Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Oops. I waited too long, and the Wahsatch Steeplechase is full. Obviously, it's my fault, but I'm still disappointed. I guess I'll just have to go for a very long run on Saturday.

I got up at 5:00 so I could climb Black Mountain before work. I'm hoping to become much more familiar with the route over the next six weeks, but right now I hate it. It's a beast, and I freaking HATE that last mile before the crags. But it is a good way to get some serious vertical right in my back yard.

Anyways, I was slow this morning. I was taking it easy today (as easy as you can take it on that trail), and I wish that explained my time. But the fact is I felt slow and clumsy. Not exhausted or even particularly fatigued--there just wasn't much in the tank. Today I walked several steep sections after leaving the BST and beginning the 5K to the summit (which I "ran" in 46:02, by the way). On Friday I ran most of them, so I know I can go faster.

I'm glad I could start my week with a run like this. Right now my body is rebelling against the steep hills I've been adding to my routine. But I'm the boss, and I say it will adapt, whether it likes it or not.

2:26:55

AM: Easy run at Liberty Park to let my legs recover from the last few runs. To and from, plus three laps on the cinder track for a total of 7.6 miles.

59:55

PM: Another easy run, this time up through Memory Grove and back down through the Avenues for a total of 3.5 miles.

27:49

I ran again later in the evening with Catherine, this time doing a slightly extended version of the Memory Grove loop for a total of 4 miles.

34:56

AM: I went out for a steady run on my Beck Street loop, finishing with 8 miles. Last time I ran the route it started snowing on me as I came past the capitol and I had to cut the run short. Today, there was a stiff headwind on the rise up to the capitol, but other than that the weather was great. Unfortunately, my knee has been giving me a little trouble since last night, but I'm hoping that will clear up soon. 

1:01:24

PM: Cemetery Loop with Catherine for 3 more miles.

27:55

Early run on the BST, from Dry Whatever all the way down to Ensign Peak. The climbs are actually starting to feel pretty mellow, which tells me my trips up Black Mountain are paying off. I had to get to work after, so I cut the return on the road short, coming straight down Capitol Hill instead of running down Bonneville Boulevard and out through Memory Grove. Still, it's a fairly long run, especially for a weekday morning, and it serves up some decent vertical. 

1:58:54

Easy 2 miles on the track with Catherine. 

18:53

My right knee hurts. It started Wednesday evening, and it was bad enough by Thursday that I wondered if I should run. I headed out in the morning to see how it felt, and it felt fine to run on, so I did nearly 15 miles on the trail without pain (although it did hurt for a couple of minutes at the start and after I stopped for a couple of minutes in the middle). After that run, however, it got worse.

Today my knee hurt quite a lot, whether I was walking or sitting, and it was very bad when I tried to jog on the track, although it felt a little better after the run. It feels partly like I bashed my knee into something and bruised my kneecap, and partly like I have a sore tendon stretched over my kneecap that hurts every time I bend it. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I took it easy today and I'll take it easy tomorrow and as long as it takes for the pain to clear up. If it doesn't feel like things are improving by Monday, I'll try to schedule and appointment with the old sawbones.

And things were going so nicely. 

Because of my knee, I actually ended up being glad I missed the Steeplechase. Maybe next year.

Instead of racing, this morning I went down to Pleasant Grove to watch Catherine race. Her race went very well--Catherine won her age group and took second overall while knocking more than two minutes off her 5K PR, and I had a lot of fun being there.

My knee was still tender, and although I haven't yet decided to stop running on it, I have decided to avoid any kind of uneven terrain until it feels better. For now, that means lots of miles on the track. After the race, I went over to Orem High for a run of my own, and ended up putting in ten miles on the track. That's a lot of circles.

My knee felt tender at first so I started off slowly, but I kept feeling better as I ran and I ended up settling into a low-7s pace, throwing in some faster efforts in the last three miles. By the end my knee ached more than it hurt, and after the run (and for the rest of the afternoon) it felt much, much better than it did yesterday.

I'm not sure what to make of that, but it seems as though the running isn't making things worse. As usual, tomorrow will be completely off, and I plan to keep things on the track for most of next week, although I may try to get some hill work in by running repeats up Ensign Peak and walking down (it seems like downhills may be what hurt my knee the most). I hope to be ready for the Gruesome Grizzly 8K next weekend. I've never run a short trail race, and I'm hoping it will be lots of fun.

1:11:53