How to Screw Up Your Marathon Training, Part 1

Today was my “long run” day in my marathon training, and I did about 4.5 miles. That’s about 15 miles shorter than where I’m supposed to be at this point in the training, and I didn’t even run the entire time.  Nevertheless, this run marked a little bit of progress. 

You see, four weeks ago I hurt myself.  About 5 miles into a 12-mile run, I started getting sore in the calf of one leg and the hamstring of the other.  I probably should have stopped to stretch, but I figured it was just muscle soreness so it wouldn’t turn into a long-term problem.  I kept going, thinking I could overcome the pain and finish the 12 miles before taking a break. Then, at just past the 10-mile mark, my left knee began to hurt. Badly. This wasn’t muscle pain, and I couldn't run through it. It felt like a ligament on the inner part of my knee was hurt. I don't know if the soreness in my muscles had caused me to alter my stride, leading to this knee pain, but I was starting to wish I'd stopped sooner. 

I stopped and walked for a minute, then found a good place to stretch by the side of the road.  The sharp pain in my knee didn’t persist after I stopped running, but my calf and hamstring were still very tight and sore.  I spent three or four minutes stretching, then tried walking again.  My leg muscles were still tight, but slightly less sore than before, and my knee felt fine.  I looked at the GPS watch I was borrowing from my girlfriend (who has also been suffering from a knee injury), and saw that I was trotting along at a 20-minute mile pace.  I thought about the prospect of taking 30 minutes to get home, a mere mile and a half away, and began running again.

I was just over a mile from home, and my iPod shuffled randomly to “Your Disease” by Saliva.  I started trucking along faster and faster as the music played.  I was going to get home and have a great time to show for it.  And I did.  I finished that 12-mile run in great time, despite stopping and stretching.  And the knee wasn’t a problem.  And then, an hour or two later, it was.

to be continued …