dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

 I ran 10 miles on the Pittman Wash this morning.  I kept the pace easy for the entire run, until during the last mile a city worker passed me driving a tractor and I couldn't resist, so I sped up and ran alongside the tractor for a little over a half mile.  I finished the run in 1:13:0x.

I ran to school this morning.  I ran 6 x 10s sprints mixed throughout the run.  I finished 8.6 miles in about 1:01.

PM:  I ran home in 1:03:33.  I kept the pace easy.

I ran to school this morning and ran 2 x 1 mile in 5:07, 5:10-13 (missed the beginning split on the second one).  The first mile had very little wind (some cross-wind but didn't effect me much), while the second mile had some headwind which slowed me down.  Overall I felt much more smooth on the second repeat then the first, despite the wind.  As I got near school I also ran a half mile in 2:30.  I felt much less smooth during the half mile, but I started feeling better near the end of it.  Total time for the run was 1:00:26 (I think).

PM:  I ran home in the evening.  I ran another mile repeat near the end of the run with a time of 5:02.  There was a slight downhill during this mile.  I made it home in 1:01:41.

I felt tired this morning.  I ran to school in a time of 1:05:05.  At times the run felt easy and relaxed, but at other times my legs felt like dead weights.

PM:  I felt better this evening than I did in the morning.  Kimia was at the library so she picked me up after about 5 miles. 

I felt fine when I went to bed last night, but when I woke up this morning I could barely walk.  My right knee hurts, and there is point sensitivity on the medial condyle of the tibia.  Pain is also evident medially when the knee is non weight bearing and I flex the knee. The pain is worse when I rotate the knee externally as I walk, but it is not as bad when I rotate the knee internally.  

Later in the afternoon the knee was feeling better so I decided to test it out.  I ran about 2 miles (1 mile barefoot and 1 mile in sandals) just to test the knee out.  I didn't wear running shoes because I didn't want to mask any problems (or make them worse) by wearing shoes that may cause (or inhibit) rotation at the knee joint.  There was zero pain while I was running, but once I was finished my knee flared up on me within a few minutes of stopping.  

I'm not sure what to think of it.  The only stress I have noticed on the knee is one bad step I took during the second mile repeat I ran on the way to school on Wednesday as I felt a slight twinge in the knee as I made ground contact during a slight turn near then end of the mile.  However, I felt no pain as I finished that run, or on the way home that afternoon, or during either run on Thursday.  It seems so strange that I would just wake up to find myself injured.  It is frustrating.

On a more positive side I have had very minor knee issues in the past, and they always seem to clear up within a day or two mostly on their own.  Hopefully this will be similar. 

No running today because of the knee issue.  I looked more into what the problem might be, and my best guess so far is Pes Anserine Tendinopathy.  Probably due to what happened on Wednesday, and the running on subsequent days simply led to inflammation and pain at the joint line/medial tibial condyle.