Weekly ReviewAfter ignoring the pain in my right knee for more than a month, I finally decided to give it a rest. The pain is in the lower inside, in the area of the medial collateral ligaments. Mark G. suggested that it might be due to all the running in snow and ice. The slipping and bad footing put more laterial stress on the knee, and I may have strained these ligaments.
I did not run on Monday and Tuesday. This seemed to help, or at least I felt less pain when going up and down stairs. On Wednesday, I did a very easy six miles, and although the pain was still there, it was less intense. Thursday, I felt the need to test my knee, and I was anxious about not getting enough miles in, so I did 14 miles on the treadmill, 6 miles in the morning and 8 miles in the evening.
The pain was tolerable and certainly didn't feel any worse than it had before. This was encouraging since I did 8 of the miles at a 6:50/min pace. On Friday, I did another 8 miles.
Saturday at Lock 29 was...ummm...chilly. Despite the temperature (-10F), about 10 runners showed up. I had slathered my face with Vaseline, put on two pairs of gloves, and we were off. After the first few miles, it actually wasn't all that uncomfortable. We did about 11 miles, all on the roads. My knee was not giving me too much grief when I got up on Sunday, so I did 18.3 miles, 12 miles with the group, with an average of 8:00/min pace. The weather was warm, in the 20's, but it started to snow and the footing was slippery, especially on the Hawthorne Parkway hill. Wyatt and I ran this together, commiserating about being unable to get any traction. I really wished I had been wearing my screw shoes. I had started out wearing them, but when I saw that the roads were OK, I circled back home and swapped them for my road shoes. Half-way through the run, I realized that I should have stayed with the screw shoes.
Despite taking a mini-break on Monday and Tuesday, my total for the week was 57 miles. This isn't close to what it should have been, but I think the benefit to my knee will allow me to resume my high-mileage training.
Listed below are the major races I plan to run in 2009. Of course, I will also run lots of smaller races as well, like the Mill Creek Half-Marathon, St. Malachi, Blossom Time in Chagrin Falls, etc.
I will try to take about 10 minutes off my my 3:16:57 last year.
No goal for this one yet. With Boston a month before and Seattle a month later, I'll wait until the last minute to decide how I want to run Cleveland.
I'm really excited to run the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. Sue and I will make a vacation of it, spending a week visiting our son and his girlfriend, and enjoying Seattle.
I was fighting cramps for the last 10 miles of this one in 2008, and I had a terrible time. My goal is sub-5 hours.
My goal is cross the finish line. After that, if I am in good enough condition to think about a time, 25 hours would be great.
Last year, I had a great time in Punxsy. The people there do a great job organizing this race, and the course is really challenging. I want to run this again, if the residual effects of the Burning River don't stop me.
Not yet open for registration, but I hope to get in. I want to have the experience of running this.
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Major Races for 2009Listed below are the major races I plan to run in 2009. Of course, I will also run lots of smaller races as well, like the Mill Creek Half-Marathon, St. Malachi, Blossom Time in Chagrin Falls, etc.
I will try to take about 10 minutes off my my 3:16:57 last year.
No goal for this one yet. With Boston a month before and Seattle a month later, I'll wait until the last minute to decide how I want to run Cleveland.
I'm really excited to run the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. Sue and I will make a vacation of it, spending a week visiting our son and his girlfriend, and enjoying Seattle.
I was fighting cramps for the last 10 miles of this one in 2008, and I had a terrible time. My goal is sub-5 hours.
My goal is cross the finish line. After that, if I am in good enough condition to think about a time, 25 hours would be great.
Last year, I had a great time in Punxsy. The people there do a great job organizing this race, and the course is really challenging. I want to run this again, if the residual effects of the Burning River don't stop me.
Not yet open for registration, but I hope to get in. I want to have the experience of running this.
6 comments:
OMG - I didn't know you were going to do Burning River! You are going to ROCK!!! I'm sure that I'll volunteer again this year - I know you will do great!
Frank: A few thoughts. First, be sure to emphasize stretching. I was told by my doctor that my inflamed cartilage after Mohican was made worse by tight hamstring, quad and glute muscles. Second, keep being smart in making the tough decision to take a few days off here and there. Third, great job on Sunday. You finished very strong. Congrats on committing to the BR100. You will love it. -- Wyatt
What a great Race Schedule! It sounds like you're in for a great racing season and I can't wait to hear how spectacular your performances will be in each of them!!
Wow, looks like a huge 2009! Definitely sounds like a good idea to take a few days now because you got one busy year ahead, which you are going to rock by the way!
Sounds like a good move holding off for a few days! I took three days off in one week (I know, I know) between Christmas and New Year's to try to get over what felt like an accumulating spiral of snow traction related injuries... Worked wonders (along with new arch supports). Good luck with your time goal at Boston! I'm hoping to qualify when I run Hyannis in February.
(Sorry for the delete and repost -- didn't notice my wife was logged into her Blogger acct at the time.)
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