Kerry's Running Blog

Ran indoors at the AFFC. For some reason my left ankle was quite sore. My stride wasn't as smooth and I even stumbled a couple of times. It felt a little better when I sped up towards the end.

A pleasant afternoon with Paul and Kevin (except for an extended bout of cramping and gas during the middle part of the run). The sun was out, but the temperature was in the low 30's. Most of the run was fairly comfortable, but there were a few moments when I seemed overdressed (going uphill) and other times when it was a little chilly.

I ended up taking yesterday off because of a sore hip. I didn't feel any pain after Saturday's run, but when I got up Sunday morning my right hip was so sore I could barely lift my leg. The soreness and pain persisted throughout the day and forced me to sleep on my back Sunday night. On Monday morning it felt better (at least I could walk without pain), but I thought I'd wait to see how it felt walking around and sitting before trying to go for a run. When I got home from work I decided that it'd be better to rest it than try to push it. I couldn't sleep on my side during the night, but I decided to go for a run this morning. It didn't hurt at any point during the run, but I had to shorten my stride a bit as I had trouble lifting my leg as high as normal. All in all, I don't think it's going to be much of an issue. It seems to be more like the stiff neck you get from sleeping at a weird angle. I need to make sure that I'm ready for an 18 miler on Saturday.

A beautiful, clear morning for a run. I was a little worried since yesterday weather forecast said the air was unhealthy. The haze from yesterday was gone and the moon and stars looked bright. Temperatures were in the low 30's.

My right hip flexor was sore most of yesterday, but when I woke up this morning I didn't feel any pain at all. I didn't want to push it too hard today to make sure everything was all right. I think at this point, I'm pretty much back on track. I'll try to go a little longer tomorrow and Friday and then do 18 or more on Saturday.

Great morning for a run. As I headed out, the moon was coming through the clouds after an overnight rain. It was still a little humid, but the temperature was about perfect (I realized a couple miles into the run that I was a bit overdressed). My hip flexor bothered me a bit starting out and my right knee stiffened up a bit the last couple of miles, but over all I felt pretty good.

Beautiful clear morning. A little cooler than yesterday due to the mostly clear skies. Saw lots of people out this morning -- what a difference a day makes. Started out the usual soreness in my lower abdomen. It eased up after a third of a mile or so. I forgot my reflective vest this morning, but a couple of women with vests were just ahead of me on the only dark exposed stretch. I think I kind of freaked them out a little as I started to close on them with my headlamp. I caught them at the turn signal by the HS, said hello and turned left. When it's dark like that, there can be lots of things that freak you out. As I was running around the pond I noticed a lot of lights just north of the pavilion, so I stopped to investigate. I was surprised to see a house with all it's outside lights on. I didn't realize that they'd built a house in what I thought was part of the park. As I started up again I noticed a soreness on the top and inside of my right knee. It bothered me off and on again during the remainder of the run. I put some ice on for forty-five minutes or so, but it's still a little stiff and sore. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about tomorrow's planned 18 miler.

I skipped Saturday's long run because of lingering soreness in my right knee. Even though I really need to get the mileage in, I know from past experience that pushing through that kind of pain results in long-term damage. This morning's run went fairly well. It was dark with a clear starry sky and a crescent moon. When I left the house around 6:00 a.m., temperatures were in the low 30's. I didn't notice any pain or stiffness for the first four miles, but then I felt a little stiffness creeping in. It wouldn't have even been worth mentioning on another day, but I iced it and took some Motrin when I got home just to make sure that it didn't get inflammed. This is a critical time for me. I need to put in a lot of mileage, but I can't afford to make things worse. I've had to walk/limp the last five or so miles of a marathon before and it's definitely not something I want to repeat. Since I'm fairly sure I could do the distance right now (at a slower pace), I'll probably take a day off if I notice any significant soreness.

A little warmer this morning. Temperatures were in the high 30's or low 40's. A crescent moon was out, but it was too low in the sky to provide much light. Over all I felt pretty good this morning and pushed it a little harder. My right knee started to stiffen up after about two miles, ached a little off and on between two and four and was more constant from four to the end. I'll probably put in my daily miles if it doesn't get much worse. The 20 miler on Saturday is another matter.

Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday. I think I got a little farther into the run before my knee started to stiffen up, but it was probably just as sore (if not a little more) in the last mile. At least it doesn't seem to be getting any worse. It's most sore late in the morning after I've been sitting at my desk for a while. At bedtime there's little, if any, soreness.

Not much change from yesterday. The knee starts stiffening after about two and a half miles and is fairly sore from four on.

Stiffness in my knee didn't start until I had passed the three mile mark, but I think it was just as sore towards the end. It's pretty clear that I'm not going to be able to get in 20 tomorrow, but I should at least be able to get in five or more with some cross-training. I didn't ice my knee this morning on the way to work and didn't take any Motrin either. If anything, my knee was slightly less stiff when I got out of the car. As near as I can tell, the pain results from quadriceps tendonitis. It could be cartilage damage under the patella, but the fact that it disappears overnight and takes a while to reappear would suggest microtears in the tendon instead of more permanent damage.

Ran in the afternoon with Laureen and Amelia part of the way. While they headed straight west on Cedar Hills Drive, I ran along the creek and met up with them just west of the pond in Highland Glen Park. I took it fairly easy for the most part and think that my knee seems to be showing signs of improvement. It was a little stiff at the end, but not sore. I elevated it for a half hour or so and didn't notice any signs of soreness until later that night when I got up from sitting for a while. I think I'll rest it Monday and Tuesday and see if I can't get it healed up for a long run (hopefully a 20 miler) on Saturday.

Took it easy this morning to test our my knee and see if it was fully recovered. Ran on the treadmill as a storm front was passing through with wind and rain. About three miles into the run my left ankle got a little sore, but I didn't notice any pain or stiffness in my right knee at all. After walking around and driving into work it's still feeling OK, but every once in a while I seem to detect a bit of stiffness (it might just be my overactive imagination). It might be too early to say that it's completely healed, but it's at least encouraging at this point. I'll try five or so for the next two days and then see about a 20 miler on Saturday. Even now, I think I'll break the long run up. Ten miles early with ice and rest and then another ten miles in the early afternoon.

Another easy five on the treadmill. Pushed it a little harder today and still no pain in my knee. I'll have to watch it this morning to see if it stiffens up at all. So far it's encouraging, but Saturday will be the real test.

Highland Glen loop this morning. It's starting to get light now about two and a half miles into the run. Kind of cool starting out, but it felt great after a few miles. Wore a knee brace just to see if it helped and if I could stand wearing it on a longer run. It wasn't too bad and it did seem to help. I'll probably wear it tomorrow for the first ten miles, just to make sure I can get through it without any soreness.

Ran ten miles with Greg at average 8:06 pace (American Fork/Kohler's loop). Felt pretty good, but my knee was stiffening up a bit by the end. Iced it and elevated it when I got home and it seemed like it was in pretty good shape. Ran errands, mowed the lawn and did chores around the house until five. Went for a three mile run with the idea of coming back home and running an additional seven with Laureen. The first mile was hard as my hip flexors and knee were sore. It started easing up a bit in the second mile, but experiencing a lot of lower bowel distress before hitting the three mile mark. Had to stop a couple of times before I got home because of cramping. Went out with Laureen and made it about a mile and half before the bowel problems returned. As my knee was pretty sore by that point I decided to just head back home. Iced and elevated it when I got back, but it was still pretty sore Sunday morning and the pain persisted through the afternoon. Sore again Monday morning, but seemed to gradually be getting better.

No pain in my knee this morning, but decided to rest it. I think between now and the marathon I'll try to focus on shorter, more intense workouts with weights and cross-training and back off if I notice any stiffening. I'm hoping that the knee will be healed up a bit before Boston, but the last five or six miles might be ugly.

Worked on weights and strength training and then ran a mile on the treadmill just to see how the knee was feeling. My ankles were a little sore for some reason, but my knee felt fine. I'll have to try going a little farther tomorrow.

Worked out with weights and ran a couple of miles on the treadmill. I'm interested to see how things go tomorrow. I'm really trying to give my knee time to heal while trying to maintain some level of fitness.

Nice run up Provo Canyon to Vivian Park with Paul, Tom and Greg. A little breezy at the bottom with temperatures around the mid-30's. Because of continuing knee soreness, I rode my bike to the Trefoil Ranch and then back down to the bottom of the canyon. Since temperatures at the top were in the mid-20's and I'd been sweating lightly, I nearly froze to death on the way down. It's been a long time since I was that cold. Paul and Tom look like they're in great shape for Boston. It's going to be interesting to see if my knee will just numb up as we go along or whether it'll be bad enough that I have to drop out. I'm going to just try to keep my runs short between now and then and cross-train as much as possible.