Maybe I need to back up and explain how I got here. About four weeks ago I had a 11 mile long run scheduled. I decided I would do an easy out and back down Peachtree Street. I also planned to use a gel for the first time:
The first half of the run was at a slight down hill, so I was feeling good. At the turn around I noticed the slight incline, but I was still moving along nicely. It was at about mile 8 when I started feeling my knees throbbing some. Now, I have to say that this is somewhat normal. My knees start to ache after awhile. That is pretty natural to me. Usually during a half marathon my knees get achy around mile 9-10. The aches never really go away, but it never gets too terrible either.
I knew that this was somewhat early for me knees to be acting up, but I wasn't really concerned at first. Then I noticed that the aches were turning into pain, more like a stabbing pain in my knees. I was at mile 9. I was 2 miles away from the car and thought to myself, "what the heck is going on?" I had never felt pain like this before. I thought about stopping at one of the many restaurants or stores I was passing along the way to call David to pick me up. I was battling "pushing through" vs "over doing it." I couldn't tell the difference.
I was also doing this long run in new shoes. I'd given up on the Nike Pegasus 27s after several runs on the treadmill and feeling like they weren't giving me enough fore front cushioning. My toes had even cramped pretty severely after wearing those shoes, so I was ready for a change. For this long run I was wearing Mizunos. I had debated between Brooks and Mizunos because I had heard good things about both. Big Peach was sold out of the Brooks in my size so I opted for the Mizunos. Plus, I liked how they hug your feet, so that they really feel like they apart of your foot. Anyway, so there I was with new shoes and I though that maybe this pain was just from changing shoes and my feet just getting use to them. I also knew I only had 2 more miles to go. How hard could it be?
It was terrible. I grunted out loud several times because the pain was so bad. I stopped and stretched. Nothing was working. I had now made my way down Peachtree where all the shops were gone. There was no where to go in and call David. So I powered through the pain and I finally got to my car. When I got there I basically collapsed on the ground and took off my shoes immediately. My feet were swollen and the shoes felt so tight. My knees were screaming at me. I just wanted to get home.
Once I got home I iced my knees, but I knew that I had pushed too hard. Little did I know, that run would redefine my training. I took the next day completely off and also the day after that. On Tuesday I got back on my weekday schedule and quickly realized that these shoes were not going to cut it. Because I was running so far my feet were expanding and swelling and the Mizunos were becoming uncomfortably tight during my runs. I also noticed my knees felt a little off.
So back to Big Peach I went. It was starting to get ridiculous. At this point I was on my third pair of shoes in three weeks. Luckily I had purchased the shoes from Big Peach who let you wear the shoes for a few runs to test them out. As long as you keep them relatively clean, you can bring them back a few days later.
I asked if they had the Brooks in stock, but they didn't. They said they had a hard time keeping the Brook's Ghost in stock. I immediately thought, "must be a good shoe." So off to Dick's sporting goods I went. Now I typically would never buy my running shoes from there, but now that I knew what I wanted (I had done TONS of research) I was on a mission. Luckily the guy who helped me was actually a runner and knew lots about shoes. He told me that he wasn't surprised that the Pegasus didn't work out - they had significantly changed the dynamics of the shoe. I told him the Mizunos were too tight. I told him I wanted cushion and quality. He suggested the Brooks.
Now I was on my third pair of shoes and praying that they would work out. He convinced me to get a size larger than normal because of the high mileage I was running and the swelling of my feet (which he told me was normal). Most marathon runners have a little extra room in their shoes for this very reason.
With my new shoes in hand I was ready for my next long run of 12 miles. For some reason I thought I would go to Marietta and run my old cross country courses. I had been a little bummed with my shoes dilemma and just feeling "off" running wise, so I needed a change. Plus, David and I were going to spend dinner at my parents house in Marietta that Saturday evening. I would just go up there early and run and then shower at my parents house and have dinner. I thought changing up the scenery would be the motivation I needed. I got myself pumped up and headed to Marietta.
I should have remembered that my knees were still of concern and that these cross country courses had hills!!! Nope, I just totally forgot about all that. I forgot about how many sharp and steep hills there were everywhere. I forgot about how some times you have to run down a hill at about a 90 degree angle. I forgot about the fact that trails are comprised of dirt, gravel and sometimes sand, which is WAY harder to run on (takes more effort, i should say) than concrete. Nope, I just remembered the beautiful scenery and how I needed something to look at if I was going to run 12 miles. I was sick of running through the neighborhoods around my house.
So there I was on a BEAUTIFUL Saturday afternoon in February and it was 70 degrees. WHAT? Crazy! I wasn't super prepared for the heat, but that is another story... So here are some of the awesome scenes from my run:
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| About 3 miles in. |
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| You can't tell from this pic, but that hill after the bridge was straight up and a steady climb! |
I mean, seriously? It was beautiful. BUT like I said, the terrain was fierce and the weather was WARM. I was so glad that I had this new fancy water bottle pack with me during the run because I definitely needed the extra water.
I just bought it the week before because I knew I would need something during the marathon. It was awesome because it also has a pouch where you can keep your phone, camera, gels, whatever... I put my phone and gel in there. It took a little getting use to as it added extra weight on me, but I enjoyed having my water with me throughout the run. I refilled about half way through when I found a water fountain (in the woods! pretty cool).
At about mile 9.5 I saw my car. I thought about just jumping in and being done with this thing, but again I pushed myself through. I thought, "I'll just go to the end of the road and if I feel bad I'll turn around." Once I got there I pushed myself and little farther and a little farther and then I said, just thought, "I'll keep running and run all the way to my parent's house." That way I wouldn't have to turn around and see the same thing twice and maybe it would help motivate me. After about a mile I had to stop and stretch, which is something I had to continually do throughout this run... My garmin says two hours, but it was more like 2.5 with all my stops (when I'd pause my watch).
I made it to my mom's house finally and knew pretty quickly that this was a more painful run that it should have been and it was slower too!
And here I am after the run - how did I brave a smile? I felt like hell.
I took a shower and immediately started icing my knees. Both of them. I think I initially just thought, "oh, it was a bad run day, especially with this heat." I asked my mom, "can i get some ice for my knees and some ibuprofen, like 4 of them, and some Gatorade?" She looked at me bewildered, "is this normal?" she asked. I laughed at first. "Kinda." I said, but then I started thinking as I sat down on the floor icing my knees and nurturing my head ache, this was not normal. I had run more than this before during my half marathons and I NEVER felt this way. What was going on with me? I took the next day off (this is usually my cross train day) and I also took off Monday (which is a normal no-run day). When I started back on Tuesday my left knee was bothering me pretty badly. Crap, i wayyyy over did it this time and now I was suffering the consequences. I finished my Tuesday run and decided after much advice that I had to take a break with no running to let my knee recover...and that is where I have been for the last two weeks - not running. More on that in my next post-
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