BEHIND the SCENES....or knees.

So last night, after the 12 mile (or more) run, I was definitely having some pain and some swelling behind my knees, primarily on the right.   I did some "rolling" to massage my muscles, took an anti-inflammatory, downed some joint-support EmergenC and got a really long night's sleep!  Feeling better today.

 I have notice some weakness in my knees the last two weeks when getting up and down but it was minor;  not painful, just slow in getting their bearings.  But the back of the knee was something new and the fact that the right leg was predominant got my attention.  So of course I googled!

So here are the two muscles behind the knee.  They are supposed to be weaker and unassuming muscles because their primary function is to connect the top and bottom muscles of the leg and to facilitate the movement. I don't understand all of their functions but I did find out that there are two factors that can cause their pain.

 First, your feet have the most affect on these muscles.  How you land on your foot and how you turn your foot to power off again.   It is said that flat feet or shoes without good arch support can be a factor.  (Oh Lord, do not tell my husband who just helped me buy a new pair of shoes!!) Secondly, any swelling in this area might not have to do with these muscles at all but is a leakage of fluid from the knee into this area.

It is said that treatment for this area includes the following:
      - icing
      - massaging trigger points which are the OTHER muscles above and below this specific area.
         It is encouraged NOT to do vigorous massage directly on this area as there
          are very delicate tissues and blood vessels there that can be easily damaged.  (Oh Lord, I read that
           AFTER I used my roller there with some vigor to "work it out"!  Always read first, do later!)
     -  specific exercises/stretches that target the "trigger muscles".

With all that being said I can say a couple of things about how this happened to me.  I truly believe on the last mile I pushed myself too hard.  The fact that I was running like an "old man", shuffling, was the alert that my muscles were NOT wanting to run anymore and I was making my legs a slave to my determination.   I should have walked that last bit and listened to my body.      I think it may not be wise to do a "weird" form just to get through the discomfort.



I also think that with my new shoes I do have to watch my landing and powering off.   I did notice that my left foot got out of control and kept absurdly hitting my other foot on the side periodically how this would make my right knee have more pain I don't understand, but it does tell me I was wacky in my control of my feet!  I do know that my knees have been compromised and I need to pay way more attention to my landing and adjusting all that.  Doing that stuff can make a huge difference.

These are NOT my legs by the way....

Sometimes we put too much emphasis on our shoes and expect our shoes to do all the correcting.  They aren't BRACES - they are shoes and can only do mild correction.  The rest is up to us in our training to correct in form and make it a habit.  SO I have a lot of work to still do on that.   My thoughts are that I had just gotten it right and got new shoes which have literally shifted me and making me do new corrections.  Perhaps I will look into some taping or compressions that give a little bit of support in trigger areas.

The truth is just being "off" by a little in your spine alignment, the way you land on your foot, and which side of your body you are working harder can put tremendous undue pressure on joints and muscles and if repeated over and over brings injury.  That's a lot to pay attention to as you run, but it is ultimately incredibly beneficial - specially being in the post-mid-life category.  This group is working against a life-time of body shifting because of spinal compromises and the habitual joint and stance accommodations the body has already settled into.

Just some thought "the morning after"!

Oh and this...just a little Saturday laugh...

Today's Blog brought to you by the number "12" and the letters O M G!

One good thing about a 2-3 hour run is it gives you plenty of time to think about your blog.  I had this one figured out half-way through 12 miles!

I started my day with a sketchy 6 hours of sleep; meaning the off and on few I got as my sick son coughed all night long.   Moms don't sleep while their sleeping children cough.

I was up this morning with my running belt, extra water, cliff bars and winter running gear set to go.  It was 52 degrees on this Florida November morning; coldest morning yet this winter.  So naturally I had layers on and even went back inside at the last second before driving off to get a scarf, lest my neck be too chilled on my run.

Well, my first pointer to this being a hard run happened when I parked where I usually do by the trail in the park with a need already to use the restroom.  I had really hydrated up the night before and in the morning, so I needed "to go" right from the start.  As I got my water belt on, my iPhone strap on and my Gymboss Interval watch on I made my way to the bathrooms right at the parking lot by the trail - and Viola!  They were closed for repairs!!!      Let it be widely known that when a 45 year old woman who's  had two children and several bottles of water needs to pee and then she is denied access to do so - ITS ON!!!!   I had to go all the more and NOW!

I had to walk briskly across the parking lot over several little turn-in roads to another bathroom facing the opposite direction away from the trail.  I was freezing and did my business as fast as possible all the while wondering what "MAN"  made the decision to close those bathrooms!

I swung around the lot back to the trail feeling much more positive and started my Gymboss Interval watch and started running.  It wasn't even a 1/4 of mile in that a horrible thought hit me...I have to go again!  My water belt was putting just the right amount of pressure on my bladder that I obviously too hurriedly did not empty properly.   But by this point I was too far in the path and my Interval timer was going I really couldn't go back so I kept running.  Well take a guess- the next two miles were hard.

My screaming bladder became secondary as I began to sweat with my scarf choking my neck and the two layers of jackets constricting me.  I spent a 1/2 mile trying to detach myself from my outer clothes while running.  This is no easy feat with an IPhone band high with earphone wires on one arm, an Interval timer around the wrist and a water belt all on the OUTSIDE of these clothes I'm trying to shed.  I finally stopped running to do this and had to run carrying them until the swing around at the end of the two miles to the parking lot.

That's when I remembered the bathrooms were closed!  I had to then run to the far bathrooms with my load of clothes and finish that out.  Then I ran back to the parking lot to put away my jacket in my car.  That's when it hit me that I had been doing this with my Interval watch going and had no idea what that distance amounted to nor to how much time it took.   Now my timing and distance was compromised!  Not happy!

I made a flash decision to abandon my Run/Walk method and run like the wind to make up time...whatever that was.   I did this for two miles.    When I remembered I hadn't eaten anything.  I was about to reach into my water belt for the miniature Cliff bar (brownie flavored) when I remembered the large Macadamia White Chocolate one I had in the car.  At this point I was flustered and felt I needed some refreshing and I stopped and got it, taking two bites, leaving it and going on.

 As I went back to my Run/Walk method with the remnants of the Macadamia White Chocolate melting in my mouth all I could think of was the rest of that bar on the front seat of my car and that I wanted it.  Well Hallelujah!  Finally some good motivation.  I hit a stride and got moving around the trail to get the rest of it.  After I finished the bar I came to myself and had a good rest of a run.    The rest is history.

I will say however,  having "booked it" those two miles to make up time was not the smartest strategy for doing a longer distance today.  On my twelfth mile I was running like the 80 year old man I see sometimes on the trial shuffling along and my thighs and glutes were as hard as a rock.  Mile 12 was a booger.

Mile twelve is done and it needs to be redone the right way.  My time once I figured out my Intervals and the added 24 minutes on the stopwatch on my phone calculated my run at 144 minutes.   Now I say I did 12 but the run to those bathrooms were at least 1/4 mile...who knows.   So- next week it's back for a redo of 12!

It's all SENSATIONAL from here!

Today I purchased my new shoes.  Love them!  Haven't actually run in them but the SENSATION as I slipped them on and walked around in them was far beyond what I have had for two years in my old shoes...God bless them.  It's kind of sad to let old shoes go.  After all they saw the birth of the athlete side of me.  They saw my first full mile and my first long run of 11.  They even rode with me on my 12 mile bike at my first TRI.  So, I sort of feel an urge to shrine them.  My new shoes have 8 weeks to do any breaking they need - and my feet have 8 weeks to heal from any affects of the breaking.  I think, maybe naively, that this wont be necessary.  I will let you know.

The second thing on my mind today is another SENSATION.  I'm not sure what the name for it is, but I'm pretty sure there must be an official lingo for it.  It's what I felt as I neared race day for my TRI, when I was swimming, biking and running and doing it like I actually could be in a race and not without someone laughing at me.  Its a feeling that I am sure everyone feels when they have now accomplished things they've never dreamed they would be able to do, when they reach those goals they set months ago with a lot of doubt.  Now they are actually doing it and doing it with some confidence and assurance they can do at least that much on race day!

I now have more hurdles behind me in physical endurance than before me...yes I know I still have the race to do, but the grueling day in day out training where every day is a challenge while I'm fully aware there is still so much more to accomplish is vanishing. For instance, I have only 2.1 more miles to add to my longest run.  That's nothing compared to being at 1 mile looking for 10 more.  Sure I expect to be experiencing a lot of challenges on race day (more like pain and discomfort and exhaustion) in those last few miles, but it's different.

It's different because along with this Sensation I have now is another Sensation.  It is a HIGH!
Yes, a high!   A race pre-race HIGH!   I'm experiencing the excitement of the anticipated thousands of new people running or doing their run all aroundme.  It's a high from finally being running at the location I've been picturing in my head and reading about in blogs by other runners.  It's the high of the thought of  picking up my race packet, walking around the EXPO, finding out my number, etc.  All my thoughts are starting to be more about the race than the training aspect!

Even today after getting my shoes I went right to the store and loaded up on energy snacks and vitamin drinks and perused everything available that I might consider to start eating and using on my training runs so I can decided what to actually use on race day.  The preparation of the actual race.

I guess that's it.  The training turns to race day.  Everything now is about race day.  The shoes, the socks, the shorts, the belt, the energy pops, the song list, the pre-race schedule, the bed time, the wake-up time, the travel to the start line.   All of it is now pointed there.  And it is just beyond exciting and thrilling and I can't wait.

This Sensation is such that I know I will have to do this again...and again.  I know that because I remember it from last time and now I am having it again and it's awesome!  What would I do with myself if I wasn't training or racing?

So the report now - is SENSATIONAL!