Knee Problems

I've been running every other day.  I decided to take an extra day off as my left knee has been bothering me.  I ran my usual 4.2 miles on Sunday, but it wasn't a very good run.  My knee is still bothering me today, so my plan is to use the elliptical in my basement for a few days of low impact aerobic exercise.  Hopefully this will give my knee a little time to calm down and stop hurting.  My coach advises ice and ibuprofen after running, but it's a little late now.  I will certainly take his advice after my next run.  Cross your fingers this works!

Old route woes

The last six or seven times I've gone running I have run the same route, extending it each time until I got to 4.2 miles.  I have run the same 4.2 miles three times now.  I have become comfortable with it.  I know each incline and slope.  Today there were men tearing up the sidewalk as I ran by.  On the one hand it's a little flattering that they would bother to wolf whistle at a woman pushing 50, but it definitely made me uncomfortable.  Therefore, I decided instead of doubling back on the same route like I usually do, I would take a different route.  A route where I couldn't anticipate the hills and valleys.  A route that I was certain was longer than my usual 4.2 miles.  I thought I'd die by the time I got home.  I was certain I must have run at least 5 or 5 1/2 miles. After my shower I hopped in my car and drove the new route..  My new route was only 1/10th of a mile longer than my old route!  Another lesson learned.  I need to mix up my route more often so that on race day I don't freak out. 

Running - Ready or Not

A few months ago my friend AJ recruited me and another friend, Patty, to run a relay marathon in Vermont on July 10th.  Once upon a time, I was a serious runner and broke my high school records for the mile, two mile and two mile relay.  Since then I've had an on and off love affair with running.  I love what it does for my body, but starting to run again after a long lapse is killer.  I decided I would partake in the relay marathon in order to get back in shape for the summer.  I was especially out of shape seeing as I sustained a significant hematoma falling down icy stairs to the hot tub and was unable to ski for a month.  A very cold rainy spring gave me another excuse to put off training for the race.  Seven weeks before the race I tied on my old sneakers and started running in the park with my dog.  It didn't go well.  I was running about a mile and just dying.  I decided I needed new sneakers.  I went to Dicks and got very frustrated.  The salespeople were terrible, and I walked out.  I decided to go to Fleet Feet which is a small specialty running shop in Montclair. Awesome place!  They asked what kind of running I do (or in my case, wanted to do), examined my feet and measured me.  They brought out a few pairs of sneakers for me to try.  They encouraged me to leave them on for awhile and to go outside and run up and down the block. They were all about me taking my time to make sure I was getting the best sneaker for me.  What can I say?  I LOVE my new sneakers!!!  By the end of the first week with my new sneakers I ran 2.6 miles and was very impressed with myself.  I never ran much more than two miles before EVER!  I informed AJ of my progress, and he said he was worried for me.  I'll show him!!  I gave myself an additional week to meet my new goal of 4 miles. I very quickly realized that my middle age knees couldn't take the daily pounding, so now I run every other day.  My knees are much happier.  I ran 4.2 miles on Sunday, and then again on Tuesday.  I'm going to try to keep running 4 miles every other day to build my endurance.  I'm hoping to run 6 miles on Sunday, but we'll see.  It may be a little too aggressive a strategy, so I'm going to listen to my body and play it by ear.