Monday, November 17, 2014

Whoops I Did it Again....

I am an idiot.

I may talk sense on this blog for the most part but I have my moments of stupidity more often than not.   This past week is a perfect example of that.  I had 5 pain free days in a row and I said I wasn't going to go crazy...but....

I did.  And now I've had more painful days vs. pain free days.  If I could smack myself in the back of the head, I would.   I did two short hard-ish runs this week in my beloved Sayonaras and my knees haven't been the same since.  The burning across the top of my kneecaps is back as is the pulling and tightness that I worked so hard to get rid of.  All because I just wanted to run.  I thought riding would be fine and my knees did feel somewhat better after being on the bike but I think the damage already was done.    The funny thing is, I felt like my glutes were firing during both runs.  I was running strong and my form was good.  So this is very frustrating. 

I know I'm not quite back at square one but on a scale of one to ten I've probably set myself back a few squares.  I'd say I was at square six but now I think I'm probably back to square three.   I'm trying not to let myself get into a cranky spiral of despair.  That means I'm trying to find any little bit of positive I can in all this.  The one bright spot is that I do feel like my left kneecap is starting to track properly again.  And I suppose the other bright spot is that the pain isn't as bad as it has been. 

So it looks like this week running is off the table.  And potentially next week too and potentially the week after that.  Cycling will be questionable.  We'll see how things feel.  I have a massage scheduled on Thursday so hopefully that will help.  My legs are starting to feel tired and a little bit tight. 

Despite all that, I still put in a fair amount of work this week.  Maybe too much...

Monday:  2300m swim
Tuesday:  60 minutes strength & mobility work + 7km run in a.m.  Pilates in p.m.
Wednesday:  2200m swim
Thursday:  75 minutes strength & mobility work + 7.5km run.  I ran through High Park on the trails and it was absolutely spectacular.

Friday:  OFF
Saturday:  28km on the bike (60 minutes) + 1 hour of hot yoga
Sunday:  3100m swim + 31km on the bike and then some quality time on the couch.  This is the first weekend in a LONG time that I didn't have to *be* anywhere.  The down time was definitely needed. 



Total:  10h 26 minutes.   I think that's enough.

How was your weekend?  Did you race or has your off season officially started?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Not to dogpile on your bad times, but I read a post today that asked (what was supposed to be a rhetorical question):"Do you know a runner that races every weekend?", and I thought of you... get well soon!

Phaedra Kennedy said...

LOL! Thanks Axel! That was definitely me last summer!! I scaled it back a little bit this year, mainly due to my knees. I think I have a long road of re-hab ahead of me...that's what happens when you don't listen to your body.

Abby said...

I race all winter long here and my off season is the summer.
Kind of backwards, but winter here is pretty nice and summer is horrendous.

Krysten Siba Bishop said...

Oh no!!! Sorry girlie! It can be hard to be patient - especially when you are feeling good.

It is definitely off season for me. Its cold and almost surgery time. Time to cozy up with a book and eat lots of cookies. There are perks to off season!

Joanna aka Paper said...

Oh, no sweetie! Sorry about the knees. My struggle has been/still is with my Morton's neuroma and I can sing a song about stubborness. Sigh!

Sending healing thoughts! You're still a powerhouse! xo