a. I read all the articles about needing to take time off after the marathon, but I didn't. In fact, that's when I joined GBTC. And halfway through my 3rd 1000m repeat, I felt something go in my left knee, and hobbled the rest of the way around the track. Idiot.
b. As one girl pointed out to me last night, the more you increase your mileage, the more prone you are to injury. Even though I made it through marathon training ok, the timing might have been just right to avoid injury.
c. I did get new shoes after the marathon, but they're a newer version of the same model, so I don't think that's it.
I've never had problems with my knees before so it's a little scary, especially with just starting training for a new marathon. It's also a little scary when I think about heading out for a 20 miler and getting stranded 10 miles away.
Anyway, the girl suggested that I do some foam rolling to help get rid of damaged tissue. It's the new trendy thing in fitness these days- I've read a lot about it and actually tried it once in a promo personal training session at the gym.
The idea is that you roll over the foam roller on whatever area is damaged; you can do this for the IT band, shown here, or the calves, or hamstrings, quads, etc. Basically your entire body weight should be pressing down on the point of contact with the foam roller, which is supposed to help repair damage in deep tissue. Apparently the more it hurts, the more scar tissue present deep beneath the muscles.
Well, I tried it today, and there must a bit of deep scar tissue, because it HURT. SO. MUCH. It was REALLY hard not to SCREAM at the gym. Also the left side was more painful than the right side, which is consistent with having trouble with my left knee. GAH. It remains to be seen if this will actually make a difference over time.
On another note, when I got home from the gym, Jon said "It was a good mail day for you!" And this is what had come!
Good mail day indeed! :D
Happy running!
Ouch. Be careful, will ya? Some people get wrecked young by this stuff.
ReplyDeleteI suspect you would not be happy if you became permanently unable to go for long runs. It happens.
Meanwhile, my blogging orthopedist buddy Howard Luks MD is awesome in his generosity with advice - here's his knee FAQ page.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your pain. Many distance runners experience pain for various reasons. ITB friction syndrome is a common form of tendonitis in runners and presents with pain on the outside of the knee. Unfortunately, the list of potential causes of pain is long and to narrow down the list your symptoms and your exam are important contributors :-) As your papa said... be careful. Listen to your body.... severe pain should be assessed if it persists more than a week. No comment re foam rollers :-)
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