All day today I had it in the back of my mind and it made me nervous as hell.
Tonight, I had to get on the elliptical for 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill…my first run in over a month. While seemingly no big deal, it was in fact a very big deal.
To me, the fate of my Ironman rest within that run.
(Yes, I’m totally being overdramatic. That’s how I felt. Whatever.)
Many have asked exactly what is wrong with my knee. I wish I had a clear answer but what I can tell you is that after doing repetitive motion (like cycling or running), the muscles on the inner right knee feel as if they tighten up into an awful and tight little ball. There is not necessarily any sharp or shooting pain, but I have to stretch out the overly tight muscles and that’s where the pain is.
I can’t quite repeat in medical lingo what the chiropractor told me, but it appears as if my knee is having some compartmentalizing issues. So basically I have some tendonitis and fibrosis in the area (i.e. inflammation and scar tissue), which has caused those muscles to be less effective in getting the healing blood to the affected area when it needs it (or something like that). So when I’m doing these activities, they aren’t getting the blood, they’re working harder and end up tightening up to the point of pain. I also have a crap ton of scar tissue build up that needs to be worked through. Scar tissue? But I’ve never injured my knee! Well, maybe I did and I didn’t know it, or it can be from overuse as well. I realize that is a horrible description, but it’ll do for now.
Now back to where we began…
All day it was a mental ping-pong game of what ifs. What if I run and the pain is the same? What if I run and it’s gone? What if I run and I pull something else or God forbid, make it worse!
Like a good student, I had to do what my coach advised me to do. I would stay calm (or at least try to), run and report the results. I felt as if a moving conveyor belt was determining my fate.
Before starting, I woke-up my legs with a few squats, lunges and other drills to make sure all of the muscles were firing. I also did about two minutes of rolling on each leg (I read a study in Running Times that it is actually beneficial to do so). Then I hopped on.
Eeew elliptical, I’m not a fan. Well, I take it back, I like the elliptical because I can read and move. I’m currently reading Eat and Run
“Every single one of us possesses the strength to attempt something he isn’t sure he can accomplish.”
I was taking every ounce of mental calmness and motivation that I could get so I repeated it. Over and over and over. I can do this. It’s a mental thing. It’s going to be ok. It has to be ok.
With my motivation in hand and pressuring myself to embrace the power of positive thought, I put on my Florence & The Machine Pandora station as it tends to make me all introspective – yes, I was setting the stage for positivity. That’s all I could do.
So I hopped on, kept calm, and ran.
5 minutes passed.
No problems.
8 minutes passed.
Yes, yes, I’m going to make 10 minutes.
10 minutes arrived and I was in the clear!
I stopped for a brief moment a may or may not have shed a tear. Finally! I stretched out and then hopped back on to see if my knee could make it another five minutes.
56, 57, 58, 59…15 minutes; 1.66 miles. Cue ridiculous grin.
And with that, I felt like everything just might be ok.
While I may have felt like I was on top of the world, I also want to be real here. It was only 1.66 miles, I ran at an incredibly safe and slow pace, I felt extremely out of running shape, and who knows what my knee will decide to do next. This could be a total fluke and I still have a lot of work to do in two months.
Thus, I’m going to try my best to not get down and take everything day by day. I’ll do as my coach and doctor say, no more, no less, and I’ll stretch, foam and ice the bajeezus out of my knee.
I’m hoping that it all works out…
Happy Running!
Found your blog recently, and I’m enjoying it!
I just finished listening to the audio book of Eat and Run, and it was pretty awesome on some tough summer runs as inspiration in my ears! He led an a Injury Prevention Clinic I attended a couple years ago and I even got to go for a 30 minute run with him. Very down to earth guy.
Glad things are currently feeling better for you and your knee!
You can do this! You can play it conservatively and safely AND do it! Befriend the elliptical. Embrace it. It can be an amazing tool for healing, fitness and retraining. Everything WILL work out 🙂
Yay!! That’s GREAT news! I’m sure you’re on your way to running again.
Definitely do everything your chiro and coach tell you, and roll the crap out of it! When I was recuperating from my knee issues, I’d roll in the morning, before and after a workout, and again before bed!
Every mile is a glorious mile! Even more so when returning from an injury. Onward and upward!
Congratulations on your run! Injuries are tough, but your knee will get better. Just keep thinking positive 🙂 I am training for Ironman Arizona also and just broke my toe. I am unable to run and biking is pretty uncomfortable, so lots of swimming for me also.
Congratulations Page! One mile is a first step and your overall fitness is great so as soon as you can build mileage again it will be manageably easy! Keep icing and rolling and what ever else you need to feel good and you will be more than race ready!
AMAZING!!! So glad you survived 1.66 miles!
So glad you got to run 1.66 miles/10 min! Soon you’ll forget ol’ knee…
PS wanna share kindle books?!
Way to be smart!!! You are so smart. Everything in me would be telling me to keep running past 15 minutes since I felt ok, let alone I probably would not have made it through the instructed one month without running. And then obviously I would never recover. You EARNED your recovery. That is hard to do. I’m going to go keep on running on my effing buttcrease pain like an idiot.
p.s. I think that is a highly proficient description of your running injury. I sometimes think my doctors are purposefully using big fake words just so I can’t repeat what is wrong with me if someone else asks.
Yes!!! I know how nervous you were about this run and I’m SO happy that it turned out well! I know that it’s “only” 1.66 miles but it’s a great sign of improvement and that you are doing things right. YAY!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Woo!! Fingers crossed this is the start of more great things 🙂
Yayayayayayay 🙂
When I was coming back from injury, I would heat up my leg with a heating pad, then roll it and then run… I think it really does help get the area warmed up and ready to go before actually running.
Just keep being smart and following orders – it WILL pay off!
When I was first coming back to running post-injury, I got excited about every little step…four minutes…six minutes….OMG TWENTY MINUTES!
You’ll get back there, patience is worth it in the end!
yaaaaaaaay! you’re getting there!