Here is what I did last week and how it affected my knee:
- First felt pain 1 mile into my easy/medium 3 mile run last Tuesday, I ran the first mile a little too fast in 6:13 and hadn't warmed up at all. (I ran a 6:13 bc I tried to start out at a cruise pace, looked at my garmin 1/2 mile in and saw 3:06. I then thought, "well, lets see what time I can finish this mile in." As soon as I started mile 2 (way slower), knee pain :/
- Wednesday I took off
- Thursday I ran stairs for 25 minutes and felt no pain.
- Friday I ran on the treadmill, felt pain 1 mile in and stopped at 2
- Saturday 4-miler same thing, right at the 1 mile mark inner knee pain came back. I finished the 4, but haven't run since Sat.
The pain is on inner-topish part and it does seem to swell out a bit, it is definitely more lumpy than the right side (after running)
During the 3 days I took off from running I felt scattered knee pain. The worst times were when I sat in the car (passenger) for 15-20 minutes and walking after that was painful for a while. A lot of the time though I was fine. I've been icing daily. I haven't even been doing my planks (I've been afraid of the rigid straight position of the leg, but It'll probably be fine) or other ab/arm exercises because most of them still involve the knee to some degree.
Nighttime Abs/Arms have been replaced with:
Wine is probably not the best recovery drink, but it makes me feel better temporarily ;)
I'm getting back to abs/arms tonight, there are plenty of moves I can still do. I've just been using my knee as an excuse to be lazy. 3 days off though and I'm feeling very soft so no more excuses.
Someone suggested that it could possibly be Plica Syndrome. I've looked into this and it is a definite possibility. Has anyone here had experience with Plica?
I ran 2 miles today to test things out; the first mile I felt very mild pain, the second mile it hurt more, but I noticed if I landed lightly on my toe and pushed off quickly I had little to no pain. This of course means I am running at a much faster clip. After the run my knee had irritation and side of my left knee was significantly bigger than my right. I've taken an anti-inflammatory and iced since finishing my run.
This is totally bumming me out right now 'cause the temps are just starting to warm up, racing season is here and I am ready to crush some PRs
Any insight on what could be causing my knee pain is appreciated :)
On a happy/funny note: One of the search terms to my blog was "pics of 3k run pros" which led to my Self Indulgent Pre Race Pics. Sure I'll consider myself a 3k pro, why not? :)
And if you haven't entered my Ryders Sunnies Giveaway yet you have till Midnight Friday :D I'm loving checking out all the awesome styles you guys like. There seems to be a high preference for Hot Pink, I'm a fan :) I'm just sad that I can only pick one winner : /
