It’s been 2 weeks since my runner’s knee returned in my left leg.
I was/am extremely worried about Richmond marathon. I had trained well (hard) for the race and am not too excited about the prospect of loosing much of that training benefit during my recovery.
The trade-off is less appealing, however. Running through runner’s knee doesn’t work. I’ve tried that before, and the pain persisted for nearly a year.
In my previous post, I outlined steps I’d take to facilitate the recovery, and I’m pleased to report on my progress.
For the most part, the pain is nearly entirely gone, and I’ve resumed running my regular schedule, but running much slower (about 45 seconds slower than MP).
I have also begun doing quad strength exercises as outlined in just about any article on runner’s knee prevention.
I visited Metro Run & Walk, a specialty running store. They identified me with a fairly stable foot (no over-pronation or supination) and that my arch was nearly rigid. They confirmed that I was running on the right shoe style for my foot, but made some recommendations. After trying on 5 different pair, I settled on the Brooks Glycerin 4. I have one more pair of brand new Saucony Shadow 9’s to get through, and I’ll be weaving in the Brooks with those.
The last step I’ll take is to go to a good podiatrist and have them make sure my legs are in good mechanical shape. I’m beginning to believe that my left leg may be a little longer than my right, and that can lead to runner’s knee as well.
How was I going to maintain my fitness while recovering? Here’s what my runner’s log looks like for the past four weeks:
Tue, Oct 10 – Day 3 – 2 Miles – I ran on a nearly perfectly flat surface. I took walking breaks nearly every quarter or half mile. Stopping periodically after the first mile to stretch. Normally, these mid-week runs would be 6.5 miles on roads and sidewalks that have uneven surfaces.
Wed, Oct 11 – Day 4 – 4 Miles – Again, many walking breaks with stretching.
Thu, Oct 12 – Day 5 – 4 Miles – More of the same. Slow, easy, my legs are aching to run again, but I have to stick to my guns!
Sat, Oct 14 – Day 7 – 4 Miles – I was scheduled for a 12 mile trail run, but had to curtail that, naturally. Though by now my legs generally feel like they are going to explode. Too much amped up energy.
Tue, Oct 17 – Day 10 – 4 Miles – I switched to a treadmill for the mid-week runs this week. I know the surface is level, and giving. I hope the reduced stress on the foot-fall might speed recovery. I’m still taking the occasional walk break and stretching.
Wed – Oct 18 – Day 11 – 4 Miles – More treadmill running. If you want to know real agony, try running on a treadmill with only One Day to Live on the TV at the gym :(
Thu – Oct 19 – Day 12 – 4 Miles – At this point, I’m really having very little pain. Some achiness, but I’m pleased. Knee strengthening, icing, and ibuprofen are paying off.
Sat – Oct 21 – Day 14 – 21 Miles – It’s been 14 days since the injury, and I was scheduled to log a 26 mile training run. Certainly I couldn’t do that! Instead, I opted for 3 shorter runs. I ran 8 miles early in the morning. Taking it slow, with plenty of walk/stretch breaks. I iced thoroughly and waited 4 hours. Then I logged 9 miles. I was shooting for 10, but cut it to 9 because my knee was starting to hurt. Again, icing and relaxing for 4 hours. At 6:00pm, I logged my final 4 miles. It felt great. But I wasn’t pushing it.
This week I’ll take it carefully, too. Yesterday I ran one of my favorite mid-week routes for 6.5 miles. I did have some minor pain near the end, but I’m certain that I’m going to be in shape for Richmond. I’ll at least finish the race, but have no thoughts of a PR.
Other things I’ve done include lots of stretching, quad strengthening exercises, self-massaging. We’ll see how it goes…
Bill