I guess it was about 3 weeks ago that I first started noticing some knee pain after running. I figured that maybe my shoes were nearing the end of their life (I can usually only get 200 miles on a pair!) and thought I’d shop around. About 20 – 25 days ago I missed my Saturday long run so I could do some school work in the morning and ran a shorter run instead. Oh, worth mentioning, 15 days ago I did a trail run and fell pretty hard, scraping up my knee pretty good. I ran through the week, and ended up buying some Brooks Ghost 5 shoes on sale. I figured since I always run in to paid in Support type shoes that I’d try a neutral shoe. I ran my longest run of the training program, a little over 11 miles, and had knee pain about the entire way.
Last Monday, 10 days ago, I was walking down stairs at work and felt some twinges in my knees. I decided not to run for the rest of the week. I got out my Yoga DVD and did a couple workouts, went to the gym once (I hate the gym!), and did some other knee related exercises. I also ordered Cho-Pat Knee Straps to help support my knees.
Two days ago I ran 4 miles at a quicker pace, instead of the 5.5 recommended by the plan. I also did an exercise routine to help strengthen and stretch my leg muscles. Dang that beat me up. I ran 6 miles last night at a slower pace and my knees weren’t too bad. Today was a rest day so I did that routine again. It gets me sweating and my legs feel tired afterwards, so I guess I’m doing something. And my upper body hurts from supporting myself during the foam rolling. I’m a weakling!
My knees aren’t hurting as much now… maybe the trauma from the fall is healing, or maybe some of the pain from overuse is healing. I’ll just do 4 runs this week, instead of 5, and see how I feel after my run Saturday to determine whether I should take next week off. I’m more interested in getting to the starting line pain free than I am in hitting all the workouts and setting a PR.