View Benchmark with Craig and MVH:
I have been dealing with knee pain since running the Buffalo 100 back in March. I'm pretty sure it was ITB related and the pain was only there when I would run hills and typically got much worse going downhill. I have been holding back with my training for several weeks now trying to baby this thing, while at the same time rolling, massaging and stretching the ITB daily. Today was my first run with a hill in two weeks and it could not have been any better.
I met the fellas in Draper for a new route up to View Benchmark. We took a trail that starts in a neighborhood that is lower than where we normally start and it added in over two miles and 500 feet of vert. The new trail (I can't remember the name) eventually connects to Ann's trail above Vintage View where we normally start and I really enjoyed this new section. The other guys had a bit more pep in their step, but overall I was happy with how I felt moving up the hills. They hit the top a few minutes before me and we enjoyed a killer view on a nice morning up there.
I was very worried about the descent, so I took it easy on all of the steep stuff and luckily my knee held up and felt great the whole way. The guys had to wait for me to catch up every mile or so because they were blasting those hills. Back down on Ann's I picked up the pace a lot, but I was still lagging a bit behind the other guys. I think I was running about a 7:30 pace, but MVH was pushing it out there, but I wasn't going to push any harder today. I was ecstatic that the knee held up, and I completed the run with zero pain and no soreness afterward and I'm now getting a bit more optimistic about the Bryce 100 at the end of the month. | 