Knee questions answered

Here's the deal. I've been having knee pain for a year. It's always hurt under the knee cap or around the knee cap on stairs, going up or coming down, some days not at all. It started off just hurting after a long run here and there last January.

 By March, it was becoming more of a problem, interfering with my training. I added in some xtraining, when to my chiro, dry needled and KT taped it. Ran my marathon at the end of April with no knee pain at all (well at least not this knee pain, IT band issues on the other leg)

May- I rested for weeks. I xtrained. I went to the Dr. who told me it was runner's knee and handed me a paper with exercises. I did those, nothing. Changed my shoes- seemed to work went back to my follow up. No pain in knee (with the new shoes- and I wasn't running that much). Started picking up my running, knee pain back. Frustrated, called a new PT instead of another Dr appt.

PT- I went from July til Dec. Not much improvement. Lots of dry needling, ASTYM, estim, etc. I was able to run, just would get a day or 2 of reprieve. I ran well too. Thanks, Coach Becki! I raced a decent 10K, PRd in 15K and 5 milers this fall. My last race, the Turkey Trot, was the last straw. My knee was killing after it. I couldn't run, yet alone walk without some pain.

Back to Dr, MRI ordered.

"Chondromalacia and chrondromalacic osseous changes involving the lateral facet and critical zone of the patella with extensive marrow edema involving the patella"

I'm not sure what grade mine is...assuming grade 4 since I have "osseous changes" Feel free to correct me.

In layman's terms the Dr said "In any other bone this would be a stress fracture" Read- zero running for 6 weeks.  The chondromalacia means my cartilege is thinning/damaged. Options for that were a Visco injection or PRP. Visco is used for arthritis and isn't covered with my insurance (read $700-$1400 an injection that might work and might need to be done every 6 months) or PRP (platelet rich plasma which isn't covered by insurance and is *only * $500.  I went with the PRP since it is more a healing thing than covering up pain.

More later on the PRP injection.

So, what's in my future? I'm not sure right now. Although, it looks like I'm going to have to ease up on the running and definitely find my fitness elsewhere for the time being. I hoping PRP will work and I can get back to running since I'm running the Indy Mini this May 5th. I registered before I knew what was going on with my knee so there's that. Feel free to join me on May 5 in Indy. I mean, you get to run on the speedway! Plus Meb will be there! Discount code is BRP2018 for $5 off. 

Race Recap: Glass City Marathon

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Glass City Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review and write race reviews!

I had heard great things about Glass City Marathon and jumped at the chance to run it. A flat, fast course and pretty close to home is always a plus. 

Expo: 

The Glass City marathon expo was pretty nice. They had UT Savage Area floor to use and had the usual vendors for a mid sized marathon. Lots of local services with discounts- definitely nice for the local runners. Also they had venders selling GU etc. for the last minute "oops, I forgot to pack (fill in the blank)". A local run shop had different t-shirts and 1/2 zips to supplement to your Glass City Swag. I stayed away since I already have an entire dresser filled with running clothes. (Yeah, I might have a Oiselle problem!) The packet pick up was very clear and it was very nice that they had a special section for 1st time marathoners who got an escort by the elite runners. 

Shirts are a nice New Balance short sleeve with the north coast line of Ohio across it. 

Gear drop bag with bib and shirt was missing one thing: a map of the course and starting line. Since my husband was there to cheer he didn't want to be looking at the little map on the app that tracked the runner. I didn't use the tracking feature on the app either since I was concerned about my battery life on my phone during the race and after. 

The Race:

Morning of: I met up with a friend from high school & her friend who happens to work at UT. We waited in her building where it was warmer and had flushing toilets. We walked past the portapotty line which didn't look too long but I was thankful not to have to use them! I met up with my Oiselle Volée team mates for a picture a little before race time.

Corrals were pretty lame, they might think about refiguring them. Corral A was huge and hardly anyone there with 5 mins til start. I walked in A and stepped over the tape that was already on the ground to make my way to B. They had a nice flyover of the Mercy Health helicopter before the start and it took a picture of the crowd. Although everyone around me was correctly placed, I didn't need to run around slower runners.

My goal for this race was a BQ -5:00 so for my AG 3:40. I had been doing well with training but definitely had some small over use injuries that popped up every few weeks. I knew that my training wasn't as intense as I'd done in the past but I was not nursing any injury at the start. Weather was looking ideal as well. Low 40s for a start, not a cloud in sight. My plan was to run 8:20-8:30 pace for the first half then drop down to 8:20-;25 for the 2nd half. 

The course circled around the UT campus then into Ottawa Hills (an absolutely beautiful suburb of Toledo) then through a metro park, out to Sylvania then back through the same metro park then bike path back to UT campus and finishing in the Glass Bowl stadium. I had looked on a few marathon review websites and it was common that the course was long if you didn't run the tangents. This course has a lot of turns so I tried my best to run the most direct path and ended up only running a tenth of a mile over compared to some who had run .4 over. 

mile 12

My race was going great until mile 10. My left knee which had not given me any problems during training started hurting. I have had problems with my IT band in the past and I knew that's what it was. I debated stopping and stretching. Would that mess up my pace? would it just make it harder to get moving again? I tried to run through it. By mile 16 i was slowing down, 10 secs slower every mile then mile 20 (aka the wall) hit as well. I dropped down to what felt like a crawl but really it was 10-11 min per mile pace. I knew that my BQ time was slipping away and I couldn't go any faster. It was a long slog back to the finish. My only complaint would be the bike path at the end... it felt so long and there wasn't any shade. I was hot, sad, exhausted and still had 4 miles to go. Ugh. The bright spot for the last 10k was oranges at the water stops. They were the best tasting oranges I have ever had. I've never taken food other than my own energy (Gu, etc) but wow. Fresh oranges are the bomb! 

Another minor complaint is the last 1/4 mile you turn the corner from a down hill and you see the afterparty but the course isn't very obvious (at least in my haze at the end) I actually threw up my hands like "Where the hell to do I go?" but then it became obvious as they had a cheering section leading up to the stadium. I finished in 4:01:09. I finished, got my medal (holy toledo! that sucker is HUGE), then promptly started crying. I was asked if I needed medical and I said I wanted ice for my knee but then the volunteer walked away figuring I was ok. I was, but ice would have been nice or at least walked me towards the med tent. I stopped and just sobbed for awhile knowing that I had missed my goal by 20 mins but out of the blue my friend from HS was there rubbing my shoulders. She's done countless marathons and knows it's the nature of the beast. I do, too. It still sucks though.

Jen and I waited around for my husband who was near the finish line to find me. My legs were toast and I wanted more than anything is to put my legs up a wall (thanks, Jasyoga!) we found a wall at the end zone of stadium and rested for about 10 mins with our legs up the wall. (My friend had done the half). I actually felt way better after that enough so that I could walk down to the after party and get my nice finisher's glass mug. We promptly went to the food tent, got the usual bagel, banana and pizza. I didn't have much of an appetite but wanted the beer (numb the sting of a crappy race). I'm a beer snob and I have to say they had decent beer...and then I drank a Bud Light Lime because it sounded amazing and it was. (and I hate Bud Light). 

We had an hour to get back to the hotel and check out so I didn't stick around to talk to the other Oiselle volee although I saw some from a far. 

I liked the race. I would do it again definitely. The last marathon I ran before this was Chicago so this was definitely more hometown-y and low key in a nice way. 

Year of Redemption

2014 has been the year of redemption for me and after 2013, I needed it.

I have so many things to be happy about it so I'm just going to list them:

1. Boston Qualified at the Columbus Marathon in October. PR of 3:44:09- a dream for so long but the first time I really attempted to go for it. I'm thrilled, now I barely qualified by 51 seconds so I have to wait til Sept 2015 to see if I get to run it. Must. be. patient.
2. Ran 3 marathons this year without getting hurt (Flying Pig, Columbus, OBX)- I told myself if I was within 10 mins of a BQ time at Cincinnati, I'd run another marathon this year. I did Columbus in October, trained for a BQ time and succeeded but... I had a rough time after mile 16 and ran 9 mins slower than planned (I should have blogged about that...) So, what did I decide to do? Head out the the OBX for a marathon 3 weeks later- I'm in shape, right? Maybe, I can run better.  (yeah, that didn't happen- ran 20 mins slower and felt like crap.  Not my most brilliant idea.)
3. PR'd in the marathon and the half New PR in the half at the Air Force Half Marathon 1:47 (although I really need to focus on the half) and Columbus Full in 3:44:09
4. Joined the Oiselle Flock in July- I've loved Oiselle stuff for years but it was when Lauren Fleshman and then Kara Goucher joined them that I got really excited. They are just awesome.  When I looked into their athletes, I noticed that they didn't have just elites but ordinary runners too. I set my eyes to finding out about joining them and in July they opened up the Flock.  I'm proud to help out the emerging athletes and represent a company that is so supportive of woman athletes. Here's an awesome article about CEO Sally Bergesen from Outside Online. I love having a group of woman who are so supportive. Love my #flockmates!
5. Selected to be a Nuunbassador for NUUN- I submitted my Nuun ambassador application and figured I didn't blog enough to get this, even though, I haven't drank anything other than Nuun for years for my electrolytes.  Score one for: "you don't know unless you try". 
6.  Picked to be a wear tester for a major running shoe company- BTW, cool shoes in Spring 2015 coming your way...can't say more than that!
7. Ran 1607 miles this year -(double of what I did last year)
   
8. Found a training plan that works for me. Love you, Hanson's Marathon Method!
9. Found a chiropractor who works with serious athletes - thanks, Dr. Pat! If you live in Dayton, OH, I highly recommend him!
10. Having an awesome, supportive husband who supported my dreams this year - I couldn't have done this at all without my dear husband.

Now, it's your turn- What were some of the best things that happened this year for you?

 My year in pictures:

Columbus Marathon 2014

Columbus Marathon 2014 with Cub

Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon in May

Smashed 4 hr mark, 3:48

1st race representing Oiselle (with Buster)

My number #1 fan, support team!

Family 5k

Race Recap: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon 2014

Stars can and do align for races!  

I have been trying to do everything right for this race.  I followed a solid training plan, stayed injury free, ate right, hydrated properly and even got a good night of sleep before race day. 

So here's a quick breakdown of the day
Pre-race prep: all done the day before, number on my favorite Oiselle tank, gels in my spibelt, etc.

Alarm set for 3 pm: Wake up at 3:11 am good thing since I had the alarm on pm. That would have just sucked to oversleep your race.

On the road at 4:15am:  to met up with my chicas as we were carpooling down to Cincinnati from Dayton

Traveling:  oops forgot directions for parking, call hubby and have him send a picture of the directions since the website was being difficult.

Parking: right next to Paul Brown stadium

Bag check:  first school bus we walk by is the right bus for my bib number. 

Waiting time:  Inside the stadium, woman's bathroom without a line?  What?! 

Walk to the start line:  hardly 100 m away, no problems

The race:

1: trying to find my happy place and pace of 8:30
2: Yikes 7:57 pace, slow down chica.
3-5: keeping close to my pace, Best days of My life comes on as I run down mile 5 with tons of people, it was surreal.
6-8: Hills, knew about those, slowed my pace, looked for my friend from HS who is about half way up the "big one".  Found her, jolt of energy. 
8-9:  Always forget about this section of the course after the beautiful vista of the Ohio River. 
10-13: zoned out, the half had split and I found myself on my own a bit. My mile splits were off enough that I always missed them by the time I saw the mile clock on the course.  Running by feel I guess.
13.1: 1:50 feeling good.
13-15: hung out with the 3:40 pace group (mostly men). This was my BQ time so tried to stay there. Until we turned a corner and found a little but steep hill.  My quads were not having it.  Slowed down, then said F it and walked the last 15 feet or so.
16: was a turnaround, so I could see runners ahead of me.  This was the longest run I did in training so every after this was untested.
17-20: zoned out, there was a portion on the bike path which had HOPE written out, honestly don't know what I was thinking here. 
21-25:  These hurt, I was hot, the sun was out, no one really around me too much, I was timing my gel intake because I knew I was needing the energy.  I could see the Great American building further down the river but it looked so far away yet, that's were the finish line was.  Mile 21 the 3:45 pace group passed me.  There goes my training pace...
26:  who put that hill there, it's not much but I wanted to cry when i saw the rise in the road, then my music shuffled and I got the Olympic theme song going, the streets are lined with people and I just gave it what I could.  Anyone else use the Olympic theme in their race mix?  It never fails to give me a lift when I need it.

Finish: 3:48:19.  PR by 28 minutes.  I'm super happy with my time and my place top 8% of all woman in the race. 

Post race:  No Gatorade what was up with that?  I didn't drink it on the course because my gels have electrolytes in them so I only drank water but I was so sick of water! I ended drinking the syrup out of the free fruit cups they gave out.  There was plenty of junk food after but I didn't have the stomach for it and I was amazed to see how many people were just piling up the food to take with them.  Finally got out of the finisher's area and found my boys and hubby. 

my cheering crew, a bit tired after being in the sun and getting up early!

Overall:  it was a great race for me.  I'm proud of
my time considering the hills on this course.  The volunteers (Grunts) were amazing and all the crowd support was fabulous.  I will do this race again but I'm not sure when...

P.S. Love, love, love the finishing medals this year!

Stats: 

Marathon #2 training update

I've been so busy with training, soccer practices and work, I haven't had a lot of time to update.   

It's been going well.  Here was the original plan for another marathon

And here's the real training: 

Mondays had to be a rest day since both boys had soccer practice in different locations at the same time. Thursdays- I used to do spinning but decided family time is more important, Fridays- I run after work before getting the boys.   Sundays used to be my long run day but we have soccer games.

I apologize for the formating- I can't figure out what I did that makes the spacing weird with some of the weeks! 

Week 0 (right after marathon #1)

Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: spinning class (easy)

Friday: rest

Saturday: run 1.5 hrs (9 miles on trails)

Sunday: rest

 

Week: 1

Monday: spinning class

Tuesday: run 3 m

Wednesday: run 3 m

Thursday: rest

Friday: run 6 m

Saturday: rest

Sunday: run 7 m

Week: 2

Monday: rest

Tuesday: spinning class

Wednesday: run 7m

Thursday: run 3.75 m

Friday: rest

Saturday: run 14 m

Sunday: rest

						Week: 3 Monday: run 3 m Tuesday: spinning class Wednesday: run 5 m Thursday:  rest Friday: run 3 m Saturday: run 16 m Sunday: rest
						Week: 4 Monday: run 4.5 m Tuesday: spinning class Wednesday: run 5 m Thursday: rest Friday: plan on running 4 Saturday: plan on running 18 Sunday: plan on resting Week: 5 planning on doing... Monday:  3 m Tuesday: spinning class Wednesday: 7 m Thursday: rest Friday: 3 m Saturday: 10-12 m Sunday: rest Week: 6 planning on doing Monday:  run 3 Tuesday: easy at spinning class Wednesday: run 3 Thursday: rest Friday: rest (travel day to Indy) Saturday: RACE DAY Sunday:  As I said I would, I have played around with my nutrition on the run. I've decided that the e-gels from cranksports.com work for me.  I'm not sure I really like the flavors, but since the consistency is not so thick it's easy to suck them down  quickly.  Last week I tried the Cliff shots gel- yuck- I had to chew it!  No thank you! Plus I got a side stitch every time I had one.

Marathon runner vs Fiat Panda

I've mentioned that my current favorite show is Top Gear on BBC America.  I'm not really into cars, but they make it interesting with different kinds of challenges and the hosts are really funny.  Last night my dh and I watched this one.    Enjoy!  (It's about 7 mins per part)