Yesterday I tried .25 mile at a slow jog to test things out. The IT band was immediately unhappy. I think I had better take a rest week and start over.
Back from a much needed vacation in Cabo San Lucas. Fue muy diverdito y no quise regresar. I spent 0 minutes running all week! The IT band over the left knee was unhappy for much of the week, but things improved a bit by the end. Hopefully, I can get some pain-free running in this week.
Ran 1 mile testing different speeds to see if pain/tightness decreases. The first half mile was pain free. The second half was a mix of 8:30 to 6:30 pace. I didn't notice any significant difference in pain/tightness at those speeds.
Spent 30 mins doing exercizes and rolling out the IT band afterward. Very sore during and afterward.
My son woke up at 3am in a coughing fit so I went and got the cough medicine. In my half-sleep I didn't even pay attention to dosage and just filled up the little cup thing. It turns out that I gave him 4+ times the normal dosage (it had codine in it). Hmm, I thought he would sleep it off for a few days but I called poison control to make sure he would be ok. They weren't too happy with me. They ordered me to the ER so he could be monitored. So I spent the morning cuddled with him on the ER bed watching a movie with him. It turns out that instead of getting really sleepy he got all wired and wide awake and chatty. 2.5 hours later I got him back into his own bed. I am now banned from drug dispensing.
By the time I got home, it was time to wake up so a quick 1 mile run and the usual exercises and stretches and then into work. The IT band felt better today than yesterday, but it was done at 1 mile.
Today I still felt ok after a mile so I decided to push my luck. I made it to 1.25 before it started to hurt again. I went home and called it a day at 1.5. So I will call it a long run.
PM: Leg felt good during my quick jog to the mailbox. Since I didn't have shoes on, I thought I would try Aaron's advice and go minimalist. I strapped on a pair of my most minamalish shoes (the Fastwitch) and did my usual mile. I focused on running on my toes with my heels barely tapping the ground. Everything felt fine and I enjoyed my jaunt. Things started to tighten up at a mile so I called it good before it started to hurt. Is this progress maybe?
AM: No progress yet really. Knee was tight and sore by the end of this run. Once I start walking things are fine again. Did my usual post-run exercises and quadroller stuff.
PM: I counted my steps per minute today and it hovered right around 190-200. It was about the same between 7 min and 8 min pace. I counted about 5 times for 30 seconds each.
AM: 1.5. I ran .75 then walked for .5 then ran .75 again. Leg felt good for 1.25. Going crazy.
PM: 1.5 again. This time is was a pretty brisk sub 7 pace. Leg didn't twinge until the last .25 and even then it didn't ever hurt.
*** Weekly summary 14.5 miles of short runs. No real progress this week until the sat afternoon run. I feel a breakthrough coming. I predict a whole 5K sometime in April.
AM: 1.5 - Its not so much sore as super tight. I am stopping before it starts to hurt. When it tightens, it REALLY tightens up. Not sure why/how/and how to stop it.
PM: 1.5 on the TM to test out my IT band strap I dug out of storage. I forgot I had it. It is supposed to support it so it doesn't act so violently across the knee. I am not sure it helped. I need more test data.
I decided to hit the trails for a whopping 2 miler. I ran on Deer Fence out and back from Providence Canyon. It was worth the 20 mins of driving to run for 18 mins. I did decide to walk on the trail for another mile after the run just to make it more worth it. My mental state thanks me. I wore my IT strap but it was still very tight after 2 miles. - 250' Vert for the running
AM: Drove up to Providence Canyon again and this time went south 1 mile then back. The leg was still ok, so I went another .5 mile before calling it quits. It was a great morning to be on the trails. 315' Vert
PM: Quick 2 miles after work. I think I should have only gone 1.5 as the leg was pretty inflamed by the end.
