Monday, August 12, 2013

Running 10k and pain

I honestly am never ever going to ever skimp on stretching properly at least twice a day from now on. Because I am a vegetarian runner or because of my own history with injuries, I seem to have very weak muscle tone that keeps straining. So apart from cross training, am going to stretch religiously no matter how sleepy or tired I think I am. Why such a vehement preamble you ask? Well my left leg is the one struggling with a IT band related knee pain right now.

Exactly the way I struggled with my right leg, my left leg has decided to get in on the action as the right leg seems to be on the mend. I ran a little over 10k yesterday. As far as endurance goes, I could have easily run 5 to 6kms more without feeling the strain but my left knee started proving to be problem after 10 minutes! I went home (finished run in 62 minutes which is not too bad considering my knee) and foam rolled till I died. Took a very hot bath, stretched and foam rolled again. Leg was certainly better but the pain was not gone. What's worse is that my right leg was fine! My left calf is so tight that it's PAINFUL when I foam roll through it. And my IT band area also aches. I woke up this morning with my knee feeling terribly heavy and yes I stretched for a looooong time. Then came to work where I have to sit all the time! I took the lunch time to do another round of stretches. I don't care who's watching, I need my leg to be in fighting shape! Tomorrow I head off to the gym and today after going home I plan on doing MORE stretches, foam roller and some yoga videos I found on youtube. I will write a whole other post about the Yoga videos once I have tried a bunch of them and gauge their usefulness.

Oh and I am running in the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon (see why I am panicking?) on August 25th. It's only a 10k relay but I need my knee to be absolutely fit, so I can recover and keep my knees in tip top shape for my first half marathon which is less than two months away. Right now my back hurts and my left knee while loads better is still feeling extremely off. I am never ever ever skimping on stretching ever again. That's for sure.

P.S That foam roller I bought was one of the best investments I have ever made. A few months ago, this pain would have even worse but thanks to the painful painful foam roller, my knee would be fine in time for tomorrow's early morning workout. Bye guys and happy running.

P.P.S Btw I almost forgot to mention - it was my first run in over a week and I really really enjoyed it minus the pain. Only when I run do I genuinely feel like myself.

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About Me

Bangalore, Karnataka, India
I am a human being based in Bangalore. I have worked for the New Indian Express and DNA and working in the communications industry. I love music, books, movies and TV shows . I LOVE to run. It's my passion and hobby. But it became a serious love only this year. And my list of priorities are - Arsenal football club and then breathing.