Workout: 3.5 miles; the Yard

Time: A ridiculously slow 51:50

Temp: Pretty cold

After my last couple of runs, I was concerned enough about my knee that I didn’t want to run again until I’d consulted with my coaches, which I did at last Thursday’s team get-together. It was an enjoyable get-together and I got some good advice from coaches Bill and Megan about my knee like when to ice it and some stretches to add to my routine that might help, and that if that still wasn’t helping within a few days, I should probably get it checked by a doctor to be safe. I was all ready to put those tips into action starting with my next run, which was the Saturday team run, and instead got sick, so I missed a few more days of running.

Looking for a silver lining, I was noticing that my knee was feeling pretty normal with the extra rest, so when I was well enough to run again on Monday, I had high hopes that it wouldn’t bother me. Since I still had a bit of a cough and hadn’t run in a week, I only set out for a modest 3.5 miles on the Yard, which is soft and flat - just what my knee needed. I stopped after the first mile and stretched without rushing through it, and up to that point and for a short while after, my knee felt fine, but then that familiar discomfort kicked in, and it wasn’t long before I was walking. I ran a few more times for short stretches, but the knee just wasn’t having it, and frankly, it was bumming me out. (The dead mouse I passed on every lap wasn’t helping, either.)

I want to run this marathon, and I’m entirely confident that with TnT’s coaching and support, running a marathon is something I can do, but I’m starting to have doubts whether I can run this marathon. I don’t think I messed up my knee by over-training, because I didn’t suddenly ramp up my mileage compared to what I was already doing for more than year prior to joining up with TnT, but for whatever reason, my knee has picked now as the time to go wonky. I’m not remotely considering quitting, but if I can’t resolve the knee issue pretty soon, it will make it hard or foolhardy to keep up with the running schedule, so I may have to consider scaling back my goal on this one to walking a marathon instead of running it. I don’t want to do that, but I’d rather do that than just give up on it, and whether I’m running or not, it’s still a great cause and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my involvement in the program, so it’s worth continuing at any pace. Plus, when you think of the people you’re running for and what they go through, “settling” for walking 26.2 miles instead of running it doesn’t sound like such a bad deal.

So, I’m discouraged, but not defeated. It’s time to get checked out by a sports physician, I guess, and maybe see if I can find an affordable elliptical so that if I have to take a break from running, I’ll at least have a low-impact way of continuing the cardio training.