14 weeks of hard training. A few blips along the way – some mental,
some fatigue-caused and the usual aches and pains that you’ll get from running
50 to 60 miles a week.
But there had been no injury. Now, with less than two weeks
to go, I have been struck down.
I have (I think) Runners’ Knee.
I did Harcourt Hill Park Run
on Saturday – in a personal best time – and felt a grumbling in my knee. Not
pain, just grumbling. I forgot about it as you do and carried about my business
playing football with my boys, making Lego spaceships and generally having fun.
Sunday was to be my last intensive workout. Eynsham Duathlon
seemed perfect – it’s short, flat, informal and filled with friends from Oxford Triathlon Club. I was looking
forward to showing that all this winter training had had an effect and
challenging some of the better athletes in our club.
But, 50 metres into the 5km run that opens the event, my knee
started grumbling again. 500 metres into the run is starting hurting and 1km
later it was really hurting. I eased up and prepared to pull out – I wouldn’t
normally but with the Big One just 14 days away why risk it?
But then it went from really hurting back to hurting and
from hurting back to grumbling and I decided to carry on. I throttled back on
the pace and decided to enjoy it.
My knee grumbled and creaked throughout the 20km bike
section but then so did my mind as I cycled 8km into what was apparently 50-60mph
winds.
As I set off on the second run, a shorter 2.2km, my knee once
again stepped up to hurting, through really hurting and onto flaming painful. I
finished the race (about five minutes slower than I should have done) and
waited for the pain to stop. It usually stops straight after running if it’s
just a niggle but it didn’t. It hurt sitting down, it hurt standing up and it
hurt on the very slow cycle home.
Rest, Ice and Elevation were applied as my spirits soared
watching Jonny Brownlee crush the opposition in the Gold Coast Triathlon. I
posted a picture of my icepack on Facebook and it generated some sympathetic
comments mixed with extreme banter at my Ugg-like slippers.
Apparently Runners’ Knee comes about from overuse, can strike at any
time and has an indeterminate recover period. I woke up on Monday pretty sure I
would be back to normal but a walking the kids to school showed otherwise and
my climb up the stairs to my office this morning was borderline excruciating.
More ice and some gentle stretching is in order. I’ve
even broken my personal rule and taken Ibruprofen (they were the root cause of
an ulcer three years ago).
I’m trying to think positive and am staying off my bike for
a few days but I have to say that this does not feel good.
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