Too Much Downtime

The last few weeks have been a bit lax in my running world. The desire continues to burn bright, but my body is just not quite on par with my wants. I want to run further but my body won't let me. I want to run faster but my body won't let me. I want to get stronger but my body won't let me. Actually, my body WILL let me, but at a much slower pace than I'm used to.

A little over two weeks ago I was just finishing a great week in running. I had logged about 46 miles (just under the 50 I was shooting for) and had done my Saturday long run under my goal pace. Then Sunday as I'm sitting down watching Dexter with Lydia, I begin to notice a slight ache in my knee. No pop, no major pain, still able to walk just fine. Thought nothing of it. Until Monday that is... I head out for an 8 miler on the usual route. Immediately I feel a bit of aching, which is nothing unusual at the start of a run. After about a mile into it though, I begin feeling sharp pain shooting up my leg, originating from my knee. I begin clenching my teeth and try my hardest to run through it, but the pain is too unbearable. I had to stop! I end up walking back to the car and calling it a day.

Two and half weeks later here I sit. Since that day I've run maybe 25 miles, no back-to-back days (until yesterday) and nothing more than 4 miles per run (with the exception of Monday; 6.5 miles). Frustrated doesn't begin to describe how I feel! Yet I haven't given up. I've been slowly knocking out longer runs and finally did a back-to-back Monday & Tuesday. I actually feel pretty good. I've been doing some strengthening exercises which I believe help. Most of all though, I haven't given up!

On a lighter note, we went to Tahoe last weekend and I was able to take in some beautiful scenery! Even though I wasn't able to get my scheduled 20 miler in, I was able to relax, kick my legs up and not worry about anything for a few days. I did go running for about 45 minutes one day too.

Today I'm heading up to the mountains after work to go bowhunting. We're scheduled to be out until Saturday. This will get me some great time on my legs (average about 10 miles a day) and some good strength training since we usually end up scaling some ridiculous mountainsides! I'm excited, well rested, and ready to get going. Now I just gotta make it through the rest of the day at work... Argghh!