Well if you thought my fucky fuck Mcfuck fuck post was entertaining, this one should be amazing.
My left knee is fucking shitballs. It is in serious denial about the rest of the body becoming a marathon runner. It will not co-operate. My left knee is a fucking jerk. Patella tendonopathy. Basically, my kneecap does not track properly so the tendon gets inflamed if pushed too hard or if fatigued. As in, whenever I want to run more than 5km. Fuck. This. Before today’s long run I actually gave my knee 2.5km to warm up. I ran 2.5km before meeting up with Renee. I just wanted to SEE if it would sieze up like it did on Thursday night. Seemed ok. Seemed like the warmer I got the better it felt. Certainly no horrendous pain. I did feel a bit nervous though and thought perhaps there was a 50% chance I’d not make the full 14km. But I really wanted to run. I can see physio Andrew’s face now when I whine that at him “But I reaaaaaaly wanted to run”…. pfffft….
The problem with running the bridges is that it’s a loop. So you can’t really bail after the halfway point. You gotta get home somehow. Although my knee felt a little shaky, I made 6km and felt good – 6:15 pace. A bit stiff maybe, but nothing to really write home about. The clinch came when we stopped at Barrack St for a drink from the fountain. I stopped. I had a drink. I took one step and WHAM my knee had had enough. It just locked up and hurt like a mother fucker. The issue is the knee bending. Straight leg is ok. Completely bent knee is ok. It’s the movement between the two that makes a woman like me (who’s done childbirth drug free) have a mini pain panic and internal meltdown. I thought maybe if I could just get it moving again it would ease up. Nope. My knee was done. So there’s Renee and I in a situation where only Renee had her phone and we had no money. We tried my husband but he was not picking up. I was 5km from home. Fuck. Finally we decided that I’d catch the ferry across the river back to the car and Renee would keep running around the river and meet me on the other side. Problem was, I had no money. So it was time to figure out if I’d get Captain “I don’t give a fuck about your injury” or Captain “Here, take a seat love”. Happy to report not all Transperth captains are pricks – I got Captain “Here take a seat love”. Phew!
I limped off the ferry and Renee was with me within about 10 minutes. I’m yet to ask her what her splits over that 4km were! She got there pretty quick! I was mad at myself. I was mad that I’d ruined Renee’s long run. Sorry Renee. Nobody’s going to ever want to run with me ever again at this rate. First I bailed on Sam, now Renee. Fuck me just leave me behind.
Feeling pretty sorry for myself. I know it’s a fatigue issue. It’s an overuse issue. It’s ALWAYS a fucking core issue. And I also know that this kind of injury only makes me a better runner. Whether I like it or not, I am forced to listen to my body. I am forced to do more strength work, keep a focus on my flexibility and respect my body a bit more. I want to be a running machine. Mentally it’s all there right now, just my body can’t keep up. In my head it’s been over 9 months since I did this to my knee. I feel like it’s about fucking time it got back on track – literally. But in reality I’ve done maybe 2 months of solid work at the gym while at the same time increasing speed and distance rapidly. Too much, fucktard. Hindsight is amazing. Physio Andrew did encourage me to get out there today to see how it would go. Well. That’s that then physio Andrew isn’t it mate? Now we know where we’re at. Plus I have a nice ITB issue to add to the mix just to keep things interesting.
Must regroup. Getting a foam roller is a priority tomorrow.
Sitting down at dinner I almost cried into my plate I felt so bummed out. My husband is supportive, but he did tell me to get a grip. It’s going to be ok. *Sigh* I know it’s going to be ok. I know what I need to do. I hate waiting. It’s so fucking frustrating!!!! Balls and fuck.
toughmudderof4 