Last week I diligently set my alarm and set out for my morning run. Friday morning I had an early drop-off for 7AM so I ended up getting up at 5:30 to make sure I had time for my full run plus a shower when I got home. It was rough getting up that early but once I got going I enjoyed it even more than before because there were even less people out that early. Friday also marked the beginning of phase 2 of my training: run 1 minute, walk 1 minute, for a total time of 24 minutes. Around the third set in, or so, my knees started to ache quite a bit. I've always feared running because of the impact on my knees; I've always had bad knees and wore a brace throughout middle school because my left knee constantly dislocated when I was playing sports or would turn funny on it. Knees were sort of in the back of my mind but after the first few runs when I was barely sore at all I figured they wouldn't pose a problem.
I continued Friday's run through to the finish but by Friday afternoon I could barely walk. Bending or kneeling felt better than standing but stairs were agony; my knees hurt so terribly I was worried I wouldn't be able to walk by Saturday. We spent the weekend re-doing all the front landscaping with a planting bed. We hauled 4X4 pressure treated wood and I spent most of Saturday on my knees. By Saturday night I knew there was a problem because even after a couple hours of rest they weren't feeling any better. In fact, they felt worse.
According to Google, my quads are weak and my knees are compensating for the new stress being put on them. The solution is to strengthen my quads. Apparently the pain is caused because the cartilage is being worn down from grinding along the sides of the track it moves in. A tighter quadracep muscle will lessen the amount of movement and grinding.
So I will head out tomorrow for my regular run and see how it goes at first. I've had 2 days off since my last run but with all the work we did over the weekend and the fact that my knees are still screaming for some attention, I'm not feeling too optimistic. I've found and printed some simple quad-strengthening exercises that I'll do every day and hopefully this will only be a small setback. I have committed to still getting up before the kids so even if it's just for a brisk walk, it's better than nothing. Also this week, I'm investing in a really good pair of joggers. I have a feeling that my current running shoes are part of the problem.
1 comment:
oh man...that stinks! Knees are something I've never had problems with thankfully. I hope they're feeling better today. Maybe a knee brace might help? Its so wonderful to hear how dedicated your are to doing this. I was too when I first started. No hour of the morning was too early for me to go out. I've lost my motivation over the last few months but I'm working at trying to get it back.
Post a Comment