the knee saga continues. what do i do?! i have been "running" on the elliptical like directed. but this keeps me from doing brick workouts.
then comes this marathon training. i have 27 days until the day i have been looking frowrd to. my first full marathon. the nike women's marathon in san francisco. i have my entry, the flight, the hotel, and friends coming together meeting there to run along side me (well they are doing the half). i can't wait to experience the atmosphere that surrounds an event such as this - the excitement, the nerves, the anxiety...the post race beer! i am getting excited as we all send emails around with new training highs and lows.
this weekend i hit a low. i was scheduled to run 20 miles - my furthest distance ever. i have never run more than 13.1 miles! i know endurance wise i might be slow, but i know i can do the distance. however, my knee disagrees. i was at a bachelorette party but still managaed to get up at 630 and eat my pre-run breakfast while everyone else was still sleeping. as i was gettign ready to leave the bachelorette got up and we ended up talking for at elast an hour! she wanted to go on a walk so we decided i would run up and back up and back as she walked. well...the beginning of the run didn't go so well. i thought the back of my knee was going to completely lock up. abotu 20 minutes in, though, i was able to run for 10 mintues straight and had we not been at the house i would have kept going. so another weekend passed and another run missed. i am so nto prepared for the race. and will my knee even let me. mentally i am not ready to say no to the mary. i want it too bad. i know i need to pay attention to my body, but i also know the pain and disappointment in my heart to not try. the whole idea of weighing this thought just upsets me and i am confused on what to do. i want it SOOOO bad. i know i will be slow and i am okay with that...this year. i just want to reach that finish line and know that I can do it. so this week i am increasing my elliptical sessions a little longer than the runs would take me. and this weekend i will do the distance. i was scheduled to do some bike shopping, but this is more a priority. so - say some happy knee thoughts and this weekend i WILL have a new distance PR...with a post-run ice pack. aahhhh so nice.
7 comments:
Fave, I definitely feel your pain girl. I've been there - still am actually. My advice to you is to take care of your knee, give it whatever it needs, so that you have them for a long long time and can do many more races. Just my two cents though :-) Hang in there!
There is another blogger who is dealing with a very similar issue (whether to go through with a Mary or not, because of lack of training) and this is what I, and most people said. Go do it. Go try it. Walk/Run as needed but attempt it. If you don't make it, or your knee tells you to stop, listen. But I think it would better for you to try it and possibly* not succeed this time, then to not try at all.
The first year I trained for the marathon, I had a similar dilemma. Pulled a groin terribly in May, and despite swimming lots, weekly PT and huge aspirations, in September I realized that I couldn't train properly even for a November race and just set my goal on a healthy end of year. I ended up running part of the race as support for my friends and did my first full marathon the next year, healthy. While I missed my planned 1st, I had a great time that day being support crew, running alongside for part of the race and experiencing the atmosphere. Its a tough decision, but you only have 1 body and there are lots more races in your future!
Bethany
To my favorite BA, you have accomplished soo much this year. This year has already been full of goals reached, and wonderful moments. I know you WANT it, but go see how you feel. If the knee says no, then listen, You don't want to ruin next year for 1 race this year. If the knee says yes, then go BA and know we are all here routing for you!
Sounds like you have at least two choices here - do the marathon this year and accept walking a bit of it or giving the knee the time to heal to go full force next year. Actually, you can still do the second, even if you do the first. Just be careful, listen to your body - so you can do the second!
talk to your wise and experience coaches
and really listen to their advice
also think about what you really want
you can still have a great weekend in san fran with your friends either way!
avoid building up too much mileage too quickly
i cant believe you were going to go from thirteen to twenty!
from my own notverylong experience
shamrock marathon 2005
i ran to mile 13.1
walked to mile 20
ran to mile 26.2
and still finished in a very respectable 5:15
i have finished other marathons in more and less time than that one
while running consistently
whatever you choose to do
you know the tgs will support you
just dont hurt yourself!
xoxoxo
c
the thing i've discovered in finishing a marathon (or other similarly ridiculous endurance event) is that you suddenly realize it's not as hard or as long as you previously thought.
sure it's gonna hurt, but even if you had all the training in the world, it's still gonna hurt. nobody ever said it was easy.
as i limp towards the NY Marathon in a few weeks, i can only hope that my mental focus and adrenalin will take me through the first 20 miles. after that, all i've gotta do is run a 10k. and hell, when push comes to shove, we all can squeeze out a 10k, right?!
these are the things i think about while training on the elliptical.
Women's Nike Mary is supposed to be an amazing race. i'm sure you'll do well.
keep moving forward,
j.
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