Knee on the mend

After visting the chripractor on Wednesday and being told that my knee and hip were incorrectly tracking I took yet another day off running and resumed on Thursday with a double run. Knee started off sore on both occassions but the pain went away. Not perfect but a definite improvement. 

A weekend away in Orange was in store this saturday and sunday. I planned to test my knee and run around the local area. I had a brief look at a map and saw there was an obvious loop i could run. I figured it would be 30km at the most. I wrapped up warm as the wind chill had the temperature below freezing. The terrain was rolling hills on bitumen, dirt road and some trail thrown in for good measure. I carried a water bottle and 1 small museli bar and 20 bucks to stock up mid-way. 

I was cruising along quite nicely, my knee only being slightly irritating. I probably got a little carried away with the pace as i went though the half marathon mark in 1hr 34 but it was feeling easy. After knocking back my museli bar and the majority of my 500ml worth of water i plodded on. I was beginning to get a little anxious that i may have underestimated the distance. The area was desolate and after running through a freezing creek I was getting a little cold. Soon after the 30km mark I hit a bit of a wall. I was feeling pretty much depleted and the hills were taking it out of me. I was cooling down and the combination of a smaller than average breakfast ( i was a guest and didnt want to appear rude by having my usual mountain of food) and having stopped eating by 6pm the night before ( i would normally have a MASSIVE breakfast prior to going to sleep) meant I had hit the wall. Not a fun experience. I somehow managed to make it home in 3hrs 37 minutes covering just under 43km. Just over 800 metres of elevation which is reasonable. Plenty of walking on the last sections but i was grateful to be able to run at all. It wasnt pretty but im fairly confident that i should be ok for the marathon at the end of the month. Sub 2.50 is off the cards  as I dont think my knee will hold up but i'll give anything for a sub 3hr finish. 

Having said that, now that im running there is no way that i'll be tapering for the event. I'll no doubt take the day off beforehand but that will be it. I need to start getting in some solid miles in preparation for the Great North Walk in November. A 3 week European beach holiday over August/September isnt going to help matters but may be just the tonic i need to get over my niggling injuries - and I cannot wait!! 

78kms for the week which isnt too bad considering I wasnt able to run further than 4km's on Tuesday.

Onwards and upwards!

Taking a long break

Well its been well over a week since my last post. The reason being I havent had much to say.

On Sunday 27th June I went out for a 45km road run in my vibram five fingers. Knee feeling a little dodgy but managed to pull through. I lasted 30km in my vibrams which was fairly incredible as I havent done much running in them and my feet didnt have any blisters at all. Then I changed into my runners and went home. In the end my knees were in a lot of pain and I didnt run for the next week.

I went out yesterday for a 12km run and my knee packed in. So i jumped on a train and went home.

Today I cancelled my 100miler at The Glasshouse 100. There is no way I would be able to complete it or enjoy the run feeling this way. I can walk freely without any pain so I dont want to do major damage.

The plan is to take a complete break from running for 6 weeks. Let me knees and ITB completely heel and when i start back i will start back slow and short distances only. In much the same way as i started out in August 2009. Hopefully I will be fit and I can enjoy my running again.

In the meantime, I will be spending the next 6 weeks doing weights and cardio in the gym. I have a stack of protein powder to get through and i plan on putting on some of the muscle i have lost.

I'll be itching to run after a week but i have to be sensible and stick out the rest period.

On the mend?

Well today there was a break in the rain that has been hitting this country hard for the last couple of weeks, so I took my chance and decided to run outside. My plan was to do a lap of centennial park then run home. I put on my knee support for good measure and headed out straight from work with my camelbak, garmin and half a litre of water.

I set off and forced myself to go slowly from the start as I was extremely nervous to aggravate my knee. It was dark the moment I reached the park so I slipped my petzl on my head and it lit up the trail perfectly. A nice cool evening and it felt good to finally be outside running properly, albeit cautiously.

My pace varied from around 4.45min/km to 5.30min/km and all in all I managed a solid 20.5km averaging 5.12min/km overall.

My legs feel a little sore but I feel great. My slow pace meant I could enjoy the scenery and there was no strain on the lungs. The plan is to back this up with another run tomorrow.

Fingers crossed!