Head, Shoulders, KNEES and Toes

Oh my goodness it's finally Friday! My weekend is packed to the gills and I still feel like there is a lot I need to do to prepare for it!

So yesterday was one of my best runs ever. I had very minimal aching in my knees! Usually I notice a little pain during the first mile or so which eventually tapers off and comes back whenever I'm going slightly down hill. My legs were a little heavy yesterday but were weightless about 3 miles in. AND I can walk today!

I've never been a long distance runner but I've always wanted to be one. Terrible idea as both my parents have terrible knees as well. But I've always loved the little bit of running I would do. Anytime I didn't have access to a gym, I knew I could strap on some sneakers and run around the neighborhood.

Over the past year, I've been more committed to working out on a regular basis and as the weather turned cold and snowy I had to bring the running part of my workout inside. These killed my knees, I would be in so much pain before, during and after the treadmill. Though for some reason I felt the elliptical was the wussy way out. I had discovered a love for speedy intervals which kept my attention better.

I've been a regular follower of Caitlin for about 6 months now, and after some questions and reading through her own knee problems I tweaked my own running habits. Some things I've learned:
*Glucosamine Chondroitin - I've been taking this pretty steadily for several months now. Caitlin explained that it does take a little while before you notice its affects on your system. So I just kept on taking them and I finally got to the point where they do make me feel good. I just buy the Target brand.
*Knee Sleeves - I also read up on these through Caitlin's blog. When I went in for new shoes I asked about these and decided to try them out. I guess I assumed they'd be sold in pairs so I bought one package. So now I have one knee sleeve. I've been wearing it on my left knee and has totally helped the aching I would feel while running. I will eventually buy one for my right one soon as I'm adding more distance!
*Minutes over Miles - I used to run to achieve a certain mileage. I would be on the treadmill and say "okay, let's do 3 today!" But the treadmill gets so boring and blah blah, I'd crank up the speed so I could get through 3 or however many miles I put myself to through. Too many times I was hauling it (my next point) but not helping my body train through endurance. After my own running hiatus when I finally got back on the treadmill, I would say okay just run for 20 minutes, 30 minutes. I can appreciate a mile more, but I can appreciate my body for being able to run for 60 minutes more so... also to go with this...
*Slow the eff down! Between my race to a certain mileage and what become an abusive relationship with speed intervals, I was pushing my body to crazy speedwork. Intervals DO help combat boredom on the treadmill but my knees couldn't keep up to the levels I was pushing it through. Sprinting intervals at 8.7 on a treadmill HURT. Running a 6 min mile on a treadmill HURTS. As my legs get stronger, these workouts will get better but only on occasion. Not to be an everyday thing - ugh. So as boring as it was I brought the treadmill speed down to 6.5, sometimes throw some 6.2 or 6.8 in there. I started pacing myself on outdoor runs. Your legs really do acclimate to running certain speeds and it took a little bit to get my natural running motion to slow down. But now when I'm outside I'm at a steady 9:13 pace which is what the 6.5 works out to be usually.
I like to map my runs out with mapmyrun.com and remember where the mile markers are and check my watch as I go through them. I also love mapmyrun for when I'm back home and it also helps determine how many calories burned and also with pace. I never take calories literally, I usually round the number down. If I burned more than I'm estimating then bonus, but I'm not getting my expectations up (same with on machines, I like having the numbers there but I usually round down or lop off 50-100 in my head).
*Ice and stretch! I try to stretch for 15-20 minutes after a workout and then I throw on the ice packs - one for each knee plus a little bootie for my ankle (Achilles problems... something else that hindered my running for a month). 20 min on, 20 min off.
*Low Impact workouts - I realized the elliptical isn't wussy. I can't push myself to run 4-5 days a week. But I want to workout 4-5 days a week to reach my goals. I'm a big fan of the stairmaster but when my knees are tender that's out of the question. So a day or two I will use the elliptical and I am starting to like it. No pain and I can make it either a really good glute work out or just zone for an hour watching a Gilmore Girls repeat (new gym with personal tv stations at each machine... aaawesome!)
*Aleve - I pop one or two of these like 30-60 min before a run and then take one more before I'm about to head out. This helps in the pain I would get during runs. I have gone down from 3 to 2 as my legs get stronger. I just always have it on hand anyways as my go-to pain reliever. It's nice when you're hungover and you don't need to scramble around for something - I have 4 bottles floating around somewhere!

So now I just work on building my distance at a slower rate and only run 2 (maybe 3) days a week and work other things in the rest of the week. I'm excited because I want to partake in more races and eventually work myself up to a half marathon. A full marathon might be a little much but we'll see down the line!