a longer run

Well after not getting around to running in Paris over the weekend (mixture of knees hurting and hangover) I went to the gym yesterday in the new shoes and ran for 45 minutes on the treadmill - that's the longest I've run for a while - around 7km. I felt fine, was just wondering the whole way through the run when my knees were going to give way - but they didn't! And today my knees and legs feel tired but absolutely fine. Maybe it's stopping running that hurts your knees rather than the other way around ;-)
Got my new Garmin now, got my new shoes, no more excuses. Although I still have managed to avoid the early morning runs.

New Shoes = New Knees

My knee niggles have been getting steadily worse making me wonder if my legs can hack the intense marathon training that I haven't really started yet! So a visit to the London Marathon Shop yesterday was an eye-opener. I had to run on a treadmill while the sales guy recorded my running style....Frank Spencer? Seb Coe?...no, apparently 'neutral with slight tendency to pronate in left foot' - and the left foot is where the knee niggles started. He also told me I was a heel to toe striker and that this style of running was absolutely fine (going against the pose and chi methods then!) providing you where the right shoes. So I tried on a pair of New Balance shoes and it felt like I was running on a trampoline - AND it made me realise how dead my current training shoes are....Such a relief to know that my knees niggles were probably caused by my shoes not cushioning the impact enough.

I've taken a few days off running as I don't want to worsen the knee problem, but I'm hoping that Sunday when I'm in Paris I can go out for a run with the sister in law in my new shoes and enjoy it with no knee pain at all. We'll see. Au revoir et a bientot!

Sunday Run

Got back from Cardiff yesterday at 8pm. Was planning on running in Cardiff in the morning - the long Sunday run - but a hangover got in my way. It was the first drink I'd had in over 3 weeks and there were family members I hadn't seen in ages so I wasn't too hard on myself. I resigned myself to having to run when we got back to London. So, at 8pm got through the front door, changed into my kit and went out - dreading it.

I really don't like running in the evening. I find the cars and people in the streets too much of a distraction. I would rather have a bit of peace and quiet and brightness when I run. But I went out anyway. I was worrying for my knees as a lot of the training I'm doing is on the treadmill.
I felt fine generally, a few niggles here and there, but surprisingly the longer I ran the more the niggles disappeared. I ran for about 40 minutes. Hoping to get a Garmin for my upcoming birthday so that I can accurately track how far I've run. I felt really strong at the end of the run but thought I'd better not overdo it. I keep thinking that I'll be a goner if my knees give in.

Legs feel fine today. It's weird how those aches and pains just come and go.

Just finished another 5km. Knees are niggling, especially the left knee, but when I'm running there is no niggle or pain at all. Just occasionally when I'm walking I can feel an ache in my left knee. I've been stretching several times a day and doing my squats and lunges etc as advised on t'internet. Hoping it's just normal. Surely it's too early for ice packs!?
Off to Cardiff now to see my mother - will be doing my Sunday run in and around the Cardiff Bay area - can't wait. And the week after that my Sunday run will be in Paris!....makes running just that bit much enjoyable! A plus! (don't know how to say that in Welsh unfortunately - maybe Wel a chi?)

I've taken my first baby steps towards the marathon by registering for a place with a charity called PHAB. Urged on by a mate who ran it last year, I just thought to myself, after years of being interested in doing it, it's now or never. I'm flummoxed by the training schedules and the running gear - I've only ever run a 10k before. But I'm taking it slowly. Building up my base level of fitness which at the moment is 3 runs a week, 5km each run on average. I'm trying to focus on increasing the Sunday run - cos apparently that's what you need to do!

A few knee niggles this week made me look into running style and floor exercises to improve knee injuries.

Saw a video on Youtube about the Pose method of running as well as the Chi method! There are some common sense pointers that I'm going to try and take on board, like leaning forward slightly when you run and not taking too big a stride. We'll see. In the meantime I've been trying out squats and lunges to pumps up the muscles and thereby alleviate all pressure / pain from the knees - that's the theory anyway.