Running in the Rockies

10.15 mi in 10 min avg pace.

I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off in an attempt to let the knee rest and hopefully heal and decided to put the long run off until Monday. I ran 3 w/ the pup, also his first run in a couple weeks and his paw seemed to be okay- no limping anyways. We ran our usual 3 mile loop and I wore microspikes because the dirt road is packed snow and ice. The knee was feeling tight, but okay. I dropped the pup and the microspikes off at home and headed out for a 4.5 mile out and back.

The knee starting feeling worse around mile 5, sort of a dull ache on the outside and inner back section of the knee. I turned around at 7.5 and starting running back down and this is when things degraded pretty quickly. The right hip was feeling tight and the outside of my right ankle was starting to have a dull pain. By around mile 8, the upper section of the calf was feeling achy and when  I would mis-step due to ice, shooting pains would radiate around my knee cap. By mile 9.5ish it started to feel as if my lower leg was actually going to separate from my knee and my foot from my ankle- it was feeling very odd and somewhat scary because I felt like I had much less control of foot placement and I was having to dodge icy sections of the road. My upper right quad was also feeling very tight and almost numb. I finally gave in and started walking around mile 10, I walked for maybe 100 m and then tried to run again.. not possible. The knee was feeling very stiff now and lots of shooting pain. I decided to walk the steeper downhill section (downhill seemed to feel much worse than uphill), and then run the uphill section back to our house. But after walking for about a mile, the knee was not happy about running again and it really felt like my lower leg was going to separate at the knee. So frustrated and freezing at this point. The sun had dropped below the mountains and the temperature dropped very quickly. I only had on a very light weight underlayer and a long sleeved cotton shirt, tights, a hat, and gloves- but I was drenched in sweat from the run and walking the last two miles home in the wind and cold was less than ideal. When I got home I couldn't move my arms, hands, or fingers. I had to drive down to pick up the hubby from the bus stop and I took it very slowly since I was not really able to get my extremities to react quickly. Precarious to say the least.

Took a hot shower after we got back home- had to keep the hands and fingers out of the warm water for a long time because they felt like they were being burned.. not good. I stretched and iced the knee for a long time after dinner.

Really frustrated. How does this happen? I finished the marathon last month and had basically zero soreness afterwards. I go for a 4 mile run and an hour bike ride two weeks ago and the knee has not been the same since. There was no traumatic injury.. no seemingly overuse issue.. I'm just confused. And what's really discouraging is that I pretty much had the next 4-5 months to really focus on my running and fitness since my work load is somewhat reduced. Depressing.

Attempted to run. Hobbled 1/2 mile, outside of right knee down through the outside of ankle feeling very odd, similar to yesterday when it felt like the lower part of my leg would separate from the knee, and the foot separate from the ankle, but this time with more pain. At about 1/2 mile, I came down on the right foot and shooting pain went through my knee to ankle and I came to a sudden halt. It felt oddly similar to when I tore my MCL skiing a few years ago (same knee). I tried to stretch the leg and run again but the hobble was much more pronounced- so I turned around and walked back to work.

 Walking is okay- not great. Going down the stairs is pretty painful and going up isn't good either. I called my physical therapist, but she can't see me until Friday the 14th. I'm thinking about calling a knee specialist to get an opinion. I'm thinking it seems like IT band issues- but I'm not sure. 

 May try the bike or snow shoeing this evening.

Looks like I need to adjust my race schedule. First thing to go is the marathon in February. Incredibly disappointed.

PM: After considering the knee issue a bit more and realizing that the pain this time around was significantly worse than it was ~1.5 years ago when I was having some swelling and achiness post run (which was diagnosed as lateral plica syndrome + illiotibial band tightness), I decided to call the knee specialist I saw before. I figured it would be a couple weeks before he could see me, so maybe it would be prudent of me to go ahead and set something up.  In short, the great news was that he had an opening today at 4pm. The bad news is that he prescribed serious rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory meds for the next 7 days, then PT for an extended period of time and worst of all.. no running for 4-6 weeks. It was as I suspected, IT band issues/ tightness/ syndrome. He said I'm presenting classic the symptoms and just by moving the knee around and prodding various places around the knee that the IT band is incredibly tight and inflamed.

So, I'm incredibly bummed. But after sulking for a couple hours, I've determined to make the best of the next 4-6 weeks.. eat right, sleep well, and get strong. I forgot to ask about skiing (specifically telemark) and snow shoeing, but I can swim, bike as long as my right foot is free so as to not irritate the IT band, lift weights, and do copious amounts of yoga and pilates. I suspect at PT we'll be concentrating on old and new strengthening exercises and stretches and probably graston.. ouch.

I also realize that this is completely my fault. I slacked on the stretches and strengthening exercises the last 6 months or more. I am grateful that I was able to stay healthy through marathon training and even through and post-marathon. He suspects that when I attempted to work on my running form that I may have set off the chain of events and it's going to need some serious rest and rehabilitation to get it back into shape. If this doesn't work, he suggested we try a single steroid shot which may clear up the issue. He only does 1 shot though and if it doesn't work, the next option would be surgery. I'm not fond of either of those two options, so I'm going to work towards getting it healthy through rest, physical therapy, foam rolling (for 1/2 hour every day), and strengthening the quads, hips, glutes, and ankles. To stay in the habit of writing in this blog, I'll be writing about the road to recovery instead of the miles logged. Wish me luck.

A.M. Didn't make it out of bed before 5:50, will try for 5:30 tomorrow. After starting a fire in the stove, making coffee, and getting the pup and kitty fed, I got around to doing about 2 hours worth of stretching, foam rolling (ouch), and hamstring/glute strengthening exercises. I can tell that it's been awhile since I wasn't able to complete my full reps and I felt the burn. I walked the mile or so down to the bus stop and wow, it was windy! Almost 'stop you in your tracks' windy.. kind of fun actually. This evening I hope to get out for a short easy hike with the pup, bike for 1/2 hr or so, and do some upper body weights and core work. 

I've also decided to try and record my sleep and weight over the next 4-6 weeks in an attempt to keep myself honest. One reason I love running is that I get to eat a bit more than a normal person should, and I LOVE food. I don't think I over-eat any one particular thing or at any one sitting, but I love to cook and snack, and my night wouldn't be complete without at least a glass of wine or a dessert of some sort. We usually eat vegetarian and I'm gluten intolerant, so there is lots of rice and potatos, and squash right now (from our CSA- community supported agriculture). But my eating might be my downfall during this 'off' time, so I am going to weigh myself regularly and try to keep a log of the food I eat.  I know I could spare more than a few pounds already (I'm only 5'6.5") and that's even with a fairly regular running regimen.  Hopefully I can adjust my diet so I don't gain 10 pounds in the next month.

P.M. Too windy for snowshoeing, so I played fetch with the pup for a while. His paw seems to be almost heeled and he's not visibly limping anymore. Rode the bike for 1/2 hour, then lifted weights (bench, lat pull downs, dumbell curl, and tricep extensions). Foam rolled for only a few minutes on the IT band.. very sore from rolling this morning.

A.M. Slept in. All sorts of sore today from the stretching and strength exercises yesterday. Will try for a solid P.M. work out. 

P.M. Forgot my headlamp on the way out the door, so my hike with the pup was cut short. I think we only did about 2 miles. He loved every minute of it though, sprinting back and forth along our snow covered route. The light was amazing in the setting sun- wish I would have taken my camera. Had planned on some stretches and weights afterwards, but realized that it was getting on dinner time and the hubby would be home soon. He's done so much cooking in the past few days that I felt bad for being such a slacker. So, I opted to make dinner instead. Acorn squash and leek/onion/garlic/ olive oil pasta + parmesan cheese.. not bad for having no plan for dinner and 1/2 prep time. 

A.M. Tried to get some stretching and strength exercises in before leaving for work, but only got about 10 minutes in before I remembered that I had a doctor's appointment today to discuss the vaccinations I will need for our trip to Panama in april. Spent a solid hour looking for my medical records and vaccination booklet.. never found them. It occurred to me during this frantic searching that I really need to get organized at home. 

P.M. Got 3rd installment of Hep A/B booster in right arm and Yellow Fever in left + 1st oral vaccination for typhoid and anti-malarial drugs for the trip. Needless to say, I'm not feeling so hot and both arms ache.  

A.M. went up to the ski area before work today. Love being the only people in line for the chairlifts (lasted for almost the entire time we were there). Only did about 5 green runs on telemark. Definitely can tell that my right quad/knee is not as strong this year as it has been in previous years.. right turns were just ugly. Overall, pretty pleased with the effort and both knees felt okay after about an hour. 

Mid-A.M. worked from home today and interspersed working with stretching and strength exercises.

Mid-P.M. took the pup for our usual trail run loop, except I hiked instead of ran. Most of the snow was packed down from our snowshoe yesterday, but some sections were unbroken (past where we snowshoed yesterday). Unfortunately I only wore the mico-spikes- so I was post-holing a bit. The knee started to hurt on our way home.. might have overdone it a bit today. Lots of ice, ibuprofen, and stretching tonight.

A.M. worked early

P.M. bike 1/2 hr, weights- bench, lat pull downs, bicep curls, overhead press. Stretched for 1/2 hour, foam rolled for 5 mins, and worked quads, hips, and glutes. All done while hubby made an excellent gluten free, vegetarian lasagna.. yum!

A.M. stretched and worked hamstrings, hips, glutes, and core. Plus plank and side plank 30 sec x3. Hiked with the pup for about 2 miles. The wind had covered the trail with drifts of snow pretty successfully, which meant I was breaking trail most of the way. I have no idea why I didn't think to use x-country skis or snowshoes..ah-well.

A.M. Chopped the rest of our wood for about 2.5 hours. 

P.M. Snowshoeing with friends. They showed me a new trail new our house that I am excited to run once I can run again. Probably hiked about 3 miles.

Later P.M. Ice skating! I haven't ice skated since I was in high school and wow, have I missed it. I was a little shaky starting out, but felt better and better as the night went on. I do not even know how I was doing turns and such, I guess it is just muscle memory. Crazy how that works. I think we skated for about two hours.. such a blast and definitely want to go back soon.

A.M. Went into work early and then to mid-morning physical therapy. Lots of deep tissue massage again and I'm still sore from the massage on Friday. I also brought in all my running shoes for her to watch me run in. The best so far are my neutral-cushioned shoes (the Cumulus) with a red sole insert. She said I should retire the motion-control Kayanos because they aren't right for my feet and normal pronation. My right arch falls very slightly and causes a bit of overpronantion for the right ankle, but it apparently is very difficult to discern. She said I could keep using the GT-2150's for short runs only if I swap out the insert for the red soles (solftec response custom footbed). She also thinks maybe only two more weeks fully off of running! Yippee!

 P.M. Cross-country skied the usual 3.5 mile hiking route. The snow was crap and I should have worn snowshoes. Varied snowpack and sticky snow with well developed ice layers in lots of places. Because it's been so windy (and was during the ski as well), there were patches of exposed dirt and rock.. not fun trying to turn away from those sections on narrow downhills. It was so windy in fact that our out trail was almost completely covered by the time we turned around and headed back. Quick upper body weight lifting session when I got home.

A.M. Managed to get up at 5:20.. making progress. Stretched and did quad, hip, and glut strength exercises for 2 hours. Hiked with the pup ~2 miles in microspikes. Should have worn snow shoes.. why don't I learn? Maybe I like post-holing? Tomorrow I am wearing snowshoes!

A.M. Graston at physical therapy. Ouch. That is all I have to say.

P.M. Lots of ouch and major bruising. I don't remember it being this bad the last time I had graston done.  Went snowshoeing with the pup, we did the usual 3.5 mile loop. I have found that my snow shoes aren't great in the really deep stuff. I went with a 'running' pair, but have yet to actually run in them. May have to consider a larger backcountry pair if I ever use them in the backcountry with a pack.

A.M. Slept in an went tele-skiing this morning. It was bitterly cold, but the snow was nice. It took me awhile to get the knee/quad loosened up from the graston scrapping yesterday. The turns weren't pretty and I was very cautious not to fall. Falling on that hip/knee would have ended my day real quick. Will try for some stretches and strength exercises this evening. 

A.M. worked early

Afternoon: Finally made it to the gym. I have been a member now for almost 2 weeks and this is my first time going. That is terrible. I don't necessarily think it was laziness, but anxiety about doing something new. I'm sort of weird like that. Routines are comfortable for me. So hopefully, this was the big hurdle for me to get over in order to go every day (or every other day). Stationary bike for 35 mins on interval setting- which felt kind of easy, so perhaps next time I will just ride a 'manual setting'. Did some upper body weights, lunges and quad/hip stretches:

bench press: bar x 12, 3 reps

alternate front raise, 10 lbs x 12, 3 reps

lateral raise, 10 lbs x 12, 3 reps

bent-over lateral raise, 10 lbs x 12, 3 reps

one arm dumbell raise, 10 lbs x 15, 3 reps

two arm tricep extension, 15 lbs x 12, 3 reps

stationary lunges: 20 x 3 reps

quad stretch: 60 sec x 3 reps

hip stretch: 60 sec x 3 reps

P.M. Date night and we are off to the symphony. Dvorak's New World.. very excited!

Yikes! It's been a whole week since I've entered anything here. I've been a blog slacker. I've also been a bit of a exercise slacker due to the insane work schedule last week. I did manage a few yoga classes, weight days, and hikes with the pup, so last week wasn't all for not. Anyways- hopefully will be better about blogging this week.

 A.M. 2 miles in super slow pace! Went to the gym early, unfortunately I chose a morning that saw all of Boulder covered in a thick layer of ice. Everything was super slick- I am surprised the bus didn't have more trouble. I was cleared to try running today though, so no little layer of ice was going to stop me! I put on the micro-spikes and went out to the Boulder Creek Trail for a short and easy 2 miles. I tried to stay on the grass for the most part and the knee was feeling stiff for the first ~10 minutes, but started to loosen up thereafter. However, the left ankle is not feeling so great. Sharp pains near the base of my achilles and heel. I think I over-extended in one of the yoga classes last week.. awesome. Did some upper body weights and lots of stretching afterwards.

 P.M. Very cold. I waited for at least an hour for the bus to go home today. My feet were little frozen icicles. Wanted to get out for a hike, but may just ride the bike this evening.