Boot Camp - day 24
daily blathering 4 Comments »
I’m getting ready to head out on my run this morning. Just 3 miles… it feels weird saying just to that. But three miles has become my default run. I think that bumps up to 4 miles on my small run days next month. And by November, I’ll be running 6 miles on my regular days and my long runs will be up to 10 and more. It starts to increase pretty quickly. Which is actually good, I’m still planning a half-mary the first weekend in December. It involves running across the Golden Gate Bridge, twice (coming and going) and a run through Golden Gate Park. I live just north of the GGB, just 20 minute drive from the City (SF) and the race starts and ends up here, on my side of the GGB. I guess that might be weird to some people, that I live so close to one of the major travel destinations in the world. Just like when I hear people talking about walking near the Eiffel Tower which is just down the street from their home. That just blows me away that people LIVE there! Or someone I know who lives in the Bronx and goes bike riding all over NYC and Manhattan and other landmarks that I think of as famous and exotic and she just calls home. I try not to take it for granite, and do touristy stuff peroidically, like a tour of Alcatraz (which is very cool, by the way!) or just bum around Fisherman’s wharf and Pier 39. We take the ferry, go to Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, eat clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls and get bags of salt water taffy. It’s fun to play tourist in your own backyard. I recommend everyone do it!
OK, I guess I’ve stalled lacing up and heading out the door long enough. It’s time to literally hit the road!
UPDATE 7:11 AM
Well, my knee decided about a quarter mile into my run that this just wasn’t going to happen this morning. Oh, I am PISSED. I’ve never had to stop and walk back home before. But powering through was not an option. GRRRR!!! I am not a happy camper… er… runner. I’m going to do a little google research and see if I can figure this thing out.
UPDATE 7:15 AM
Well, that didn’t take long, did it? First result on Google search hit it a bullseye!
What is it?
Kneecap pain or runner’s knee, known to doctors as patellofemoral joint pain or patellofemoral pain syndrome, is characterised by pain at the front or middle edge of the knee or under the kneecap.
Symptoms
Pain at the front or middle edge of the knee or under the kneecap. The pain can often be felt while squatting or going up or down stairs, and when a person gets up after having sat for a while.
Causes
The pain can be caused by any imbalance or dysfunction of the stabilising forces that keep the patella (kneecap) tracking smoothly in the patellofemoral groove on the femur (thighbone).
These causes include overly tight thigh (quadriceps) muscles, tightness of the iliotibial band – the strong band of thick tissue running down the outside of the thigh, weakness of one of the large quadriceps muscles – the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), and faulty biomechanics, such as that causing excessive pronation (rolling in of the foot during the gait cycle).
Treatment
Initial treatment may involve taping of the kneecap to hold it closer to the midline of the body to relieve pain. Rehabilitation usually involves stretching and strengthening exercises to achieve correct balance of the stabilising muscles around the kneecap. If there are biomechanical abnormalities, orthotics may be needed.
The full article can be found HERE.
So, I basically need to go back to the gym and resume my knee physical therapy exercises (I haven’t been doing them the past couple of weeks, I thought I didn’t need them anymore. That’s what I get for thinkin’! And until it’s restrengthened, I need to put my knee brace back on. I haven’t worn them in at least a month. In other words, it’s the same cause I’ve always had, it’s just manifesting itself in a slightly different way.
I will never learn. Ever.
UPDATE 10:09 PM
I am so tired. I hope I get a really good night’s sleep tonite. I need it. It was a long day and I got nothing done that I wanted or needed to. I am so behind, I’m almost in front!!
Tomorrow is another day.

A.M. weigh in: 169.4


A.M weigh-in: 160.4 (oh, that’s just so awesome! AWESOME!! blahhhhhh!!)

