Not much going on with guitar, just the usual daily practice of scale work and finger relaxation exercises.
However, on my run that day my left knee started feeling funny at the beginning of the run. I had jogged to Busey Woods and began my usual 1000m hard repeat loops. I wasn't sure how many I was going to do, I just wanted to push as far as I could go. From the first loop I was feeling the best I have all year. The past 2 times at Busey I stopped at 5 reps due to high heat/humidity. Thursday the temp was 70 with low humidity, it was a big difference. I was moving fast, breathing easy, and the icing on the cake was that I had dropped 9 pounds since May 1. I was now at the upper end of my racing weight, I still want to lose 5 more pounds, but at least I got the excess weight off.
At rep 3 the left knee started to bother me. I first felt this odd sensation at boot camp when doing squat jumps across the gym. I now realize that not having done squats my entire life, boot camp was pushing me too fast and hard in that area. Push ups, no problem, ab work, ok, but squats/lunges are too much for my knees. The day after boot camp the knee felt fine and I was able to put in some big runs in the coming week, so I didn't think too much of it. The day before my Busey run I went to Brookens on my own and did the usual set of exercises, which now include squats/lunges. I felt no pain in the knee, but at rep 3 the next day it started to hurt. Feeling so good otherwise, I was reluctant to stop. At rep 4 the pain subsided 50%, so I decided to keep running and ended up with 10 reps, which is a great workout and gives me confidence for the upcoming ultra.
That evening the knee was weak when walking up and down stairs. I have been through so many injuries the past 2 years that I was not dazed, I just got the ice and decided I needed to rest until it started feeling better. I took Friday and Saturday off, although I did 2 hours of walking on Friday.
Today I was still planning to run the Freedom 5k at Assembly Hall, but I wanted to make sure my knee was strong enough, so I rode my bike to the arboretum 90 minutes before the race and did some exercises and a couple of hard hill repeats. The knee felt better than Friday, still some weakness, but strong enough for a hard 3 miler, so I rode my bike to Assembly Hall and registered for my first 5k in 2 years.
I warmed up by myself between the long stretch of walkway between the Hall and the Tennis Complex. I felt pretty good, and the knee was 85%. I stayed out late last night, drinking beer, which I normally don't do, but no big deal, I just wanted to get a short hard run in before the 50k this Saturday.
Standing at the start line I told myself that time and place were not that important today, just run my own race. The plan was comfortably hard the first 2 miles, and uncomfortably hard the final mile. I took it nice and easy the first mile, someone said the split was 6:56. Faster than I expected, so that made me happy. Second mile I still felt good, did not slow down, and when I hit the 3rd mile I started to push a little harder. It was a hot day with high humidity, and I saw a few people walking toward the end, and one young boy bent over a trash can puking his guts out. I passed a few people during the final 800m and got into the chute in 21:02. That is a slow time when compared to 2 years ago, but I don't mind, it felt good to run hard, and my knee did not give me any problems.
After the race I was spent so I soaked myself in the sprinkler showers that were set up in the road, I had my eyes closed and was breathing heavy. I heard my name and opened my eyes to see Ken W. We slapped hands, and I said long time no see. I then walked to get a cold water bottle and saw Yong, he said he ran 18:15, pretty darn fast! As I talked to Yong, Pat Mills came up to say hi to Yong, and I got introduced to Pat. I have seen him numerous times at races, but never had a chance to speak with him. When Yong left with his wife I talked with Pat for about 20 minutes about ultra races. He has completed 2 100 milers, and one of my running goals is to participate in one of these races. I got some interesting stories and advice from Pat, so it was nice to make his acquaintance. I also saw Bill Dey, and we talked for a minute about our upcoming ultra races.
I was concerned about my knee as I finally got to the ice coolers to pick up a water bottle. I had stood in one place talking for 20 minutes and feared the knee was going to feel stiff and miserable. I was relieved to find that it wasn't too bad, it still felt 85% strength, so the race had seemingly done no harm.
The next couple of days I will care for the knee with ice and rest, and begin to mentally prepare for my first ultra race since last October at McNaughton Park.
