doesn't affect it at all....) I was under a 10 minute mile (something like a 9:40) but I wasn't really watching my pace (too much). I took 3 walking breaks on purpose, including one half-way through. We'll see if I can do 10 tomorrow morning (whew).

I actually felt very good at 7 miles (half-way), and pretty good at 10. In the last mile, I actually ran as fast as I could up a steep hill near my house (but only got down to an 8:40 pace, so I wasn't running all that fast). I could have handle another couple miles easily, but I'm not sure I would have felt just as fresh after 6 more miles....

Oh well, wish me luck for tomorrow morning.

One Word - Treadmill

Well, I did manage to get a run in last night -- on the treadmill. I didn't / couldn't run in the morning, so I decided to do a run every 36 hours or so this week (Tuesday am, Wednesday, pm, Friday am) as my knee still feels funny. Doesn't actually hurt (unless I bend it all the way), but I do notice it, which probably isn't a good thing.

So, during the new episode of Lost last night, I got on treadmill, turned closed captioning on the TV, and started running. I actually got engaged with the storyline and all of the sudden I was at 2 miles. However, I was feeling twinges in my left foot during my run. I think I was changing my running gait, or doing something to compensate for my left knee, and it was causing issues with my foot, so I stopped at 4 miles. Now, if I were running outside, I wouldn't have had that luxury. However, on the other hand, given the high winds and rain, I probably wouldn't have noticed the twinges and continued running (plus, I would have been 2 miles away from home still). All reasons aside, I stopped at 4 miles (9:30-ish pace).

That brings me to a whopping 10 miles this week. Not sure if I should do 20 (!) this weekend, especially with my knee. I wonder if I did 12/12 (Sat/Sun) if that would work. Hmmm...