Knee Strategy

The National Half Marathon is in 50 days, and there is a good chance that I am at potential turning point this week. My schedule calls for a 10-mile LSD this weekend. I ran 9 last Saturday with no problems; afterward, I've had this "softness" in my right knee along the ITB. I've backed off a bit. I listened to my knee, but I am not sure what I am hearing. I don't feel pain so much as I feel the potential for pain. Am I being a wimp? Should I cool it, delay the 10-miler and use this time with 50 days to go to get everything in order? Should I cautiously move forward? What should I do?

As goofy as it sounds, I like this thought process. I am not going to get hurt--I have learned enough to listen well enough to back off. But this week could make a significant difference in my performance during the Half.

Here's my thinking now. My 3-miler went well this morning. The knee felt better as the run went on; it was almost normal during that 3rd mile, but it almost seemed to soften up again right at the end. I think I can explain that--I almost always speed up at the end of runs. So it must have been the speed. Well, let's figure that out... I just ran up to get the watch for the split times:

1. 2.28
2. 2.17
3. 2.13
4. 2.08
5. 2.16
6. 2.09
7. 2.09
8. 2.09
9. 2.10
10. 2.06
11. 2.06
12. 2.09
13. .45

TOTAL: 27:11

That's a pace of 9:03/M which is NOT SLOW ENOUGH!!!! How am I going to do this??? I was really trying to back off, too. I had these cross country kids on the track--I see them most mornings. They fly around doing fartleks and 800s; they stand in the 48F cold plunge for 10 minutes afterward. They ran with someone who might be their coach--a guy my age or younger who looks like a running machine. I have a blast watching these kids. When they were leaving the locker room, I heard the coach tell them about the schedule at 4PM (mind you, this was at 6:30 in the morning). "Six easy," he said. Wow.

So, one thing I can do is slow down. That first lap of 2:28 was a pace of 10:10/M. That's closer to what I should be doing long runs at. It's what I need to do for training purposes, and it's what I need to do to keep my knee from going south. Or is it? I've read that some people have fewer knee problems running fast. Who knows, man?

Well, if we put stock in Craig's Running Calculator, my training pace for long runs should be 10:20/M or slower! That is based on my fastest finishing time (5K-25:40). So here are some thoughts:

1. Baby this knee: compression, Ibuprofen, rest.
2. Play it by ear
3. Start the long run if you feel you can
4. Do some exercises for ITB
5. Check out non-running cardio in case you decide to bag the run
   
6. Perhaps you should attempt it on the track. It would be boring as hell, but you could monitor splits to keep your pace low. The padded track can't hurt.*
   

*Well, the padded track is one of the few new variables for the knee. You never know.

If you do run the 10-miler at the 10:10/M pace, it will take you 1:41, which is longer than you've ever run. You should really try to do this.

I can go either way on this. I think I am far enough out that I could deviate from the long run schedule and be okay. I also might be taking this too slow and being too cautious. Who know?

ITB Stretches & Exercises
Brian J. Boyle, PT, DPT, CSCS

1. Side Lunge
2. Single Leg Step Down
3. Wall Banger
4. Iliotibial Band Stretch (lying down)
5. Piriformis Stretch
6. Iliotibial Band Stretch (standing)