(oh OOOH) Trouble x3

Ten weeks to go and there is a very real chance I won't be able to run the marathon.

Man, it sucks to acknowledge that.

Two weeks after pulling up after three miles I'm still struggling with my knee. The dull ache and stiffness on the inside of my left knee is showing no real signs of abating.

I've seen the physio who felt the knee itself was structurally sound but may have been suffering from some referred pain from the quadricep which might be the source of the problem. I had acupuncture on the knee (I was dead brave/it doesn't hurt) and a deep massage on the quad but nearly a week later and the problems are still very much here.

I've been so worried about losing the fitness I had built up over the last few years - I've ran a minimum of twice a week for nearly two years - that I've been on the exercise bike almost daily, whilst dragging myself to the local swimming pool three times in the last week as well. 

That comes with its own challenges. Not only are swimming pool changing rooms minging, I spend 45 minutes weaving in and out of slow, angsty people who are quite frankly fuming to be sharing the pool with someone who is actually looking to swim, rather than drift their way down the pool, waffling on to Margaret about Theresa May's shoes. 

I've been doing all sorts of stretches and manipulation of the knee exercises that Dr Mark and friends on YouTube recommend whilst I've been doing enough squats to put Nicki Minaj to shame.

But still, problems.

I ran yesterday morning and for a mile and a half to two miles, it felt ok but the third mile was uncomfortable at best. It's then been very sore for the best part of 24 hours following.  

I feel like the next two weeks are pivotal. If I can't get out and running without discomfort by the eight-week-countdown-klaxon sounding on the 31st July, then it's looking particularly bleak. I plan to see the physio again and I will continue my array of stretches and non-impact exercise, and hope upon hope it begins to improve.

It is beyond frustrating and disappointing.

And I'm getting my arse handed to me on the Fitbit workweek hustle as well. 

Sakes.

In the mean time, if anyone has a spare knee, knows a magical healer or has a truckload of horse placenta lying around, give me a shout. 

Call Home

This time last week I had just got home after running 17 miles in 2 hours and 25 minutes. This was a big moment for me - the longest distance I'd ran, the longest block of time I'd ran and the first time I genuinely thought I could run the 26 miles that lie in wait in Berlin come September 25th. 

Today, I had to call home after three miles to get someone to come and pick me up. My knee, sending out alarm bells on every impact, wasn't having it. Or at least, it was certainly on the way to not having it. All I could think about for a good mile before I eventually did throw in the towel was - do not run through pain.

Not pain from running for over an hour or two, the pain of something not being quite right. It is a very different pain. You know that you've ran 17 miles, you feel it in your muscles and your bones, your feet and your legs - but that is more of a 'bloody hell, you ran how far?!' kind of satisfying pain. 

Today was very different and I think it is my own naivety that caused it.

After Saturday last week I felt good, pretty sore on Sunday and then less so on Monday. A normal sort of recovery time for 12+ mile runs for me. I decided to go for a steady 'recovery' run on Monday night and didn't think anything of it. Then Tuesday comes along and the pain on the inside of my left knee arrives. It's a strange one to describe - the knee itself feels strong, but there is a distinct discomfort that flares up when I walk. 

I decided to rest and did not do my usual second run of the week on Thursday and was confident that the discomfort was decreasing. I went out this morning planning to do five miles but after three I knew the only sensible option was to stop. 

With Berlin in 12 weeks, it isn't a time to grit my teeth and drag out a few more miles home for the sake of it. There is literally nothing to gain doing that. 

So here I sit, after a twenty minute soak in the bath, with voltarol on my knee and a few painkillers currently doing their thing too. 

It is so bloody frustrating. 

I don't think it's serious and I've loosely linked it to inflammation of the tendons/bursa on the inside of the knee which a quick google firmly points the finger at upping the milage too soon as the cause. I probably shouldn't have done 17 (a bit of a jump, admittedly), and I probably should have given it another day or two of recovery.

(P.S. I know it is ridiculous to google symptoms, and I normally never would, but I'm pretty sure there are no instances of anyone dying from a sore knee...)

But heyho, you live and learn.

I plan to take it relatively easily for the next few days/week and see whether there is a improvement. I'm hopeful I will be able to look back at this and see it as a useful milestone in the Berlin build up, sort of bringing me back down to earth after being relatively comfortable last week. I've never really had any real pain before that has hindered my ability to run, and maybe this just highlights how different the game is when it comes to marathon training. There was a danger of becoming overconfident in what I can do, when really I need to plan the next 12 weeks much more stringently and not break my body before we even get in to August. 

That's how I'm going to choose to spin it in my mind anyway, otherwise it's all a bit disheartening.

So I'm going to lie in bed, play Football Manager and eat ice cream.