I ran Inside Trail's Reservoir Dogs 35k a couple weekends ago and experienced my first knee injury, thanks to these oversights:
- Tried racing without insoles in new(ish) shoes. Had to put insoles in at the 13 mile mark. Thank you to kind volunteer who let me use the back of his pickup.
- Didn't train my butt enough in those new shoes
- Wore compression pants instead of shorts. I brought the shorts with me, knowing that I've experienced some knee pain before while wearing those pants. I attributed it to a shoe issue, but nope - it came roaring back.
My guess is that the compression pants, coupled with tight shoes, immobilized my Illiotibial band which prevented the knee from moving naturally.
Apologies to the two people who saw my naked butt while I changed pants on the side of the trail. Hey, we're all just animals... it's not like I was pooping.
By mile 17, I was in such immense pain that all I could do was:
a) Try to find ANY running position for my foot that didn't hurt my knee (didn't work)
b) Cry
c) Laugh hysterically at the situation
I reached the last aid station at mile 3 and almost stopped and turned myself in. I didn't think I could handle 30 more minutes of pain. My pace had slowed immensely as I could only walk downhills and run the uphills. Thankfully, this was waiting at the end:
Luckily, the pain was only a warning - it was a minor injury. My face and fatigue say otherwise:
I diagnosed myself with Illiotibial Band Syndrome (a common running injury acronized as ITBS). I stopped running for a few days and iced the injury. Then, I used a elliptical to gauge pain. I attempted a few runs, but reached pain at 15 minutes. I began daily strengthening exercises per Jason Fitzgerald on his site here and they've helped. I ran successfully for 30 minutes the past two days. Apparently, I heal quick fast. 8-9 hours of sleep helps!
Here's to the next race in August - Montana De Oro. This time it's a manageable 25k with 1400 foot mountain to climb up and down. I hope my knee is recovered by then for the hills, so it's time to really take it easy with it. I've been running 40 miles /wk for 6 or so months. As someone who picked this up in their 20's and didn't train in high school, I think I need a short break.
Time: 3:40:35. Not my best, but I did it!
Here's Mile 19 where I exclaimed to the photographer "Oh boy this is going to be my best photo EVER!!!" as I winced in pain. I can't help but smile.
