Down On My Knees
By Valarie
After all the years of making up excuses to avoid exercising, karma has bitten me on the ass…or actually, slammed me with a hammer in the kneecaps.
I was love, love, loving my half marathon training. Even running in the extreme heat we’ve had this summer, I was doing it and not feeling like I had to fight with myself to do it. My 19 year old daughter signed on to do the training and the half itself as well, adding a whole other dimension of awesome to the process. This is an extremely doable program…even when we get to race day, we’ll be walking 3 minutes and walking 2 throughout the 13 miles.
A week ago today, we had our longest run yet, 5 miles. It was a really, really hot day, and I was nervous about that, but we suited up and headed out to do it (which for me is 90% of the battle). The route we chose was more hilly than we realized, and after our first couple of “sets” (4 minutes walking/1 minute running), I was getting a little nervous about whether I could finish. But, after a little longer I hit my stride and new I could do it and started really having fun. We were running on sloped roadways, and for a little while my shins were screaming, but once I switched to the other side of the road and stretched it a little, the pain subsided and I felt like I could conquer the world. Running with a great friend and my amazing daughter through really gorgeous countryside…it was heaven.
Two days later, my daughter and I got up early and headed down to a riverfront path to do our next run, 32 minutes with 3/1 intervals. My knees were a little sore, but nothing more than I expected after the long hilly run. Again, another awesome experience.
I went to a good running shoe store on Monday (before the pain was really bad) to try and get new shoes, see if that was the problem. The guy there gave me some shoes to try and told me to run outside a little to try them out. I was able to run three steps and had to stop, the pain was so bad. I didn’t get new shoes, because I couldn’t really get a feel for them with my knees screaming.
Since then, over the past week, every day my knees hurt more, to the point that negotiating the stairs is a problem and I can’t really function without round the clock doses of ibuprofen. If I forget to walk carefully and turn my knee at all, screaming pain. Running has not been an option.
I have an appointment with an orthopedist today, and I’m excited to hopefully get some answers and relief, but I just can’t figure out what the hell is going on. I don’t understand why the pain is still getting progressively worse, almost a week since my last run. Both knees are pretty equally painful, which makes me think I didn’t tear something or anything like that (I would expect that to be one knee or the other). I know that with where my weight is (180 lbs), some pain in my knees and hips and ankles is inevitable, but not this much. I asked the guy at the running store if I should even be running at this weight…he said that with the program we are doing, really easing into it, I should be fine, as long as I get really good shoes and stay off hills. If the doctor today tells me I need to lose 30 pounds before I can start running, I am going to cry.
The worst thing is that I want to get back to running. I was loving this program so much, and I have been so motivated by the goal of the half marathon in October. Any thoughts or advice any of you have would be so appreciated.
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:04 am
Well, that just sucks. Interested to see what the orthopedist says (other than, hopefully, “here are some trillion-dollar orthotics!”). Injuries suck a whole lot, but try not to get too discouraged — you may just be experiencing some inflammation, which hurts like hell but should get better. If your surrounding leg muscles aren’t used to running, your knees will feel it, especially when you’re going *down* hills. Hot weather can trigger more inflammation, too; I definitely noticed more pain after running on a warm day.
Ice your knees, rest them, and start doing some strength and stretch exercises when you feel better. There are some good links in this article: http://www.bodiesinmotivation.com/2009/08/knee-pain-and-30-day-shred/
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
I’m really sorry, I know how frustrating it is to get an injury right when you feel like you’re making progress. Here’s the thing, though. Running? Is advanced exercise. You may have to back up a bit and start slower, or you may want to try weight lifting to build up your lower body muscles so your knees have more support. Either way, you WILL get there, it just may take a bit longer than you thought.
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 am
Hope you get good news, but maybe there are some lower impact workouts you can do – eliptical machine, perhaps? Good luck!
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:55 am
Sorry to hear of your pain! I can offer you two options and two pieces of advice: adjust your landing/stride and sometimes the equipment is the problem. I had knee/ankle/foot problems too, but found that when I started barefooting they began to ease.
Now I may sound like a hippy, but I hate shoes. Research over the past decade have shown they do more harm than good in many cases. I think we have become over-reliant on the padding and the structure, forcing our feet (which were naturally able to run and function perfectly) so we are now modern apes with ankles that pronate, arches that fall, flat feet and hammer toes. Our feet got weaker and the issues work all up the ladder of our skeletal system.
You can find me walking and doing a lot of normal out-of-the-house errands barefoot, and when I must wear shoes, I wear minimal footwear (I love my 5 pairs of Vibram Five Fingers). It takes some getting used to, but in the 5 years I have lived a barefoot lifestyle, my feet have gotten stronger and I have no knee pain. When I jog, I land my 257lb frame lightly on my forefoot, well, as lightly as I can. It allows your feet to pick up some of the shock and disperse it, instead of rattling it up your shins and into your knees.
So, try changing your stride to a forefoot strike, maybe try minimalist shoes (VFF or Nike Free). Both can save you from being a slave to pricey orthopedics and endless pairs of shoes, or even more pricey surgery!
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:22 pm
If the orthopedist does recommend some custom orthotics (although I think that recommendation comes more often from sports podiatrists than orthopedists) keep in mind that there are also OTC orthotics ($80 instead of $700!) that can work just as well. I went with the OTC orthotics for a problem I had when training for a half, thinking I could always graduate to the $700 solution if it didn’t work out, and they worked like a charm. Keep in mind I’m talking about the good orthotics, not ones you buy from the pharmacy.
August 2nd, 2010 at 1:06 pm
You might have patellofemoral pain syndrome (“runner’s knee”). Here is a good article: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285–7773-0,00.html
August 2nd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I have been struggling with some pain that has kept me from running and playing soccer periodically. It is very frustrating, but I have had some great help and advice from Physical Therapy. They checked out my shoes, they gave me exercises, and then they rediagnosed when one promblem was fixed and the underlying cause then finally appeared. Still working on being closer to 100% but it is very encouraging to find that they could help. Pain can be so frustrating. Good luck! Let us know what the doctor has to say!
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:39 pm
One of the recommendations I frequently heard when I worked with a lot marathoners was finding similar exercises to keep up your cardio while allowing your knees to rest – the elliptical or water running if you have access to a pool. Good luck! I know how frustrating it is to be sidelined by an injury.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:32 am
I usually get bored easily and close the tab but i honestly enjoyed what i read. Cheers !
May 5th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Great summary, saved the website for interest to read more!