KNEE PAIN 11 DAYS BEFORE MARATHON
marie
I've been having knee pain around the perimiter of the left knee cap. We
are tappering our runs now. Today was four miles. Had to stop and stretch
at 3 miles. 11 days till the philly marathon. I am mentally prepared but
scared about the pain of the knee. Have an appointment with my primary
doctor. don't know what she can do at this point. purchased a knee brace
last thursday and wore it on the last long run (22.4) miles and did well
with it. First 6 miles were kind of tough with the nagging pain then it got
better throughout the run. Sure the Ibuprofen helped. Tried to run 4 miles
on sunday and had to stop at mile 3. I want to do this. took mon and tues
off. ran 4 today (wed.) now just took 3 ibuprofen and icing my knee with
the frozen mixed veggies. I'm feeling rather distraught about the whole
thing. Not even excited about the race but VERY concerned. Forget about my
training program for the internet. Just praying to be able to run.
Any info or encouragement for my mental moral would be great. Only us
runners can relate to any and all of this.
thanks,
marie
Kerry Wilson
>Marie,
>
>First I want to say that if you've trained your way up to a long run of 22+
miles
>then you should be commended.
>
>BUT (don't you just hate when someone says that)...
>
>- You may have gone too fast for your fitness level.
>
>- If you're in that much pain, then this becomes a "no brainer"--stop &
recover.
>
>- There is always another race.
>
>One more thing. It's not wise to mask your pain with Ibuprofen during
training
>sessions. Use it afterwards. You *need* the pain as feedback to keep from
>hurting yourself even more.
Excellent advice on all counts. First order of business is to treat the
injury. I would only run the marathon if you're healthy at the starting
line.
Doug Burke
distraught as you were until I focused on just enjoying the event and to maybe
walk the whole way if necessary which an inshape person ought to be able do in 6
or 7 hours.
It helped my mental outlook tremendously knowing I was going the 26.2 on race
day. The ITBS subsided and I ran the entire race but still looked just to enjoy
the moment.
Doug Burke
Brian Baresch
>are tappering our runs now. Today was four miles. Had to stop and stretch
>at 3 miles.
Sounds like what afflicted me in the run-up to the Rib Run Marathon
last month. I'm still not sure whether it's a joint thing (too many
downhills in training -- it's hilly around here) or ITB. In short, I
had the pain in the race, starting around mile 18, and decided to walk
when I had to; probably added 30 minutes or more to my finishing time.
Since the race I've been taking it easy. I'll be careful about ramping
up my mileage again, but I do plan to run two marathons next year.
My advice: If it hurts only a little, try the race; if it hurts a lot,
either slow to a walk or just stop. (If you race, you *will*
eventually drop out of a race; it's just a question of when. This
might be your time.) As others have said, there will be other races.
Good luck.
--
Brian P. Baresch
Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Professional editing and proofreading
rick++
suddenly. If it still hurst by marathon day, skip the marathon.
There is a chance of becoming permanently crippled and ending
your running career.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
PMcDC
doing such a long venture with a very high risk of more damage, which means you
can't run for a longer period.
most of all: there are lots and lots of marathons out there. this won't be
your only chance.
all of this said, i do hope you recover soon and completely!