Exercise is not going so well. I went to the gym several days last week. When I used the recumbent bike, things were fine, and I made sure to do my I-T band stretches several times a day. But I tried the elliptical one day, and after maybe a half hour (maybe less, even) my knee started to twinge, so I slowed way down and took it easy for the remainder of my 40-minute workout. I took Friday and Saturday off, and then on Sunday I tried to do my scheduled six-mile run. After three minutes I had to take a walk break (and stretch break), because I was already feeling it in my knee. Then it got worse from there. Finally, at the end of a mile, I had to concede that I wasn't ready for running yet. I walked a good portion of the way back home (only 0.7 miles by the direct route) and managed to run, gently, only the distance from one house to the next, then walked to the next, then ran again, and so on.
From what I've read online, the healing should be underway after 3-5 days (after the original injury), and if you're careful about stretching you can get back to running gently then. I gave it 8 and still wasn't up to it. This is very frustrating. All the reading I've done says you SHOULD be exercising and stretching, but I have to wonder if in my case that's making matters worse and I should be taking a week (or two or three) off entirely. I don't need twice-daily ibuprofen as I did when this started, but it hasn't felt especially good since I first pulled it. I'm worried that I'm going to lose four months' conditioning in no time if I can't get past this -- or even worse, that all this might be for nothing, and I won't be able to run the marathon at all! (I may WALK the dang thing if it comes to that!) Sigh...
And then I feel like a selfish idiot for even caring. So many worse things are going on right now that I have no right to be worried about a minor knee injury. It's just so much easier to worry about the stupid things than the real things.
2 comments:
Good for you on your weight loss!
I think now's the time to get to a doctor and get yourself checked out. I self diagnosed myself with sciatic nerve pain and it turned out to be the mechanical problem with my SI joint. And don't give up the training! PT can make a huge difference in a short time, and if you keep up your cardio conditioning on the bike until you get to the doctor you'll be able to get back into running form quickly.
Several of my online friends swear by foam rollers for stretching and massaging the IT band, so you might also look into that until you can get a professional diagnosis.
I agree with Sarah! See a real doctor (and NOT Dr. Web, MD!)and see what she says. Also, keep at it. I can't even tell you how much I hurt when I work out. And - and don't mock me for suggesting this - consider that part of your pain may be emotional/ psychological. You may have hit a wall in more than one way. It is possible that you are unintentionally self-sabotaging. You have gone farther and faster than most people ever do, maybe you brain is secretly saying "Yeah, that's impossible!"
The race is still a ways away. You have time to be treated AND still complete the race. THEN! Make Daniel send you for a professional massage followed by a pedicure and don't run again for three weeks!
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