Posted by Derek Lee-Wo on January 10th, 2007 in Training
My wife had started running about 4-6 weeks ago. She was a lot fitter than me so she didn’t need to do the C25K plan. She’s been running very irregularly though…maybe 1-2 times per week and for 3-4 miles at a time. Because of the kids, we have never been able to run together.
Well, today, our kids ended up playing over by some friends so we were able to go do a run together. We ended up running 4.3 miles, but we did it at my wife’s pace which ended up being about 10:20 min/mile…about 1 min slower than I normally run. I didn’t mind as it was nice to be able to share a run together.
Still had some nagging knee pains. I’m off to see the podiatrist tomorrow so maybe we’ll come up with a solution. So far it hasn’t prevented me from running, but rather, just making it a bit uncomfortable. I’m hoping to run 28 miles this week and based on where I’m at, it should definitely be doable.
Posted by Derek Lee-Wo on January 8th, 2007 in Injury
After my 9-mile run yesterday, I thought my knees were getting better, well guess again. I decided to do a very easy 3-mile recovery run. This would would be a 10:30 min/mile pace and one at which I would be barely working.
It started off fine, but all I was able to manage was 1.3 miles before I had to abandon the run because of my right knee. I’m going to rest tomorrow and just do the Elliptical, but I’m so frustrated right now!!
I have my podiatrist visit on Thursday so maybe something could be done with orthotics to make my pains go away.
Posted by Derek Lee-Wo on January 7th, 2007 in Training
I don’t know what to make of all my knee pains. I’ve been trying various shoes and I have 3 pairs that I’m using right now (Saucony Shadow 9, ASICS GEL-1110, and ASICS GT-2110). I decided to try the Saucony’s which is the pair that the running store had recommended.
I also tried to run without any knee bands, but I took them in my pocket just in case. I also took a Gu gel for the first time to try eating and running on the go.
The run started will, but at around 4 miles, my right knee started to hurt enough that I had to put the knee strap on. I was then able to continue running.
I ate the Gu gel at 5 miles. I had a Chocolate Outrage and it actually taste quite nice. It tasted like a melted chocolate bar. I took the Gu with me so I can start experimenting with what taste good and what my stomach can handle. The chocolate did taste good and I had no stomach problems. I had bought other flavors, but I’ll just stick to the chocolate for now. I think it worked as I didn’t feel as tired as I normally do at around the 7-8 mile mark.
As I got to 9.6 miles, my left knee buckled a bit so even though I was so close to my 10-mile target, I decided to call it a day. I started to walk home but it felt fine so I started run again and it buckled again so I finally called it a day. It was a bit disappointing not making the full 10 miles, but it’s certainly better than the 6 miles I managed the last time I tried to run 10 miles.
I think the Saucony shoes are probably the best for me as I seem to have the least problems, but they aren’t perfect. I’ll run with them for the rest of the week and see how they work out.
My knees are not inflamed or hurting, but I decided to ice them just in case.
Posted by Derek Lee-Wo on January 5th, 2007 in Weight Loss
I have a Tanita bodt-fat scale that I’ve used periodically, but I’ve never quite truested the values I’ve been reading. I decided to get a set of calipers so I can do the pinch method to measure body fat percentage. I bought the Accu-Measure 3000 caliper which seems to the best option for people that inetned to measure themselves.
I got the calipers yesterday and I did some measurements this morning. I used the instructions that came with the calipers which involve just ONE skin fold measurement. I also used the following website which has various other formulas based on various numbers of measurements:
http://www.linear-software.com/online.html
I only did the Jackson/Pollock 3 and 4 caliper methods. I also weighed on my scale. Here are the results I got:
| Tanita: |
18% |
| Accu-Measure One Caliper: |
23.2% |
| Jackson/Pollack 3 Caliper: |
16.6% |
| Jackson/Pollack 4 Caliper: |
19.2% |
The average is 19.3%
I’ve read that the scale and the caliper methods are all based on statistical models so you never know how accurate they are for your particular body and they should really only be used for tracking trends. The only way to get a true body fat percentage is by water immersion.
The calipers themselves are made of plastic, but they seem sturdy enough. There is an indicator so you can tell when you’ve applied to the correct pressure.
I’ll try and track my body fat at least once a month, but I’ll probably just use all the above methods and take the average.
Posted by Derek Lee-Wo on January 4th, 2007 in Injury
I saw the doctor today. They took some x-rays of both knees and it seems that my knee caps are not tracking properly. It seems that I have Patellafemoral Syndrome. From what I can tell, this is simply Runner’s Knee. The docotor tested my left knee to see if I had an IT band problem, but the test he did was negative. I don’t think he knows what is causing the pain on the outside of my left knee.
He prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug called Etodolac which I’m to take twice a day. He also told me to ice my knees after running. He wants me to do physical therapy for 2-4 weeks.
This whole experience has been rather disappointing. I don’t even know if I’m going to bother with the physical therapy. Except for the x-rays showing my knee caps not tracking, he didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I know my patellas were getting inflamed. I was hoping he had a solution.
It seems though that a solution is just going to be a bunch of trial-and-error. Exactly what I was hoping to avoid by visiting a doctor.
Someone on a running forum suggested seeing a podiatrist to see if orthotics would help. He too was referred to physical therapy, but he decided to see a podiatrist first and he got orthortics which eliminated his pain within 2 weeks.
The other disappointment is that while the doctor could explain the pain below my knee caps, he coulnd’t explain the pain on the outside of my left knee.
