I'm getting better!!! Today when I woke up my knee was still a bit sensitive but definitively not painful. After a few stretches I could barely feel that there was anything wrong. Unless I thought or focussed on the knee everything was normal. I'm still thinking no cycling or running until Monday, but it will be tough to restrict myself if I keep on feeling that good. I will have to busy myself this weekend so I'm not teased.
So after work today I went swimming. I swam my usual 750m in a pretty respectable 19m30s. I then did a few laps with breast stroke, paying special attention to my left knee. While it was sensitive, again I wouldn't qualify the feeling as pain... I felt so great that I did another set of 750 freestyle in about 25m. I really needed an outlet to expense all the energy that would usually be channelled through the pavement. After my second 750m set, I did a lap doing backstroke and felt that my muscles were close to seizing up in cramps so I did a few stretches and went on my merry way home.
I feel great!!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Restless Resting
It's hard to stay put and wait for my body to heal. Getting out there and pounding the pavement has become such an important part of my day that when I find myself unable to enjoy the sports I like so much, I grow restless. Not only am I denied my endorphin buzz but also I lost an important stress relief. I also have to watch what I eat because even if my appetite hasn't changed, there are now 1,000 to 1,500 less calories being burned everyday by the fantastic engine that is my body.
So what do I do then instead of running? I live the excitement through others thanks to their wonderful race reports! And I hope that I have a similarly exciting report to share in 3 weeks. The knee is doing better today. It was really sensitive this morning but got better after I did my stretches and lunges. By mid afternoon I almost forgot about it.. I think I'll try to stay put until next week just to be on the safe side.
So what do I do then instead of running? I live the excitement through others thanks to their wonderful race reports! And I hope that I have a similarly exciting report to share in 3 weeks. The knee is doing better today. It was really sensitive this morning but got better after I did my stretches and lunges. By mid afternoon I almost forgot about it.. I think I'll try to stay put until next week just to be on the safe side.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Regenerative Swim
The swim today was really fast. I swam my 750m in about 18m30s. That's pretty much a record for me. My cool down was really short since the frog kick from breast stroke was not feeling right for my sore left knee.
I diagnosed the problem on my left knee as patellofemoral syndrome or runner's knee which I had a bit of last year in the training leading up to the marathon. It's most likely an overuse injury brought on by ramping up too fast with the kilometers. I could also blame the crazy winds for making my bike commutes more intense than they needed to be. So my prescription is a short period of slowed down training where I will focus on stretching and strengthening everything around my knees.
I diagnosed the problem on my left knee as patellofemoral syndrome or runner's knee which I had a bit of last year in the training leading up to the marathon. It's most likely an overuse injury brought on by ramping up too fast with the kilometers. I could also blame the crazy winds for making my bike commutes more intense than they needed to be. So my prescription is a short period of slowed down training where I will focus on stretching and strengthening everything around my knees.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Violent Weather
Well well, I've achieved a new record on the violent weather scale: 43km/h winds with 61km/h gusts. No wonder it felt like uphill the whole way home. What is causing all these crazy winds this year? Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come during the summer.
The ride to work this morning was pretty normal, clocking in at about 1h02m. I had some soreness in my left knee, the same type I experience on Saturday. I don't know why this knee is finicky these days but I think I'll have to slow down my training a bit to let it heal. I'll focus on stretching and do some crunches to strengthen the area and hopefully I'll be back to normal in no time and ready for the race in a month. Tomorrow's calling for rain anyways, so it's the perfect excuse to go to the pool.
The ride home was hellish. Yes, Hellish. Days like today really make me miss the time where I lived downtown. Having to go against a 43km/h wind for 26km is definitively not my idea of fun. It's probably not even good training since I can't get into a proper stride.
Yellow Magnetic Star's Mandala of Sound, Zodiac Youth's Devil's Circus and Patchwork's Diorama in the mix.
The ride to work this morning was pretty normal, clocking in at about 1h02m. I had some soreness in my left knee, the same type I experience on Saturday. I don't know why this knee is finicky these days but I think I'll have to slow down my training a bit to let it heal. I'll focus on stretching and do some crunches to strengthen the area and hopefully I'll be back to normal in no time and ready for the race in a month. Tomorrow's calling for rain anyways, so it's the perfect excuse to go to the pool.
The ride home was hellish. Yes, Hellish. Days like today really make me miss the time where I lived downtown. Having to go against a 43km/h wind for 26km is definitively not my idea of fun. It's probably not even good training since I can't get into a proper stride.
Yellow Magnetic Star's Mandala of Sound, Zodiac Youth's Devil's Circus and Patchwork's Diorama in the mix.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Excuses, Excuses
I could make all kinds of excuses for today's run. I could say that the weather was too warm and humid or that the gusty winds preceding the likely storm made it more difficult. I could blame my lack of preparation in both rest time and nutrition/hydration. I could also say that I cut it short since my left knee was acting up again. Ultimately, there are no valid excuses necessary. If I had a team, I would have let them down. Fortunately, it's only me in the room. I had a bad run, that's all. I will put it behind me and learn from it so that I can do better next time.
I went to the Palladium Auto Park. This is the best place near Mattamy's Fairwinds project to go running. The sidewalks are all there in the loop which is a rare thing in these corners. The loop itself is almost a perfect kilometer so it makes it really easy to ramp the distance up and it's only about a kilometer away from the houses so it's easy to go home when you've had enough. On top of that, it's a one way street so cars are very easy to avoid.
The first few kilometers weren't that bad, but at kilometer 4, even though I had drank almost 750ml already, I was still thirsty. And then at kilometer 5, I couldn't ignore my left knee's distress signals anymore, so I decided to head on home. I guess any training is better than no training. I will definitively make up for it next time.
Trold's Once Upon a Time... in the mix.
I went to the Palladium Auto Park. This is the best place near Mattamy's Fairwinds project to go running. The sidewalks are all there in the loop which is a rare thing in these corners. The loop itself is almost a perfect kilometer so it makes it really easy to ramp the distance up and it's only about a kilometer away from the houses so it's easy to go home when you've had enough. On top of that, it's a one way street so cars are very easy to avoid.
The first few kilometers weren't that bad, but at kilometer 4, even though I had drank almost 750ml already, I was still thirsty. And then at kilometer 5, I couldn't ignore my left knee's distress signals anymore, so I decided to head on home. I guess any training is better than no training. I will definitively make up for it next time.Trold's Once Upon a Time... in the mix.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunny Friday
Phew, I'm so glad it's Friday. Three days of biking in a row wore me down. Especially since I also ran on Monday. The rides today were beautiful. The morning commute was really swift, coming in at about 57 minutes. A lot of that time was spent waiting on red lights too. The weather was great, sunny and almost no wind. If I has to change one thing, I would only have made it a few degrees warmer.
The evening commute was also a beauty. I was in no rush so I didn't push it too hard. I even took the scenic route, staying on the parkway until Carling. It adds a bit of distance but keeps the ride smooth without having to stop at so many lights. I had a bit of attitude today from a few drivers (one of them a yellow school bus!) which is unusual, maybe they were in a rush to start their weekend?
The weather was so beautiful this morning that I had to dust off my cheesiest sunniest music: The Beach Boys' Greatest Hits, Charles Dubé's Réverbère and Joe Dassin's Eternel Collection.
The evening commute was also a beauty. I was in no rush so I didn't push it too hard. I even took the scenic route, staying on the parkway until Carling. It adds a bit of distance but keeps the ride smooth without having to stop at so many lights. I had a bit of attitude today from a few drivers (one of them a yellow school bus!) which is unusual, maybe they were in a rush to start their weekend?
The weather was so beautiful this morning that I had to dust off my cheesiest sunniest music: The Beach Boys' Greatest Hits, Charles Dubé's Réverbère and Joe Dassin's Eternel Collection.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Globe and Mail Essay
I found this nice essay about running today in The Globe and Mail that I thought I should share.
I'm pretty far from that level of experience but I can totally relate to the feeling that is described. Running is like a disease and a cure all at once. I've done my best thinking while running, especially at lunch time when all of my work's problems are fresh on my mind. I've also felt the most exhilarating moments when I am totally in the zone like I've blogged about before. I've also felt the lowest of lows while in the pits of training or during my first marathon when I thought the race would never end. And I can add that a runner's life has a certain oddness to it that the common mortal does not usually understand, such as waking extra early on Sundays to go for a long run or taking a detour to add more miles when there's plenty of shortcuts to the destination.
I'm pretty far from that level of experience but I can totally relate to the feeling that is described. Running is like a disease and a cure all at once. I've done my best thinking while running, especially at lunch time when all of my work's problems are fresh on my mind. I've also felt the most exhilarating moments when I am totally in the zone like I've blogged about before. I've also felt the lowest of lows while in the pits of training or during my first marathon when I thought the race would never end. And I can add that a runner's life has a certain oddness to it that the common mortal does not usually understand, such as waking extra early on Sundays to go for a long run or taking a detour to add more miles when there's plenty of shortcuts to the destination.
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