Well, my distance has, if not my knee entirely. It's almost 3 months since the knee operation. I'm still having discomfort in the back of knee. The surgeon told me that I could expect up to 6 months of that, whilst it heals. The fact that they meniscus was 'drilled' as well as the tear cut out, makes it a more lengthy recovery.
Last week didn't go that well initially. I did a 6 mile route, half of which I ran at a steady pace, then I ran 1x800m speed interval, followed by 5x400m intervals, before a 1/2 mil jog home. I'm trying to do some speedwork to regain my fitness a little faster. As well as doing a strength and atability gym session on Thursday I also ran my usual 3 mile tempo run. I had been busy during the day, and ignored my hydration, which I don't think helped. I felt thirst before I started, so I was never going to be doing well. I also forgot my watch, so I couldn't time it. This was probably a good thing, as I would only have depressed myself. It was still 30C at 6pm, and very humid, so the tempo run was a struggle for a lot of reasons.
On Sunday I did an 8 mile walk in the Peak District; not much to shout about there, but getting a few hills in my legs probably helped.
Yesterday, I ran 10 miles, the furthest I have managed since the knee operation. I deliberately left my watch at home, so I could enjoy the run. I decided to take it easy and concentrate on finishing as fresh as possible. I really settled into the run at about 5 miles, and it felt very easy throughout. There was 1000ft of ascent in the route, all of which I took in my stride and had no issues at all. Maybe the hill climbing in the Lake District last week has given my fitness a kick-start. I wanted to get 10 miles done, to give me some confidence in tackling this weekends Harden Hard'un. I did this event in 2007 and 2008. It is a tough 27 mile course, mostly over open moorland with a considerable amount of ascent. It's probably more than a little ambitious for someone in my state of recovery at the moment, but sometimes you just have to push the limits a little I think (I hope). I don't think I'll be posting any sub 6 hour time this year. In fact I suspect I'm going to be closer to 7 hours, but I'll just take a finish as a good result at the moment.
Other news, I've entered the Rab Mountain Marathon at the end of September.
I've added lots of news events onto my ultra events website www.beyondmarathon.com so be sure to check them out.
Have a good week.
Races across the major deserts of the World, and the training events along the way - Richard Weremiuk
Hi Rich, great to hear that you are starting to recover. I know you know this, but cross training might be of great value to you right now. Specifically biking might be a valuable way to increase your volume without wrecking your knee (talk with you surgeon first!). There is a recent study that demonstrates that pool running allows you to maintain both running economy and VO2max/lactate thresholds in injured runners - might be something to look at. Personally, I find pool running insanely boring, but there you go.
ReplyDeleteWilliam
I don't have a bike! I think I just need to build up the strength in that whole leg again. I'm trying to increase my flexibility with yoga too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure how pool running works. Is there some technique to it, or do you just run in the pool like you run on the road?