Training update – pain free!

After 4 weeks of no activity (“complete rest” sounds better) beginning with the last post, the left knee pain subsided almost completely, and I had my first ‘aquarun’ on 2/13. It was just 15 minutes long, and turned out to be one of only four such workouts over the next month.

The pain returned with the resumption of running on 2/15 but has been manageable; the symptoms have slowly subsided in response to a regimen of cryotherapy (via Cramer Flex-i-Cold packs) after each run, plus occasional heat prior, and weight training (leg extensions and curls). Today’s workout was the first since January without any pain at all.

In preparation for the local 5K run coming up on Sunday, weekly interval workouts of 5 x 1200 meters were begun on 4/15, to help raise the upper limit of aerobic fitness I’ve built so far. Today was the third such session, and the work interval average of 4:52 (3 minutes rest in between) compares quite well with the benchmark of 4:47 set in an identical workout last 11/5. Based on this performance, I estimate I should be able to do ~21:45.

Volume totals from 2/15 through today are 286.1 miles in 38.75 hours.

Already a setback

Barely a week into the season, and I am sidelined with in left knee pain bad enough that I don’t expect to be running anytime soon. It came on suddenly, and I suspect it may be due to a combination of the cold plus tights that don’t insulate quite enough, with some irregular, snowy running surfaces a contributing factor.

My plan is to rest until the pain goes away, and perhaps finally start something that’s been on my mind for a long time: deep-water pool running, plus some weight training.

As always, the fear is that this will develop into a permanent condition with long-term, limiting effects, even though numerous other injuries serious enough to require time off have all healed without lasting effect.

Update(s) to follow, as developments warrant.