"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
--Theodore Roosevelt



Sunday, February 13, 2011

That Didn't Feel So Good...

I was really psyched last Saturday to run.  Well sort of...  The weather was really crappy, the roads were more messy and dangerous than ever, and I had gone out the night before.  Had I not agreed to drive three people to training (and was appropriately called "Soccer Mom" for the entire day), I might not have gone.  On the bright side...we were running 14 miles today which would be my longest run EVER.

Unfortunately that would never come to fruition.  The route today was out to Wellesley on Rt 16 until we reached the beginning of Wellesley College which is about 2 miles and then back to the Community Center for the first water stop.  Then we kept going out towards Newton with a water stop at miles 6.5 and 11.5 and the turnaround water stop planned at Centre St, mile 9.5ish.

We had a nutrition clinic before the run which was mostly things I had heard before but it was nice to have a refresher.  Basically, don't eat crap, eat most of your calories early in the day, and don't eat more than your daily calories.  We didn't get on the roads until after 9am which meant that there was a lot more car traffic that when we normally start.  You would think that this being the 115th Boston Marathon, the drivers of Wellesley would have gotten used to runners crowding the streets on weekend mornings in January-March.  Let's just say I received a lot of angry yells and shaken fists and my middle finger got a great workout.  The culmination came when a car door got thrown out at me and quickly took my hand and shoved it back in the drivers face.  I think the poor old man was as surprised to see me as I was to see his door coming right for my face.

The run was going well.  I felt strong and not too tired for having run for 2 hours straight.  We came to our final water stop at Mile 11.5 and I felt the muscle behind my left knee seize up.  In my mind I just kept saying, "This is no big deal, my muscles are just stiffening up because I stopped.  Once I start running again it'll loosen up.  No big deal.  Just run through it."  Fast forward a minute when we started running again. I took three steps and "No, no, no.  That's not stiffness.  Must stop.  Must stop."  I stayed at the water stop until our volunteer coordinator, Joe, was kind enough to give me a ride back to the Community Center.

The diagnosis...a slight pull.  The treatment...ice bath, more ice on the knee, no yoga or stretching, no running, cross-train, and rest.  I took my ice bath, rested, and iced my knee a couple of times.  By Tuesday I could go up and down stairs without pain and felt back to normal.


That brings us to yesterday.  The 15 miler.  Another chance to set my PR for distance.  After Mile 1 I could feel a very slight pressure on my knee.  It wasn't a painful pressure.  More a "Hey, Kate.  Remember me?  You hurt me last week and I'm still here."  With each water stop the pressure increased and finally around Mile 8, Liz, one of my running partners, told me I was clearly favoring my other leg and I should stop before I got hurt worse.  After walking by myself for 20 minutes a car pulled up and yelled "Kate!  Need a ride!"  Now, I had never seen this man or car before but he knew my name so going against all women's safety tips I have gotten over the past 23 years I quickly replied, "YES PLEASE!"

The diagnosis...probable tendinitis.  The treatment...ice bath, more ice on the knee, no yoga or stretching, no running, cross-train, rest...and make an appointment with a physical therapist.  Sitting in the Community center with ice on my knee I got a lot of sympathy from other TNTers who all echoed that it's still early in the season and I've got plenty of time to heal and ramp up for the marathon.  I could help but feel so frustrated.  I felt so great and strong but my knee just wouldn't let me get past that 13 mile PR.  My teammate Brendan gave his own advice...ICE and BEER.  I took that advice to heart and prepared this feast for myself when I got home.


After another grueling ice bath, I enjoyed toasted peanut butter and jelly, a ziplock bag of ice, Advil, and Harpoon Celtic Ale.  I'm currently waiting to hear back from Marathon Physical Therapy for an appointment sometime this week.  I'm trying to keep hope up that in a few weeks I'll be back to normal.  Stay tuned for the full prognosis from the physical therapist...


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