Bummer

SOOoo... I have runner's knee. That's not an official diagnosis, seeing as how I have not been to the Dr yet, but from my online research, that is what I am convinced is wrong with my right knee. I am SUPER bummed. I was pretty much 1/2 way through my marathon training, and things were going SO great. The biggest thing is that I felt like I was on the brink of making my easy pace an entire minute faster than what it previously was, and had been holding an uncomfortable, focused pace for about 7-8 miles . I was consistent and strong and working really hard... AND losing weight! I was on a roll! 

As I mentioned before, I have been battling shin splints, and I felt like I was just barely staying on top of them, with icing and TONS of stretching. Well, a little over a week ago, I came home from a Friday run and didn't have time to stretch. BAD IDEA! The next day I went out for a 12 miler and felt good for the first 6 or 7 miles, but then my knee started to nag a little. By mile 8, it was so bad that I had to stop. I have NEVER had to stop because of pain. I mean, I've stopped out of laziness and all that good stuff, but never because I absolutely couldn't run another step. It was sad. Especially since I was in the middle of central park, and had no phone or money, and had to walk about 2-3 miles back home. It took awhile, and it was cold. What I think happened, is that my shins and calves were so tight, that they were getting moved out of place, and it is only natural to take other things out of alignment along with it, as they are all connected. That, along with the need for new shoes, running on uneven paths, and probably a little overuse... I'm sure they are all to blame, and can all be causes of runner's knee (which basically means that my knee is out of alignment and rubbing against the cartilage).  The weird thing is that I hadn't had any knee pain while running. It was very all of the sudden.

It took about a week of icing and ibu profin for it to feel good just walking on it. I can now walk without any pain, even when going down hill. I decided to try a run on Saturday, and was feeling very optimistic, but once I started running... pain. I only lasted about 1/2 a mile. So, my marathon training is officially on hold as of right now. I will be hittin' the pool to keep up some level of fitness, and when I do start running again, I think it is going to have to be on the treadmill for a while, as downhills are what really make it worse. I am hoping that it will only be a couple more weeks that I will be out, but that is just enough time to make doing a May 3rd marathon pretty much out of the picture. We'll see though. The good news though, is that if I indeed can't do the marathon, then I will be able to do this half marathon that I wasn't going to be able to do, as it is one week before the marathon.

Anyway... just wanted to share my sadness with everyone.  If you have any advice, please send it my way!