Knee update: OR "The great shoe debacle"

After attempting to run on Saturday and continuing to experience the same pain-weirdness in my left knee, I don't mind telling you that I was discouraged and fearful that something had really gone wrong. I had all kinds of worst case scenarios going around in my head.

Runner's knee?
IT Band Syndrome?
Torn Cartilage?

Oh my!

But when my rational brain had a moment to chip in, it reminded me that I didn't have any trauma, so there was probably no tear. IT Band syndrome is a syndrome and comes on gradually and Runner's knee is a similar scenario. I didn't feel strongly enough to rule any of those out, but tried to prevent myself from going off the deep end. I was also focusing on something the coach of my running group said...

"Aren't those new shoes...?"

Hang on a sec. They ARE new shoes. I have been running with absolutely NO problems for months and months and these issues first came up after my first long run in the new shoes. Maybe there is something going on with the shoes? Several people suggested that I go back to Big Peach Running where I GOT the shoes because they are really good about taking them back if there are problems.

Friends, THIS is one of MANY reasons why you go to a specialty running store for your running needs.

So, slightly anxious and feeling a little weird about it, I went by the Big Peach near my house where I usually shop for running stuff. It just so happened that the guy who originally helped me pick out the shoes helped me again today. See, they didn't have my size in the new shoes I wanted, so I ended up going to another location to pick them up the next day.  I explained my situation and he was very understanding and basically said, let's make this right. I sat down, showed him my old shoes and we looked at the wear pattern which he said was a good wear pattern that showed that my foot strike was right where I wanted it to be. (that is nice to hear)

And I pulled out the new shoes and he immediately said "Wait, those aren't the right shoes!" The other location had not sold me the shoes that I had intended to purchase!

Mistakenly got these shoes.

Long story short, I had basically gone from a highly structured rather cushy shoe to almost a minimalist shoe. He used the phrase "cross trainer" to describe the above shoes. That is a BIG difference. And while I would probably have been perfectly happy with the shoes I had INTENDED to buy because they molded to my feet just perfectly, I was a little bit gun shy so I decided to go with the newer version of my old shoes.

Old shoes that got me through a BUNCH of miles very comfortably.

So today, I will be going out for a very short run and paying attention to my knee. When I ran a little yesterday while trying on the shoe, I was pretty comfortable and could immediately tell a difference. Hopefully this will be the end of my knee weirdness.

The hope of my knee's happiness rests in this box.

Knee Weirdness

So my left knee is acting weird. It all started last Monday on the treadmill. Felt a little twinge or weakness while I was doing speedwork. Then Tuesday on my trail run after about 3 miles, my left knee just felt weak and tight and wrong. I walked the remainder of the way back to the car and thought, hm, this is strange. So I decided to take a few days off and hope that with some rest we would be back where we were.

Nope.

Saturday morning, felt some of the same weirdness pretty early but thought it might just need to warm up. It sort of went away every once in a while but basically after about 4 miles it was clear that I needed to stop running. I was mystified. I hadn't had any injury and had been running pretty much comfortably for 9 months with absolutely no knee issues whatsoever. Then the coach of my running group mentioned my new shoes. 2 weeks old. Only one long run in them and the very next run was the one with problems.

This might just be the issue. I had no idea something like this could come on so quickly.

Firefly 5k 2012

This was a race that I was supposed to run with all my students. 12 out of 15 of them raised their hands that they were definitely going to participate. Well, only 4 of them actually registered, alas. And then, it was SO HUGE that I couldn't connect with all of THEM. So, the whole point of this 5 k which was to hang out with my students didn't happen, but it did give them something to work toward and I managed to set a personal record.

That sounds a lot more impressive than it probably was since my first 5 k was when I had only been running for slightly more than 3 months. But I did beat it by about 5 minutes! :)

But I am getting ahead of myself.

What a weird way to do a run. Wake up in the crack of dawn and run 14 miles. Go home, shower and eat. Nap. Take 7yo to get her ears pierced. Promptly take her to get for-yo for being so brave about it. Buy the best fitting jeans ever and in the smallest size I have worn since grad school. Jet home to meet Daddy after his bike ride. Jet to mid-town ATL to meet friends for dinner at Yeahburger. (Wonder to self how you can possibly eat anything here and then expect to run a 5k race in an hour and a half.) Eat turkey burger. Get dropped off at entrance to race. Pick up race stuff. Meet back up with family and plan for after.

Realize there are 4 THOUSAND people in the race. Holy moly!

Make way down to start line. Realize start of race is all uphill for about a mile. Okey-dokey.

Race starts.

Bob and weave around a LOT of people. Realize I forgot to start my Garmin. (Dang-it!) Wonder how I am going to make it through some clogs of humanity but manage it anyway. Silently and grudgingly thank race organizers for starting on the uphill as it spread people out very nicely, thank you very much. Get to the top of the hill finally and realize that I am feeling pretty darn good and am running at a pace that is actually a little fast (for me). Wonder briefly if I should slow down but don't.

Pass a BUNCH of people.

GET passed by a bunch of people including -

a fairy
a little kid
three drunk college guys CARRYING beer cans.(I didn't mind so much because they were pretty "easy on the eyes" if you know what I mean)
several MORE fairies of the non-dressed-up variety
and finally, one of my students who was surprisingly VERY fast

Find my family and get some sweet little girl hugs and kisses.

Chip time was 30:28 which just makes me want to break that 30 minute mark all the more!!!

Dirty Spokes XTERRA Harbins Park Trail 10K

Karla and I arrived nice and early around 7:30 am (for the 8:30 am start) and managed to NOT have to wait in line for the potty too long. We picked up our race numbers and a little schwag (Dirty Spokes Beer glass, Power Ade Gels and Power Bar plus a sticker for my office window!) and stored it all in the car before taking a little warm up run down the street and back up. I was feeling pretty good and surprisingly NOT nervous.

Our plan was this:

• Start off the first 3 miles at around an 11:00/mile pace up until the "big hill" at mile 2.7
• Survive the hill and get some water
• Push the pace for the last half of the race to about 10:00 - 10:30 as we felt capable

We all lined up about 50 yards away from the official start for the "parade" lap and got started right at 8:30 AM. (They weren't kidding about the race starting on time.) It is REALLY hard to not get caught up in the enthusiasm and the pace of the people around you. We were a little faster than we wanted to be right at the beginning but we reined it in and stayed within our planned pace (we were at 10:50ish).

My thoughts:

Start - Hey, that was kind of a long run to get us started but I guess that's cool because we all kind of spread out.

Mile 1 - How fast am I really going? I have GOT to get a Garmin. I can't tell how fast I am. I hope I don't go to fast. There is supposed to be a big hill at mile 2.7. Got to rein it in until then. After that, I can cut loose.

Mile 2 (ish) Where is the Mile 2 marker? Did we pass it? Was THAT the big hill? It was after the bridge. I sure hope my ankle doesn't act up if I step funny on something. I am feeling really good and not like I am pushing at all. If my Nike+ App is accurate - and I feel pretty sure it is not - then we are a tiny bit fast, but I am feeling really good.

Mile 3 - Oh, here is the hill they were talking about. It isn't so bad. After this I can cut loose.

Ouch! I just stepped funny on my weird foot. Oh, I hope I don't turn it again. That would really stink. (Steps weird 2 more times.)

Mile 4 - I was promised downhills after the big hill. This is a LOT of uphills. And they are steep. Short though. I keep passing that one dude with the camel back thing and the beard. He is a little strange looking. Oh look, that is the girl who passed us earlier. She is giving out. I am still feeling strong!

(Steps weird) F%&*!!! That hurt! Ok - good. Not hurting anymore. I really don't want another injury. It's all good.

Mile 5 - We must be getting close to the end of the trail. Oh, look, there are people up there on the paved section toward the end. I am really pushing it here but still feeling good. I didn't think I would be able to "race" but look at me. I am outside my comfort zone and I feel good!

Mile 6 - We are on the paved trail now. MORE uphill. Sheesh. (Secretly thankful for the hills that are Nickajack - don't tell anyone.) Oh look, there is a photographer. Try to look happy. Tell friend to be aware of photog. The end is near - just have to repeat the parade route and we are done. Last big hill. Friend starts to give a little kick. I start to give a little kick. We are right together. She gives a little more. I give a little more. We finish neck and neck. (which is really saying something since her legs are about 8 feet long and mine are ---- not.)

I am out of breath and want some water but I am feeling REALLY good. Feel good about our pace. Feel good about my effort - especially toward the end. Just generally, feel good!

Why I am happy about this race:

I got to run it at all.
I had tweaked my ankle on my weird foot and wasn't sure I would be able to run this trail race. It turned out that it just needed a day or two of TLC and was totally fine.

It was free.
You know how active.com sends you those special offers? This was one of them and i happened to be one of the first 5 people to respond and got to do this race for free!

I got to run it with my friend.
Cannot stress how much of a difference this made. My friend is a former competitive runner and is just generally competitive in life. Not in an ugly way, in a healthy way! Being with her and hearing her external thought process was really cool and got me in a place where I was going beyond my usually conservative outlook to see what I could do. That was awesome!