Thursday, December 17, 2009

Knee Jerk Reaction

Since I signed up for the Madison Marathon I have found out the friend I was supposed to run with might not be able to run. He has a serious injury that may require surgery and will be out of commission for a few months. I am not going to let this deter me.

I have been able to go for a few longer runs on the weekend 10.5 and 9,5 the past few weeks and felt pretty good. Monday I was at the back door grilling and stepped backwards into the house and onto the dog who was behind me. I stepped on her paw and immediately jerked my leg up smashing my knee into the door frame. I still am feeling a bit of pain especially when I go up and down stairs.

I feel like a slacker, but I haven't been running since Sunday. I know I should rest it, but I feel very guilty for not running. I don't know what I can do that doesn't impact the knee. By the way the dog was fine. I never hurt her, she's pretty quick for a 13 year old Jack Russel Terrier.



Anyway I am frustrated that I can't run and don't want to push it to injure myself. On the other hand, this is the worst time of year to not be able to get out there with all the extra calories that I will be eating and drinking.

I also made another road trip to Madison this past weekend for a beer run. Unfortunately, I can't buy New Glarus Beer here in Illinois and I have to go to Wisconsin. I made the trip worth it since things are cheaper in Wisconsin compared to Illinois.






Any suggestions about the knee would be appreciated.

8 comments:

  1. Nice!

    Rest the knee. Be sure to drink a beer or many to ensure you are relaxed.

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  2. Don't worry about taking a little break now. Plenty of time before official marathon training starts - much better to make sure it is fully healed than to push it and injure further.

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  3. I know how frustrating it is not being able to run. I haven't run in 11 days we have so much snow and ice on the road I wouldn't even dare venture out, there's a couple feet of snow on the trail so thats out of the question too. If only I have some snowshoes and microspikes maybe Santa will be good to me this year :) Take it easy on that knee.

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  4. We runners are worriers. We don't want to hear it will be fine. We want to run. PERIOD. I know your knee hurts when you go up and down stairs but what about when you run? Does it hurt when you run (after a warmup period). A rule of thumb that I go with is that if it gets worse during a run (or even after the run), then stop. But the same ache/pain is ok. That is just my philosophy and I'm sure many people won't agree.

    Something that may help ease your mind is if you consider this a recovery week. Every 4-6 weeks you should have a week of lower mileage so you can put this week as a recovery week. You won't lose much conditioning with an easy week. Plus, it allows you to fit in more of the last minute stuff that pops up around the holidays.

    You'll be fine. :)

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  5. Found your blog, a very fun read - thanks! Don't stress over a little down time; we all need it to recover and refuel. Knee problems are hard ones so just be careful with it. Laughing at your beer run...hahah!

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  6. Hi Tony! First, congrats on signing up for your first marathon!!! You have a strong running base and May gives you plenty of time to build up your mileage. Second, rest and ice...walk/run...swimming is great for recovery. Looking foward to reading more about your training adventures!

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  7. Hi Tony,
    I was just doing a little blog surfing and found yours:) I love Chicago!!! Sorry to hear about your knee and hope it feels better soon! That is a mighty interesting picture of the back of your vehicle:)

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  8. Hi Tony,
    I don't want to be a master:) Actually this turning 40 thing scares that crap out of me for running. Have you seen the awesome times of some women in their 40's!! I have received a few medals in some of the smaller 5k's that I have run. I am thinking unless I get faster that might not be the case this year....tougher compititon:) Hey, thanks for your comment! have a good one!

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