Hi! Sorry for being away for such a long time. So here is a summary of what all has happened since my last post.....
I followed up my first 10k with another one the next week. Towards the end I could feel some pressure on my knees. After the run, i did my usual stretches and iced my right knee that was hurting. The next day I observed slight swelling which went away by end of the day. Knees continued to hurt, squatting was impossible without screaming in pain, climbing stairs was painful and there was this crunching and grinding in my right knee which was irritating.
My reasearch on various forums online confirmed that I had runners knee, a common injury among runners, caused due to bad running form, overpronation, running on hard surfaces and is common among women more. I even looked at vidoes of overpronation and underpronation and it just made me more confused. I read stories of other runners who had to take a break from running in order to heal. The break was anywhere from a few weeks to an year. This was very depressing for me, I dint want to meet with the same fate as it happened while learning tennis.
The first thing I did was give myself a 10 days break. However on the 8th and 10th day, i went for long walks. The second thing I did was start running in a park which had a jogging trail. The park is near my home and the entry ticket cost is nominal. The third thing I did was promise myself to start all over again and progress g r a d u a l l y. I added a few more stretches for the upper leg muscles. I also did some exercise to strengthen my upper legs and my abs during the 10 day break. It was my way of countering my depression, as everything that I did during the ten day break was to strengthen myself as a runner.
I got back to running on June 07- did a 4k that day, followed up with rest the next day and did another 4k after that. There was no pain! I did 8k on Jun 12 (I broke my third promise! i did it too soon after getting back). But the best part is that I recovered from 8k run in a day. My knees are so much better now. The speedy recovery from my run though has surprised me.
The learning for me has been that an injury can make you stronger and better, depending on how you decide to tackle it. Having a positive frame of mind is essential. Remember, running is strenous making you prone to injuries. So do not ignore the warning signs of your body. It is important to stop at the right time, otherwise it can aggravate the injury. Most of the time, body is able to heal itself without medication. And dont rush to a doctor with the first sign of trouble.
By the way, I am off running again for the last 3 days - this time the culprit is a neck strain due to wrong sleeping posture! The remedy is the same - REST!!
I followed up my first 10k with another one the next week. Towards the end I could feel some pressure on my knees. After the run, i did my usual stretches and iced my right knee that was hurting. The next day I observed slight swelling which went away by end of the day. Knees continued to hurt, squatting was impossible without screaming in pain, climbing stairs was painful and there was this crunching and grinding in my right knee which was irritating.
My reasearch on various forums online confirmed that I had runners knee, a common injury among runners, caused due to bad running form, overpronation, running on hard surfaces and is common among women more. I even looked at vidoes of overpronation and underpronation and it just made me more confused. I read stories of other runners who had to take a break from running in order to heal. The break was anywhere from a few weeks to an year. This was very depressing for me, I dint want to meet with the same fate as it happened while learning tennis.
The first thing I did was give myself a 10 days break. However on the 8th and 10th day, i went for long walks. The second thing I did was start running in a park which had a jogging trail. The park is near my home and the entry ticket cost is nominal. The third thing I did was promise myself to start all over again and progress g r a d u a l l y. I added a few more stretches for the upper leg muscles. I also did some exercise to strengthen my upper legs and my abs during the 10 day break. It was my way of countering my depression, as everything that I did during the ten day break was to strengthen myself as a runner.
I got back to running on June 07- did a 4k that day, followed up with rest the next day and did another 4k after that. There was no pain! I did 8k on Jun 12 (I broke my third promise! i did it too soon after getting back). But the best part is that I recovered from 8k run in a day. My knees are so much better now. The speedy recovery from my run though has surprised me.
The learning for me has been that an injury can make you stronger and better, depending on how you decide to tackle it. Having a positive frame of mind is essential. Remember, running is strenous making you prone to injuries. So do not ignore the warning signs of your body. It is important to stop at the right time, otherwise it can aggravate the injury. Most of the time, body is able to heal itself without medication. And dont rush to a doctor with the first sign of trouble.
By the way, I am off running again for the last 3 days - this time the culprit is a neck strain due to wrong sleeping posture! The remedy is the same - REST!!
No comments:
Post a Comment