Just got back from the doc to go over the MRI. The right knee looks like it is in about the same shape as the left one was before the operation. So I'll be back under the knife the first part of December, and get to start the rehab process all over again.

Shit. Really sorry to hear that, cartman. That sucks.

You can manually plot it on RunKeeper, then export it to Strava. I do that when RunKeeper messes up during a run.

Yeah, I'm bummed. Just when I thought I was making real progress, I get to start back again at square one. Something that is in my favor is that I think this leg is a lot stronger muscle-wise than the other one when I had it worked on, which helps with the recovery. I also now have a stationary bike trainer at the house, instead of just rollers, so I can start riding a lot sooner than before.

thanks for this tip. i had been using other websites, but the Runkeeper site is more user-friendly for this.

Sorry to hear the news, I can imagine it deflates your bubble.

On the positive side, you know that you have the fortitude to recover from the surgery, you did well with the other one, so confident you will do great with this one.

Hartford Marathon is Saturday (Kodos, are you still running the half?)

I feel like this summer training cycle has been my best yet. I feel like I have worked really hard and things have been paying off for me. I set new personal records for myself in the 5k, 5 mile, 10k and half marathon this time around, so am very optimistic about the marathon.

I think my plan is going to be to try to stick with the 4 hour pace group the entire way. Based on all of the random pace calculators out there, the estimate for me seems to be anywhere between 3:45 and 4:05 based on my other times, so sticking with that pace group should hopefully prevent me from taking off too quickly at the start, like I have every single other time.

My goals:

A goal: Sub-4 hour marathon (finally)
B goal: New Marathon PR (current PR for me is around 4:17)
C goal: Just finish!

I've run three marathons with pace groups and hit my target every time. They are fantastic for doing just what you say. Keeping you on pace at the beginning, and not too fast.

In fact, when I ran my BQ time, I spoke with the pace group leader at the expo before hand and went over the course with him. He gave me some strategy tips and checked with me along the way. When we got to the 20th mile, which we had set as a check in spot, he asked me how I was feeling. When I told him good, he told me to get ahead of them. I did and it worked out. The leaders are such experienced runners. It's a great resource.

Good luck. Will be pulling for you.

Unfortunately, I decided not to do the the Hartford half. I haven't been happy with my training lately, and thought I would be better served focusing on improving that. I'm introducing a workout from Dr. Jordan Metzl's book, and it utterly kicked my ass last week. It hit a bunch of muscles that I apparently never use... I was sore for days.

Anyhow, I'm hoping that will eventually boost my running ability, but last week it made my runs the kind that you're just dying to finish. I'll probably do some 5Ks as the year winds down.

My brother will be there running his first marathon. He is in insanely good shape, so I'm sure he'll do great if he doesn't go out too fast.

Good Luck Alan. I just took a look at the forecast and conditions tomorrow morning look excellent too. Get that A!

I've seen you crush PR after PR all Summer long it seems. You've been a beast this Summer, I'm sure if you pace it right, you'll cruise to that A goal.

I have a Facebook friend from Montreal who will be running the half.

Have fun, enjoy the time of the road and go get 'em!

FM

Long Beach Half and Full Marathons on Sunday.

I won't be running this, but I believe Chief Rum is scheduled to run the half.

It's going to be a hot one, reaching 90F at the peak. The race organizer sent out emails with some changes due to the weather:

- HM runners have the option to start at 6:00am with the Full Marathon field. (regular start time is still 7:30am).
- Increased water and Nuun supplies at each station.
- Provide misting fans at the Finish Line.

Good luck to the runners. Keep cool out there.

Yup, I'm running it. I still plan to run at 7:30, but we'll see. I don't mind running in heat to a point. If it was at 12, I would just shoot myself, but it will be medium heat at 7:30. It will only get to the hotter end near the end of the race.

BTW CR, be prepared to park several blocks from the starting line. Place gets full fast.

Thanks guys! Yes looks like perfect weather tomorrow for me!

Good luck on your race chief!

Thanks, Alan! Same to you!

That sucks. Thanks for the heads up, ABC. I'll take a look and see what they offer.

Basically when I did this race, once the traffic started to slow we just took the nearest private parking garage/lot that was open, paid the, what, $20 and walked the rest of the way.

Just signed up to track you through text messaging. GO GO GO ALAN.

Good luck to everyone running this weekend.

Alan's on perfect pace through the first 10k.

Woot!

He's shooting for Goal A. 3:04:56 through 20 miles!

I finished very poorly. The weather conditions were good, I just couldn't hang with the pace group after mile 16. My heart rate just started to spike and by mile 17 it was over for me.

After the 4:10 pace group passed me I pretty much mentally checked out and struggled the last few miles.

It's unfortunate that one of those off days hit on race day. I'm sure you're disappointed but you can be proud of the gains made during this training cycle.

I am actually not too down surprisingly. This summer was pretty amazing for me so not going to let one bad race ruin it for me. In the end I still was able to get out on a beautiful day and run. Something four years ago would have been hysterically foreign to me

I ended up prepaying for valet parking at the Pike Parking Structure.

Congrats on finishing another marathon. It's still something that most people can't say they've done.

You've been a mainstay in this thread and your dedication is impressive. Your improvements and results on shorter distances are paying dividends. I have no doubt you'll see it in the marathon if you keep at it.

You've got a lot of people here pulling for you.

Okay, a race report for the Long Beach half yesterday.

Just to set it up, when I signed up in July, I did so with the intent of full on training for this and getting into the best shape I could for it.

Good intentions and all. I actually did pretty good with my plan through July, but in August, SoCal was pretty much hit with a month-month and a half-long blistering heat wave, like 90 plus everyday and often higher. Running in it was borderline suicide. Add to that that I work two jobs, so finding the training time was hard anyway, and you can see where my training slipped.

Follow that up with an unusually busy social calendar in September, and I pretty much did no real training for the last two months, other than my cardio workouts at the gym.

I think it definitely had its effect. I didn't lose the weight I wanted to for this one or build up my endurance the way I wanted to (although I am in decent shape anyway and I have finished halfs with as little training before).

Move forward to race day. After getting more seasonal weather the past two weeks, in a cosmic joke, the blistering heat returned this weekend, such that the race organizers actually allowed halfers to start at 6 a.m. with the fulls, instead of making them run at 7:30. I chose to start earlier, so I was in downtown Long Beach a little past 5 a.m.

All in all, it seemed like a really well-run event (only caveat is I haven't found 2015 race results posted yet, which surprises me; sent an email to the event company that ran the event). It's a nice setting too, as you start off running in the historic downtown area of Long Beach, run out toward the Queen Mary at dock, and then run back through downtown and beyond, down the beach, then you swing back to the finish.

The first 5-6 miles went really smooth for me. I pushed myself at the OC in May and really dragged at the end, and I felt that was the reason I didn't make a PR there, so I tried to keep a strong, but steady pace, not too much over exertion, but definitely not just jogging either. Through the first five miles I was in the low 8's per mile and I felt comfortable. The sixth and seventh miles got tougher, as we turned through downtown again and advanced on toward the long beach straightaway (gravel beach/bike lane trail, not sand). I did that stretch just under 9 minutes per mile.

It was here that I started to have real trouble. This stretch of beach is pretty much straight east-west and the sun had risen above the horizon by this point. It was getting hot, and you are pretty much staring into the sun the whole way. I should have anticipated this and brought sunglasses, but I did not. I found I was running with my head down a lot, trying to avoid looking into the sun. And my energy was lagging in the heat.

I also had a bit of mental fatigue. That stretch, because of the other negative conditions, just seemed to go on forever. A run on the beach sounds great in theory, but when you're trying to maintain a pace and get a feel for progress, it is hard going without too many turns and where you can see your run going on forever ahead of you.

Just after the Mile Eight marker, I realized I didn't have the energy to keep it up, so I slowed to a walk. I intended to just walk for a bit and start up again (and I did that), but it was only for a short bit and I was walking again. In my mind's picture of the course, I thought the turnaround point along the beach and back along the ocean drive to the finish would be around the 9.5 mile point, but it was actually just short of the 10 mile mark. I ended up walking almost the entire 8th and 9th and 10th miles.

Once I hit the 10th mile mark and the turnaround point, I resolved to try to get back on pace. Full on running the rest of the way would prove too hard, though. So I ended up alternating running for a song, then walking for a song, then running for a song, etc. So my timings in the last half of the marathon were all over 10 min/miles, with a horrid 15:40 for Mile 10 (I swear that bleeping stretch was longer than a mile by a bit).

I crossed the finish line at 2:17:21 per my Strava, which is probably a little longer than my actual time, call it 2:17 even. Race results pending, since I couldn't find them online yet.

That is almost 30 minutes behind my PR for the half, and the worst I have ever run. You might think I am unhappy then, but actually, I ended up fairly satisfied with my efforts. I realized that, with my lack of training and other factors (such as the lack of sunglasses on the beach stretch), that this wasn't far off where I was likely to be. I know I can do a lot better, but I was happy to have run it and finished it, which is always the most basic goal anyway.

By finishing it, I completed the Beach Cities Challenge, the three race set of the Surf City, the OC and the Long Beach this year, and I got a really cool second medal for that (a faux-golden seashell which opens up to a colorful Beach Cities Challenge decal).

My next challenge was to be the LA Marathon, but given these results, I am backing off that at the moment. I really feel I need to properly train for a half first, and beat my PR. If the LA offers a half, I might do that instead, or I might return to the Surf City. Both are in February. I am undecided.

Anyway, overall, while a bit disappointed in how I ended up racing, I am pretty satisfied that I went out and did it, and I'm happy I went through it.

On to the next challenge.

Congrats on finishing CR! I have a 10k I am training for right now that should be fun IF I keep on my training schedule. After that I may set my sights on a half and my goal will certainly be to just finish the damn thing.

Chief, great job on finishing the challenge. Hot summers are tough to keep the motivation up and train through. You did great finishing what you started!

Just a quick mention if anyone wants to 'friend' me on Strava I'm predictably "Marc Vaughan" and I've got my first Half Marathon in a couple of weeks time ...

I've been running sporadically for 2-3 years, but have stepped it up a lot in the last year or so as I find it quite therapeutic at times (when I do a long run alone its almost like meditating, I just get into a zone).

Good job, Chief. The key to training in the heat is to just slow your pace. Racing in the heat is just miserable :).

Not sure if it would be too soon for ya CR, but the Las Vegas Rock and Roll half marathon is a month away.

Congrats Chief! Of the three races, which course did you enjoy the most? I liked the OC course, myself.

not that I would know much about training in the heat, but this, all of this. I know it's not easy to train in the heat but doing it is how I guess you get a bit used to it.

Ok, we don't get much heat but everything really is relative and when you're not used to it, a warmer race day can be just as rough for me. We had a couple weeks of very hot and humid temperatures and I forced myself to run in the afternoon on those days because I knew it could happen on the day of my marathon. Again, nothing around here compares to what some of you guys go through. :)

Good job Chief, now get out there and train some more!!! :D

FM

I'll be running a 10k race this Sunday. It's one of the Surf City 10 races in Huntington Beach which includes a 5k, 10k, and a 10 miler.

It's a simple out-and-back course laid out along the famous Pacific Coast Highway. We're expecting 66-73F temperatures during the race hours.

Good luck, ABC! I always like running along the beach there, and that sounds like perfect weather.

So with my run on Monday night I've now passed my 2014 mileage. Which is nice, but not exactly my 2015 goals. Have a lot of running to do the next two months to try and hit mileage goal of 800 miles for the year.

Did a big ride this weekend with about 8500 ft of climbing. Got some fun video on a few of the descents (fly6 light/camera combo from cycliq).

My daughter (11) ran her first 5k this weekend. Her goal was to beat 40min and we ended up finishing at 34:45, so it was a great result. Also, it may have been my first race ever with negative splits. 12/11:45/11

Had the surgery on the other knee yesterday morning. It went well. Once the doc got in there and looked around, this knee didn't have near as much osteoarthritis as the other knee. There was still quite a bit, but he didn't have to do any bone work, which means a much quicker recovery. I'll only be on crutches for two weeks, instead of 8 weeks, and no leg brace either. Not much pain so far, the tic-tacs... er... Vicodin are doing their job.

I hope the recovery goes well. I'm trying to talk my Dad into just going ahead and having a replacement as well. Do you have any issues with other joints or is it just your knees?

Glad the surgery went well, cartman. I hope your recovery is quick and you're back out on your bike soon.

Just my knees, thankfully. As of now, I'm looking at complete knee replacements in about 15 years, barring any new advances in technology before then. The doctor and I were chatting before they put me under for the procedure yesterday, and he still can't believe how bad my left knee was for only being 42 at the time.

Get better quick, cartman!

Officially signed up for the LA Marathon on Valentines Day. Wish me luck! Training in full starts immediately (although I already do a fair amount of running as is).

Anyone interested in a free Smashrun pro membership? Going to renew mine for this year, and I can pass along a free pass to another runner. Assume it has to be someone new, rather than extending an existing user, yada yada yada.

Anyway, will be pulling the trigger on this over the weekend. So if interested, reply here or send a PM. Thanks.

The recovery is going very well. Today is three weeks since the surgery, and the pain is just about gone. I started PT last week, and that has really boosted my range of motion. So much so that I can pedal (albeit very slowly and at zero resistance) on a stationary bike. At first I could only pedal backwards, but at the end of my PT session yesterday, I was able to pedal normally. I'm hoping this means by the first of February I ought to be able to ride out on the street.

Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon coming up this Sunday. Really excited about this one. My only concern about the race (and any Disneyland race) is the pace requirement (16:00/mi). For anyone who follows me on Strava, my training pace is just a bit behind it.

At least the timer doesn't start until the very last runner crosses the starting line, and I'm placed in the 2nd-to-last corral of the field. So if I get myself near the front of my corral, I figure I have about a 20-30 minute head start anyways.

Besides that, this race should be really fun. I'll be wearing a Darth Vader tech shirt with cape and toy lightsaber. If I'm able to slow down enough (and not be picked up by a sweeper), I'll take a few pics.

Is there any way to run at lunch at work without being a sweaty mess the rest of the day? I even shower, but I can't get my body to cool down enough after running to stop sweating even after taking a cold shower. With only an hour, its just not enough time to change, get in a decent run (2-3 miles), and shower.

Any suggestions, other than just a shorter/less time consuming run?

I'd love to be able to wake up and go running in the morning, I just have never had what I felt was a good exercise first thing in the morning.

It's all about trying to maintain or lower your core body temperature during or immediately following your run. The most common tip is to be well hydrated before you run. Other tips are:

-wear one of those cool/frozen headbands
-carry a frozen water bottle to either rub on your body or drip on your head
-run slower
-do something to cool down right before you run like have a glass of ice water or eat a frozen banana

Just a few thoughts. I struggle with the same thing.

At my previous job I would run at lunch all the time, and we didn't have a shower. I had an hour, so I did the following:

- no running above about 28 celcius, just too hard to cool down
- 35-40 min run
- 10-15 min cooldown
- switch all clothes (ie even change underwear)
- bring a towel, wet it in the sink, then sort of sponge bath myself
- anti-persperant
- get dressed
- if at all possible avoid contact with others for a good 10 minutes after getting to my desk

And of course wearing sweaters or anything to work was a non-starter, loose 'slacks' and a dress shirt (no tie) was fine. Usually I felt cool within 10-15 minutes and I don't believe I ever smelled funny or anything.

Back from the Disney Star Wars Half Marathon. It was a very well put together race. It was definitely a fun course to run, through parts of Disneyland and California Adventure, then out to the streets. Parts of the back lot of Disneyland were so congested there was very little room to run.

Once we hit the streets, there were scores of local high school bands and cheerleaders that there was never a dull moment along the course. Even the 501st Legion showed their support!

And not only did I beat the maximum pace requirement, I scored a PR along the way!

I will definitely look forward to more Disney runs in the future.

Awesome stuff! Sounds like a great race... I have a quick 10k (Princess marathon weekend) coming up at WDW next month. I am really looking forward to it now. It probably won't be as exciting as the one you just finished but still should be fun. Congrats!

Had my best month ever in January - yesterday I did a double metric and ended up at just over 1,500 miles for the month! In the Strava distance challenge I finished 338th out of 207,000+ riders and 40th in the US (and 1st in VA!).

Here's the month in rides:

Awesome! Congrats Subby!

I got cleared to start riding again this week, so I'm eager to get back into the saddle.

Subby -- he always does things in moderation!


Great job, buddy!

Hey everyone, the day job blocks my access to FOFC now, unfortunately. So I post less. But thought I should come on and mention here that I'm running the LA Marathon Sunday morning.

if you want to follow along at any point, my bib # is 18538. For those of you who don't already know, my name is Matthew Kieta.

I should start running at 7 and expect to finish between 11-12.

I'm not super confident on timing, but my goal for Sunday is to just finish it.

Good luck. It's a great course, but getting out of Santa Monica after it blows! Plan for a massage.

Good luck, CR. I was just reading about the heat this weekend for the race. It would be nice if they moved up the start time but race planning in LA must be a nightmare.

Good luck, Chief!

Good luck CR!

Yeah heat is a potential issue. The good news is that it probably won't get bad until near the end of the race. By that point, it won't matter what the weather is like for me. I'll already be exhausted haha.

First time in this thread in a couple of weeks.

Subby, I knew you were posting a crazy January but seeing it all on one page drives home just how freakish a performance that was. Great job! From what I've seen on Strava, it doesn't seem like you've been kicking back and relaxing in February ...

Chief, best of luck with the marathon. I saw some of the US marathon trials in LA yesterday and it definitely looked like the heat took a toll on some of those competitors. Hopefully you've gotten plenty of training in warmer weather as part of your prep for this run.

This quote was back in 2013. The pain has never gotten better. I don't run much any more, but I am trying a walking regimen. But still the calf pain.

Fast forward to 2016. I go to urgent care with chest pains, and next thing I know, I'm in the hospital. Turns out I had a mild heart attack.

I get out for a follow up with my new doctor (I moved to a new state a couple of months ago). I mention I want to walk more, but the crippling pain means I don't get too far. He thinks my legs aren't getting enough blood flow, so there may be a blockage. Now I get to have some sort of ultrasound to see what's going on in my legs.

TL;DR - Don't ignore pain for over two years. That's just dumb.

Ugh. Sorry to hear that, Umbrella. I hope they can fix your leg up and allow you to walk without pain.

Just because I am sad this thread hasn't seen any action lately, I thought I would briefly share a ride I did last weekend. The ride was a flèche, which is just a fancy term for a LONG unsupported team bike ride that lasts exactly 24 hours. Anyway, about half the folks who started ended up finishing, including all five members of our team. We encountered the absolute spectrum of weather, including hours of rain, snow, 50 mph wind gusts, and warming sun. There was a decent amount of climbing as our route took us out to the western edge of Maryland, down through West Virginia, back into Maryland, into DC, finally finishing in Virginia.

Hardest part was just managing the low points - when things seemed at their worst (basically after midnight when it was in the 30s) - just keep telling yourself "I'm fine, I'm fine, etc...".

Anyway, knocked it out. Looking forward to the next thing. :)

That's pretty cool. Are there scheduled breaks along the way?

You're awesome, Subby! But biking in the cold, snow and rain does not sound fun.

Also, Alan T seems to have disappeared. :(

He's still around on Strava. Looks like he fell off the wagon for a short while in Feb, according to Strava. But he's out there now, running about 20+ miles/week. :)

Subby, that ride was amazing. I'm accustomed to seeing neighborhood level maps on Strava, maybe a city level map on a long activity. You don't expect to see most of a state. Congrats on an awesome ride but I have to know... does it bother you that the ride ended at 243 and not 250 miles?

I've been following this thread for a long time and it is impressive and inspiring. I've always wanted to get back into running but didn't believe that I could or should since I'd smoked for 30 years. I finally quit that nasty habit on Jan 17, 2015, but I have to admit that I do vape still, and am trying to free myself from that.

This last December I decided that what I was seeing in the mirror was not acceptable and stepped on the scale to find out that I was at 210 pounds. Not a lot for bigger dudes but I'm 5'7" -5'8"ish with a somewhat decent muscular build. A year or so earlier my brother, who was 50 at the time, had quadruple bypass surgery and I knew it was now or never to do something about it.

Fast forward four months later and after a lot of walking, treadmills, ellipticals, weight lifting, eating real food and completely cutting out any soda/fruit drink/sugary drink from my diet and I have lost 40 pounds to get down to 170 as of last Sunday. My goal was 165 (football playing weight!) but I don't think it'll be enough as I obviously don't have the build I did when I was younger.

I want to enter a 5K run so I tried the C25K app but it bored me after a while after nearly killing me at first. I really had trouble running for a couple of minutes. I didn't give up I just tried different things like "running" a 5K on the eliptical fat burn setting and eventually worked my way to where I finally a week ago, - on a treadmill - ran a 5k without stopping in 30:23. 2.5 miles was my wall but I was determined to get through it.

Today I ran my first 5k on the road and did it in 29:14 and felt a million times better than the treadmill.

Here's my member profile on strava, not sure if I like it better than Map My Run though.

Phil Duncan | Runner on Strava

Nice job, MizzouCowboy!

Great job MizzouCowboy!

Join the FOFC club on Strava while you're at it.

As for your 5K journey, looks like you got that down. I was going to suggest the Zombies Run 5K training app to keep you interested, but I think it's too basic for the level you seem to be running at right now.

Thanks gentlemen!

Can't say I've got the 5k down yet, that last 1/2 mile is crazy rough for me. Hoping I can keep adding some endurance to where I can possibly do a 10k in the future, and who knows beyond that. Just gotta take it one step at a time. ;)

What I meant to say was that you seem to be more advanced in your 5K training than what a C25K plan offers. :)

I'm pissed I have to stop running for a while. My right knee is acting up on me. My wife (physical therapist) thinks my meniscus is near its breaking point and that I just need to switch to low impact cardio for a while to give it time to heal, or more to avoid tearing it. Been sore to painful for a month, but I think I pushed too hard while running the other day. Felt great when I was running, but within an hour I could barely stand on the leg.

Mainly sucks because I've hit a plateau in my weight loss over the past 6 weeks. I may actually have to start eating better to lose weight, instead of just trying to exercise twice as much to try and compensate for eating poorly.

Been awhile since I checked into the thread.

Subby, I saw that ride on Strava and it looked crazy there. So just to be clear ... 24 straight hours of riding from each team member????

For a running comparison, is that how Ragnar works? I've seen some references to that team run, but my understanding was that there was some level of transitions between team members over a weekend for the Ragnar runs. I haven't been able to establish any kind of a running community locally, mostly because of work + daughter activity schedule in evenings, but at least partly because I haven't made a full commitment to do it. Think that it would be fun to do a Ragnar run with some folks I know, but less enticed to sign up with strangers.

Mizzou - congrats on first 5k, and looking forward to seeing your results on Strava sometime soon.

Easy Mac - serious bummer. I had some knee pain last summer that I worried was meniscus, although it didn't turn out to be any kind of serious deal. Just needed a few weeks of rest, followed by more or less rebooting my distance running with a lot of ice, foam rolling, and more aspirin than I'm used to consuming. Hope that you're able to find a relatively mild transition back to running as well. Eating better sucks :)

Ragnar is a rotation of 36 legs, with teams of either 6 (ultra) or 12 (regular) runners. So you are either going to run 3 legs or 6 legs over the span of 24-36 hours.

Ragnar is definitely on my bucket list. Now if I can convince 5 or 11 of my friends to add it to theirs...

After decades of running with no ailments, my knee is finally giving me trouble. I'm starting to wonder if I may need to give up running. Some questions for those who've been down this road:

1. For those with knee problems, is cycling a better or worse alternative to running?

2. At what point do you go see a doctor about this? Do you go directly to a knee specialist or see a general practitioner first?

3. Do knee braces actually work?

Each case is different, but here's been my experience:

I can't jog anymore. Even after the surgeries, it doesn't work for me. Cycling has been great. But even then, the knees still give me issues on things like hills. I'm still not back to a decent level riding after my last procedure back in December. Which to me has been a big frustration, considering I used to race in my youth. If I can average 12.5mph on a long ride, I take that as a great day. I used to get pissed if I couldn't average 20mph.

I went to the regular doctor after a couple of episodes of my knee locking up. He sent me to Physical Therapy first, and that did help a bit. But then I had another instance a few months later when I knelt down and heard a pop/crackling sound. It was after that happened when I went to a orthopedic surgeon.

There are varying level of knee braces. Depending on just what is wrong with your knee, there is likely one that would help. If you have ligament issues, there are different braces for that versus cartilage issues.

What was the pop/cracking sound?

It was something called a Baker's cyst popping. It is a benign cyst that fills with synovial fluid, usually near spots inside the knee where there is a lot of osteoarthritis.

Well, I'm not exactly the model patient for treating knee pain, but here's what I had to go through.

My first injury was Runner's Knee on my left knee back in 2013. I was basically a newbie runner with high aspirations, and I trained too much, too fast. Runner's knee quickly brought me back to ground level. At this point I had not seen a docter, but self-imposed about 3 weeks of RICE, and very slowly got back into running. I tried different types of braces, but the small knee strap that supported my patella seemed to be the most effective.

Over time, I fully healed, but I think I was still favoring that left knee, and into the next year, I developed some metatarsal pain on my right foot. That sidelined me for another couple of weeks... but we're talking about knee pain here.

In late 2014 through 2015, I started feeling a more dull pain inside my left knee, but it was different from the runner's knee pain I felt in 2013. Climbing stairs and steep inclines were painful. At this point I did see a doctor (a sports medicine specialist, via a referral from my G.P.) because the pain didn't go away with rest. While he didn't see any thing specific in my x-rays, he diagnosed me with osteoarthritis.

After one day of P.T. (I disliked my therapist, she seemed to specialize with teenage athletes with thick skin, and treated me as such), I went home and researched on my own for treating OA.

Bottom line, I am able to continue running, as long as I supplement it with leg strengthening exercises to keep the joint supported. Squats, lunges, etc. will do the trick. If I ever lapse in my running or doing leg exercises, I can feel the pain worsen (i.e. climbing or descending stairs). So it's almost like an incentive to continue running.

On my runs, I wear a knee strap. I focus on cadence and work on mid-foot striking... those things keep the impact on my knee to a minimum. After more intense runs like races or speed workouts, I'll have to ice down and put on a compression knee sleeve afterwards to minimize swelling.

Anyways, it's an ongoing battle for me. Every day I run I'll have to monitor the level of my knee pain. Usually it's low, but I'm very aware that any given moment I'll have to back off significantly. So I try not to push the pace too much, and I keep my runs to within small loops, so if I have to stop I can.

wow great advice - that never occurred to me.

This might be a good time for me to segue into my own ongoing running story.

So my 2015-2016 racing season ended early Feb with the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach. I wanted to refrain from signing up for any more long races (10k or longer) and use the off season this summer to do some proper base building and Half Marathon training for the upcoming fall season - something I never really did in the past.

The plan was to take a couple of weeks off following the Surf City Half, take a weeklong vacation, and start my base building in March. I built a spreadsheet and planned out 16 weeks of base building, and 16 weeks of Half Marathon training, leading up to the Long Beach Half Marathon in October 2016. It was a really nice looking spreadsheet.

Then came Ash Wednesday on Feb 10. As you Catholics out there may know, Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lent season where you offer to give up a known vice of yours (drinking, smoking, sweets, etc) until Easter Sunday. For me, my "sacrifice" was to run daily, at least one mile, during the entire Lent season. This decision was completely pulled out of thin air. But streak running wasn't unheard of in my circle of running friends - two of my friends had been streaking for going on 100 days. So I figured, why not me? It's just for a few weeks anyways. I'll start my official training after Easter.

This decision however causes a couple of problems with my original training plan. One, I will have to push back the start of my base training to focus on the mile-a-day streak. And Two, I will need to find time during my weeklong vacation to run one mile. Oh, and Three, so much for the short rest period following my last half marathon.

The vacation was the toughest part of the streak, planning in advance on when and where to run so it doesn't interfere with the daily activities, and finding a Plan B if it doesn't work out. Part of my vacation included a 3-day cruise. Running along the deck of the boat was interesting.

As the weeks went on, and Easter approached, I announced to my friends that I would end the streak and move on to my base training. Of course, my friends being who they are, convinced me to continue on... telling me "this IS your base training!"

So the Monday after Easter, I had to make the decision... And I decided to lace up.

Now those "rest" days on my Base Training spreadsheet now include a number "1.0" and I'm continuing my streak, now at 61 days as of April 10.

This will not last forever though. Aware of my aforementioned knee issues, I know I may need to stop if my body has anything to say about it. If/when I reach 75 days or 100 days in my streak, I will again have to make a decision. When my Base Building phase ends in mid-June, I will have to make the decision.

I'm not sure when I will end the streak. But really, If I end it today, I'm okay with that. It's quite an accomplishment I never thought I would ever have done, let alone try.

It was fun! Eating non-stop is the best. :)

To answer digamma's question - there are 8 control points where you have to stop and get your card signed by an employee. Each route has its own controls - ours had a diner, a few convenience stores, a McDonald's, an IHOP...you get the idea. We had two big sit down meals but definitely ate at every stop.

Here is what I ate during the ride:

1. Start: Starbucks - coffee
2. Breakfast (TJs diner): 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 4 bacon, coffee, juice
3. Exxon: 12 oz coke, clif bar, half an almond butter and jelly sandwich, trail mix (m&ms plus mixed nuts)
4. Buckeystown Convenience store: trail mix, half an almond butter and jelly sandwich
5. Half Cup Restaurant: BLT, sweet potato fries, coffee
6. Sheetz: Dr. Pepper, clif bar, trail mix
7. McDonald's: coffee, sausage and egg mcmuffin
8. IHOP: coffee

Also drank about four water bottles worth of NUUN mixed berry electrolyte mix (with caffeine).

As far as mileage - I am missing about 3 miles bc I forgot to start my Garmin at the start and after the 3rd control point, so I should have had 246 miles. And yes, I would have liked to have hit 250. :)

For those lurkers that want to hear something more realistic, here is my story. As noted before, I have some partial blockages in my legs which make walking and running painful. They are not serious enough to require surgery, but it still makes exercising difficult. To add to that, I had a very minor heart attack early in the year, so I am working to get myself in shape.

Today, I just finished a 3 mile run/walk. My goal was to do it in 45 minutes, but didn't quite make it. This is the longest I've gone since I started my on/off Strava adventure back in 2013. My time isn't great, but I finished, and add to that I'm doing it at high elevation (66400-6500 feet).

Most of the participants in this thread could do that in their sleep, but for me, this is a good accomplishment. My next post will be when I can break the 45 minute marker.

That's a great story. Congrats!

Great stuff, Umbrella!

Pro-tip, might want to start a bit lower than 66400 feet :D

Umbrella: I've been following along on Strava and I'm mentally high fiving you every time I see your posts pop up on my feed.

Attention fellow LA/OC area runners: I have a couple of race entries to the Revel Canyon City Half Marathon that I'm trying to transfer. It's on November 12, 2016 in the Angeles National Forest in the city of Azusa, CA

REVEL Canyon City

My buddy recently broke his leg and will be off from training for 4-6 months, and I decided to run the Disney Super Heroes Half Marathon that same weekend.

So we have two entries we're trying to part with, either by transfer or straight cancel. But we need to do it by April 20.

PM me if interested.

Runner Stages Incredible, Last-Gasp Comeback In 4x400 Relay - Digg

Check this out.

Good thing that running surface has some give to it... oof. What a comeback!

HOLY SHIT FROM THE DIPTHS OF HILLLLL!

So I recently entered my first 5k race, the Freedom of Flight 5k on the Runway. It's ran all on the runways, so I'm hoping it will be a good starting race for me -FLAT! The date is May 7th which gives me about 10 more days to prepare.

I'm just not real sure how I should train/prepare for this last week and a half. I had a good weekend of running, doing a 5 mile and a 5k, but it caused me some pain in my left leg (shin splints?). It felt better today and I ran 2.5 miles mostly pain free. My other problem is my left ankle. I turned it pretty severely on Feb 4 and have not really gave it any time to heal. I didn't run on it but I did a lot of walking and elliptical. I actually went to the gym 3 hours after I did it. It feels fine running, but any side to side movement is uncomfortable.

I feel I should keep doing as I have been until a few days before the race and rest the last three days. If anyone can offer some good tips/advice it'd be much appreciated!

Runway races are the best! I did a Race on the Base at a military air base earlier this year, and it was mostly done on the runways. The wide open space meant you didn't have to weave through the large crowds. And it was flat and fast.

Not much more you can do fitness-wise in 10 days. All you can do now is just keep running easy, and to not push the pace. Just keep the legs fresh at this point.