Following my severe knee pain caused by ITB syndrome last weekend – and the resulting cancelation of my long 16-mile run – did not make for a good start to this week. Physically I felt like a new runner again, slogging down the street and puffing hard with my heart rate higher to maintain my normal pace. Mentally, my confidence was crushed. Because the searing pain had seemingly come from nowhere last week, each stride brought with it a fear: Would this be the step that sets off my knee? This one? Or this one?
I had all but decided to call the race company and switch my registration to the half-marathon distance. Everyone knows you shouldn't skip the long runs in a training plan. Plus I am not out of the woods yet on this injury, and when combined with the pressure of a looming July marathon, it had sucked all of the joy out of my runs. I began researching other local marathons in the fall and spring so I could adjust my training timeline.
My coach returned from her triathlon, and I laid out for her my reasons for wanting to push out my marathon date. She responded that she would support me no matter what, but unless the ITB syndrome flairs up again and prevents me from running, she has confidence that I will still be ready for the marathon in July. She encouraged me to make an appointment with the sports medicine doctor who diagnosed the stress reaction (basically the precursor of a stress fracture) in my shin back last fall. I did, and I will see him next Thursday.
Because I felt slow and generally miserable during my weekday runs, I was quite anxious about my long run this morning. My coach organized a team run at a nearby trail, and she scheduled me for 11-12 miles with one of her other athletes who I always enjoy running with. I knew that being with such a supportive group was the best-case situation for me if my injury did scream in murderous rage again, but the fear was there just the same.
I was shocked – thrilled! – to find that all of the sudden, I could run again. My stride was easy and strong, and my heart rate stayed right where I wanted it. I was distractedly chatting with my running partner, so I was no longer hyper-attuned to each footfall with dread of a spiking pain. Being distracted also meant my elbows starting drifting outward into their bizarre "wing flapping" formation, but I quickly pulled them back in before I ended up joining any birds in migration.
My knee/ITB syndrome is not completely healed by any means. Even though I have not had another severe incident, I still have some soreness and tenderness. I am going to take another week to decide if I feel strong enough to continue the marathon training or if it's wiser to delay. The doctor's advice should also help illuminate the best answer for me. I have no answers and no decisions, but it's onward and upward for now.
Mileage for week 12: 29 miles
Total mileage: 252.6 miles
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