Cold Turkey

An eight month streak of running 100-miles every month ended yesterday. I could have forced the mileage, but I took the high road and did what was smart.

The “big dance” is quickly approaching. It is time to shift gears and really push the knee and see if I have a serious knee problem or not. Today I ran four miles on the greenbelts. I stretched before and after the run. I’ve decided to run “cold turkey”; no ibprofren, no proactive icing of the knee, and I’m not wearing the compression sleeve during physical activities.

The run was a huge success with two small exceptions. I ran one-mile intervals and each time I started running I had a bit of sharp pain below my patella, which went away a minute into the run. Near the end of the five mile loop there is a small hill with a steep incline. I had a significant amount of sharp pain under my right patella the moment the elevation changed. I managed to lessen the pain with a smaller stride, yet it remained uncomfortable until the terrain leveled out.

There was a light drizzling rain for the duration of the run. Not once did I look at the pace. It felt like my tempo was one notch above walking. After uploading the Garmin I learned I was moving faster than expected. Bonus!

There was a pleasant encounter with a deer. I saw a whitetail doe on the right side of the trail about 75 yards ahead of me. When she noticed something moving towards her, she stepped onto the center of the trail and faced me. I honestly don’t think she saw me until I was within 20 yards. Luckily she wasn’t startled; she merely stepped to the side of the trail and allowed me to run by.

I feel really good. I almost forgot how much I love post run endorphins!

Run:
4.0 miles
45:09
11:17 pace

Walk:
1.35 miles
21:57
16:16 pace