Elite Jogging For Dummies

A mile into this run my left knee started to hurt seriously enough that I thought I need to turn around right away and go home.  Except for the fact I had some knee pain in a different location while skate skiing the other day, this was a total surprise.  It felt like IT band, but hard to say.

Testing the knee. I iced yesterday after running and used all of my massage tools to try to isolate tight spots around the knee. The IT band didn't feel much tighter than ususal. I do have a tender spot right on the outside of the knee, which can occur with ITBS. I also took two advil. On the run, the knee didn't talk to me at all for the first four miles, but then I heard the thing start whispering as I climbed up from 1500 E. to 900 S. When I started to descend through Federal Heights, I could hear it loud and clear. It's the increased discomfort on the downhill that continues to make me think it's IT. I did some 3-5 minute surges during the run and the pain didn't increase with the increased pace.

Well, at least the pain in the left knee is making me forget about the pain in my left ankle--which seems to be improving. These are kind of surprising developments; I haven't' had any big spikes in mileage and I haven't changed the terrain I've been running on. Perhaps its time to get refitted with a new orthotic, as I stopped wearing mine several months ago when the felt like they had broken down too much. I had started using PowerStep insoles after that for a long time and I liked them, but they weren't so good on the instep of my right foot. For the last several weeks I have been using the insoles that come with my shoes; Asics Kayano--the model of shoe I have been wearing for 9 years. However: This article says studies show biomechanics may not be a major factor. Interesting.

Six easy miles this morning to test the knee again. I ran with a group that included Lee Dibble, who teaches in the physical therapy dept. at the U. We talked about my knee and he looked at it and his spot diagnosis was ITBS. Well, at least I know what I'm dealing with. He thought it was probably a result of skate skiing, which emphasizes hip abduction in a way that is different than running. He thought that probably explained my ankle issues as well, with the pushing motion straining the ligaments. So, I'll hang up the skate skis for a while and get back to skiing downhill! (I sold my tele gear, thinking I would buy a Dynafit setup, but haven't yet; so I'll stick to the resorts for a while).  And I'll work on strengthening the hip abductors.

The upside is that I had little to no pain in the knee running this morning. I attribute this mostly to the aggressive use of the Quadballer, one of the Paul Peterson recommended TP Massage Products. I have found it much more useful than the foam roller in really isolating, though with great discomfort, the tight parts of the IT band.  I may run another mile or two tonight to test it again, we'll see.

Radda run. It's still cold. I rolled out the IT Band last night and again this morning. It's still a bit tender to the touch with hard pressure, but I didn't notice it on the run at all. I'll keep rolling it and hope the improvement continues. Did notice the ankle issue more today, however. I think I have isolated how to stretch that ligament, though, and that provides some relief. I don't have any real pain, just some noticeable discomfort. I just don't want that to turn into pain. Besides, I don't think that's the kind of pain that Sasha was talking about in his entry about the beauty of suffering.

Bonneville Golf Course loop.  No problems with the IT band today, even when I pushed it harder on the downhill.  Ankle is still bothering me, but who needs ankles for running?  I think my stretching is helping somewhat. It also feels like a biomechanics issue, as I can manipulate the discomfort while running through small changes in my gait.  

I'm planning to run 12 tomorrow and that should give me a good indication about where I'm at on both the IT and the ankle.   

Starting at 15th/15th, the first five miles of the run looped through Foothill and Sugarhouse neighborhoods, then nine miles out and back up to the fire station on 11th Ave.  I pushed the pace in a few spots. No IT band problems, ankle still an issue.