It started as just a tightness in the muscles above and below the inside of each knee that I would have during the day when I wasn’t running and would eventually go away as I ran and things loosened up. It was most pronounced on my left knee, and provided some dull pain during runs as well. It bothered me a bit during the last 10 miles of the AR50, and continued to bother me on each run after that. It was like an achy little knot just behind the inside of my left knee. I went to get a massage hoping to loosen things up a couple of weeks ago and then continued to run on it culminating in some runs in the bay area over a weekend where the pain got worse. The tightness was there too. It feels like I have a rubber band on the inside of each knee that is being pulled too tight…straining…all day long.
As I found at the AR50, and later in the Mokelumne River 50K on 4/19, I am able to run through the achiness and pain. Not exceedingly sharp…just achy. The fact that it wasn’t getting worse or better had me perplexed and wondering what to do about it. I tried icing and ibuprofen but those didn’t seem to help through the weeks. And until the pain increased on the weekend of 4/26 I just thought it would go away. When it got worse after that weekend, when I really didn’t run that many miles (14 and 10), I started to really worry about my chances to run Miwok on 5/3.
I have been lucky enough to get into Miwok, a race that is held in the Marin Headlands every year and is the top 100K race in the nation, for the last two years. Last year the course got shortened at the last minute to 60K due to “fire danger” and so I didn’t get to run the whole thing. This year I was excited to finally be able to run over 50 miles in a race. This was going to be my “test run” in my buildup to States in June. A systems check to make sure I was on track to run 100 miles. Then the “check engine light” came on.
So I decided after the painful weekend to shut down for the week leading up to the race to see if I could heal up enough to run it. I walked every day from Monday to Thursday instead of running. About 1-4 miles each. By the time Thursday rolled around I could tell that the pain was still going to be there so I made the very difficult decision to DNS (Did Not Start). But now I have un-cancellable hotel plans, and Mary was going to be out of town anyway visiting our son at Oregon State...so I decided to go anyway to help crew Cathleen, KC, Roger, Bruce and others that I knew who were running it.
I struggled with this decision because of the depression I was feeling for not being able to run this myself. Would I want to be there watching others reaching their milestones and goals while I sat on the sidelines? How would I react? Could I take it without getting even more depressed, or angry? I decided to go anyway…for my friends and for the sheer joy of being around such an amazing event and the company of fellow ultra crazies. In the end it was a really good decision. Yes, at times it was difficult…but it was worth it. Seeing my friends from aid station to aid station and crossing the finish line was a great experience and was partially cathartic. It did help a little. Sure there were times during the day where depression snuck it’s way in…but overall being part of that event and part of their adventure and accomplishments almost made me feel like I was participating in it. In the run itself. I felt their pain, their doubts and ultimately their joy of being finished and knowing they accomplished something amazing. It was worth it, I found, just to be a contributor and to be able to help them…it felt great.
Also getting to hang out with Nicole, Kellie, Veronica, and Jerry all day was a lot of fun. It was almost like being part of the Amazing Race as your runner leaves the aid station and you and the others quickly pile yourself and the supplies into your cars to chase after them to the next aid station. I thank goodness for GPS and maps otherwise those twisty mountain roads would have made it impossible to get from place to place. It was a maze of streets and the parking was always packed (we did get lucky at Tennessee Valley and got a last second front row spot right next to the aid station. Sweet!) Trying to find food, supplies, parking and trying to stay warm in the morning and cool in the afternoon were all fun challenges and made the day go by faster. I know..I know…the runners had it tougher than us…we were just “sitting around”…I know…but it felt like a challenge when we were doing it. Luckily we all got along great and had nothing but fun. No crankiness or bickering…rare for crews that spend 18 hours together after getting up at 3am. But the crew laughed often and stressed little. Perfect.
So where am I today? Well I went for a slow run on both Tuesday and Wednesday…both flat…and their wasn’t much pain but the knot was still there. On Sunday I started using a roller on my legs…I know…why didn’t I start doing that earlier? I don’t know…you can’t think of everything! So now I am rolling my legs nightly and I have decided to take another week off. No Gold Rush 50k this weekend (5/10). I am going to walk the rest of the week and over the weekend. I will continue to roll and ice nightly, take my ibuprofen, and will do some light-weight strength training at the gym on my glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves. Very light. I have also decided to start using the hot tub at the gym to help keep things loose. We continue to look for a good Yoga place (Yin style) and may eventually start doing that again or just do it at home for a few minutes every night. There are only so many hours in a day people! I have also had people suggest everything from Cryo-therapy to laser therapy to massage to Kinesio tape to rest. Many have suggested swimming or cycling. I tried cycling and that hurt my knee so I stopped. Many also have given me names of personal trainers, massage places, kinesio therapists, strength trainers, surgeons, x-ray techs, etc. Thank you all! Things are getting better but if this doesn't continue I will seek other help.
Now I look towards Silver State 50k on 5/17. Hopefully all the walking, and other therapeutics, will have me feeling better. I would rather not have any more DNS’s before the big Memorial Day Weekend runs. I know that May is supposed to equal Miles…as the old WS100 training saying goes…but my May will have to be about getting healthy for the big dance on 6/28. That is my main goal and I will do what I have to do to be healthy as I toe that start line and the countdown begins at 5am in Squaw Valley. I feel good about my training up until now and that thought gives me some solace as the days tick by without running. Running is in my soul…good or bad…and denying myself that is teaching me more great lessons about toughness that will do nothing-but-good for me on those two days in June. No matter how bad I feel now, as Helen told me yesterday, when I get to the starting line in June I will be thankful that I took this time off in May. It’s not easy though…thanks to everyone for your support.
March Stats: 22 runs, 245 miles (PR), and 32,081(PR) ft elev gain
April Stats: 20 runs, 216 miles and 26,585 ft elev gain
Year to date: 86 runs, 897 miles and 117,014 ft elev gain
