Runner's knee

Since my last post I have been doing further training runs, but my knee has still been playing me up afterwards.  Fitness itself is no problem and after running for 2 hours I am as fresh as a daisy energy wise.  But the knee has been a problem.  That's why this Monday I had the meeting with the sports doctor.

The doctor had me walking up and down on my feet, toes and heels, jumping on each leg in turn, tugging my legs in all kinds of different directions and taking some X-rays.  Then came the verdict.  I have in general terms what they call "runners knee".  Thats not so difficult to believe since it has been occurring after running.  But what does that mean for my future running and what is causing it.

Well the cause he says is that my left knee is a little unstable compared to the right, and the knee is rotating and moving whilst running which irritates the tendons that attach just underneath the knee.  The good news is that he says with a little bit of physio twice a week to strengthen my left knee and 3 weeks break from running and some patches to reduce the swelling I will be ready to run again and should be able to still set my sights on the Zurich marathon.  In terms of the Marathon des Sables he said there is nothing to worry about there at all, as the bones and cartilage themselves are in perfect condition, and the problem is purely tendon related. So compared to how bad it could have been, it was pretty good news.

I have my first appointment with the physio tomorrow morning, so I will let you know how I get on.  But in the meantime the doctor said I am fine to carry on with my yoga and rowing and if I want I can add in cycling to replace running as the two are very complimentary.

Last night I also did my first one to one Pilates trial lesson.  I think it will take a while for me to work out exactly how to position my body and how to breathe correctly whilst doing the exercises, but it should do me wonders in terms of flexibility and core strength once I get it right.  The advantage of one to one is also that I get a lot of correction until I have the correct form whilst doing the exercises.  Much better than doing a group lesson.  My next one to one Pilates lesson is on Monday.

Reward for anyone who finds my lost belly

Sometimes things really sneak up on you without you noticing.  I was doing yoga at work on Tuesday lunchtime and suddenly when I looked down I realised that there was no belly obscuring my view.  I am not saying that I have a six pack by any means, but no-one in their right mind would call me fat now.   So I got on the scales just to check, and I am now down to 83kg.  Of course this figure varies slightly throughout the day, but that still means I have lost over 3kg since I started this blog a couple of months back.

I should have done one of those before and after shots with a half naked torso to really see the difference, and posted them here, but maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea anyway considering all my colleagues now know about this blog, since it is linked to my fundraising page.

Anyway, in summary I am feeling great and really starting to notice the difference all this training has made.  Only thing that still concerns me is my knees are both a bit sore, especially my left one.  Hence tomorrow will be another well earned rest day, having done yoga and hill training on Tuesday and then running at lunchtime today.  When I see the sports doctor on Monday about my knees I will ask him if I should still be training for the Zuri marathon in April.  If he says I need to take a break then I will do so, as it is better that if I have to I miss the Zuri marathon than risk a more serious injury which may set me back longer term.  I have plenty of time between now and next year to recover, and build up plenty of strength in my knees and accustom them to long distance running.  At present though the Zuri marathon is still on my agenda.

The tortoise and the hare

Most of us will know the story of the tortoise and the hare.  The hare thinks he is the fastest animal and challenges the tortoise to a race.  They start the race and then as the tortoise is so slow the hare decides to eat some breakfast.  This makes him a bit drowsy, and so he takes a nap.  Meanwhile the tortoise plods slowly onwards without pausing.  When the hare wakes up he sees the tortoise is almost at the finish and sprints as fast as he can, but it is too late, as by the time he gets there the tortoise has already crossed the line.

This weekend I went cross country skiing in the Goms valley, and it was a bit like the tortoise and the hare for me at first.  I set off at a good speed and flew past the grannies and grandads, but after a while I needed a break as I was blowing harder than a steam train.  I continued like this for a while, stopping and starting, stopping and starting, thinking that my progress was quite good.  Then you guessed it, the grannies and grandads passed me slowly by and disappeared bit by bit into the distance.  That was the first day.

Then today I decided to take the tortoise approach.  I took much fewer rest breaks and paced myself well.  All in all I think this approach was the best as the progress was good and I arrived at the finish to feel like I could still row out a 5000m on my indoor rower.  And guess what, I did just that when I got home.

Weekend training summary:
Total distance covered on cross country skis 30km
Total distance covered on indoor rower 5km