SLOW DOWN!

"Good things come slow - especially in distance running." --Bill Dellinger, Oregon coach

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down." --Lilly Tomlin

I am waiting for it to get above 10 degrees. I keep going back and forth on this knee thing. Gonna head out there and try it when Kath and Julia get back from ballet. I'm going to try the 10-miler LSD in loops: 2-3-3-2. This gives me 3 chances to bail if the knee is bad. I will also need to re-fill my H2O bottle.

3PM

Well, I'm back, and I think I may have pulled it off. Here are the splits (no even mile markers, so I timed the loops which are fairly accurate):

• 2 mi @ 19.07 [9:33/M]
  
• 3 mi @ 30.11 [10:03/M]
  
• 4.21 [H2o refill/toilet]
  
• 3 mi @ 29.15 [9:45/M]
  
• 2 mi @ 18.32 [9:16/M]
  

Factor out the pit stop, and my pace was 9:45/M which is a significant improvement in slowing down. Still, I need to be at that pace I had during miles 3, 4, & 5. I paid close attention to the knee, and here are some reflection:

• My legs were tight during the first two miles, and that right kneed kind of complained. I thought about bagging it after 2 miles. Then I tried to slow down even more.
• Things calmed down during the second loop--I think I really did a good job going slow during this part of the run. I did the King's Pointe loop, so it was nice to get out of the neighborhood. I also stopped to cross the intersection at Perry Rd., and I think that stop maybe helped a bit. I should stop or walk short segments if I want to on these long runs.
• During the third loop (miles 6, 7, & 8) I felt the need to stand up much straighter--this really helped things. I felt that the speed and knee discomfort was "teaching me something" about form--stand up straighter, open your stride behind you.
• At one point, I got a little knot or soreness in the back of my right leg: slightly above the knee and in the back, almost like a charley horse. It never felt painful--just a little knotted up. It went away.
• I wore that Ace bandage thing on my right knee; not sure how much support it gives, but it might keep that ITB from sloshing around too much. Again, it's not PAIN I am feeling; I call it softness or discomfort. It's a feeling that something's not right, so that's why I am paying attention to it.
  

After the run, I drove to the gym and did my hot tub/cold plunge water circuit. Fantastic! I was able to stay in the cold plunge for 10 min! I went in twice more: once for 2 minutes, and another time for 1 minute. Right now I feel good.

Reflection on the loops: My loop system here in the neighborhood actually works. 100 minutes of running, and I didn't get bored. Only one repeat, and I used that as bookends. The loops actually break things up; psychologically, it makes the thing seem more doable. I liked it.

Follow Up

I think I should make a point of recording how the knee feels over the next 36-48 hours. Record your times here for future reference.

• 5HRS: I feel great; I expected to be really hurting now. Almost nothing. Slight tenderness in the R knee, and a little in the front below the kneecap (new). But almost nothing.
• 18HRS: Still feels really good. A little "tight" and a tinge of that "soft/sore" feeling from before. Nothing severe, shooting, or intense. It's been 10 hours since any Ibuprofen, and I just took some. I think it's going to be okay--it's not any more sore than other parts of me (my back, for example) which I know are not hurt.
• 24HRS: Still fine--just a bit tender. I went to the track and bagged it after a lap; it felt a little odd, and I thought "this is stupid." My guess is that nothing good was going to happen with my knee during that run. I went and did 6 minutes in the cold plunge and babied it in the sauna and hot tub. I'll take a couple of days off.
• 33HRS: I am about to head off to bed the day after the 10-miler. This morning's lap on the track wasn't fun, but I have not had any pain to speak of today. I can tell there is something with my knee on a rare occasion--when I move it in an odd way or something. It will be interesting to see what happens during my next run. I don't think I'll run until Tuesday or maybe Wednesday to see what happens. Well, it should be Tues.
  

I love that cold plunge--my legs feel great. I have this sinking feeling that the knee is going to be sore later, but we'll see. Right now I am really glad I did the 10 miles. Article about cold plunge or ice bath.

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)