The Bees Knees

Some frustrating, and yet, I suppose, basically positive news.

The knee pain has been increasing, but I'm quite sure I'm now able to identify exactly what the problem is.  It's been getting worse, to the point that my runs have been getting shorter and shorter by necessity.  Specifically, a point-source pain on the outside of my right knee that shows up around 6Km.  Initially, my thoughts were to run through the pain and push myself re: endurance.  Turns out that isn't going to happen.

After doing some research, it's looks as though I'm suffering from what almost every runner deals with throughout their training.  It's called ITBS, and has to do with a sort-of tissue band that runs from the hip all the way down to just below the knee-joint.  I'm not entirely sure on the role of the IT Band... as always, internet information is sketchy and greatly varied.  Suffice to say it plays a role in the tracking of my knee joint and the general maintenance of a straight running gait.

It seems that, if other muscles aren't doing their job, or are lacking in performance, this IT Band tightens up and inflames due to over-stress as a result of the increased workload.  Namely, in my case, my chicken-legs have come back to bite me.  Where my gluts (ass-muscle) and my quads, etc. are failing to pull their weight, this IT Band is taking the brunt of the load, rubbing where it isn't supposed to, etc.

Solution: Crappy.  I'm taking a whole week, or maybe even a bit more, off.  No running, and minimal walking.  Throughout this week, I'll be following a pretty aggressive stretching and strengthening routine to get some of those leg muscles up to snuff.  I started this weekend, and immediately came to the realization that my legs are week.  Everything feels glad of the extra stretching and work.

It's tough to tell exactly how well this program will work.  All I can say is that, thus far, everything I'm stretching and working out seems to be directly related to the problem.  I can just feel it.  I'm hoping that, with some rest, followed by a slow start and ramp back into action, I should see improvement.

Everywhere I'm reading, the general consensus seems to be that these things flame up often with new runners as a direct result of too much, too soon.  It seems obvious to me now that the quick ramp into long distances, in addition to the crappy shoes I ran in for the first month, would have been hard for my body to deal with.  Call it a lesson in my lack of invincibility.

Question: will this affect the half-marathon goal?  Thus far... no.  I think I'm in great shape right now.  As I've said, the cardio has been feeling fantastic.  I think this will definitely be a setback, but nothing that will put me out completely.  Here's hoping right?  The hardest thing is laying off when, intellectually, I very much want to get out there... especially given the fact that my knees don't hurt until I've pounded out about 6 Km.

So that's it for now.  I really hope things improve.  I'd hate to be sidelined long-term before even getting started...  Here's hoping.

And for a final little tidbit of incredible news.........

Steve Bartel, loving husband, fledgling father, master crafstman, and not least, my dear brother, has joined the team and will be running this half-marathon alongside me.  Well...  a few minutes behind... but alongside in heart, no doubt! (hehehe... it begins...)

Dear Steve...  it is now official.  To back out now would be a blow to a great many people.  There's pride on the line, my friend.  See you at the finish line.  Don't worry, I'll wait.

Dear readers... if you happen to be driving through Leamington on an early weekday morning, and you spot the young man galloping down the sidewalk, honk for solidarity.

Dear knees... don't let me down.

JB

Gameplan

Training has been going well!

I've started a program by the Running Room that should have me good to finish the 21 Km by mid-October.  Actually, I think my body is happy to be following something with a bit more structure and a defined plan.  I got a bit ahead of myself, I suspect, in starting out.  The growth curve is pretty sharp initially, and I was too excited about adding 2 Km every day to realize that rest days were going to be important.

If anything is going to be a problem, it's going to be the knees.  I'm not having much trouble managing my heart-rate and stretching myself re: cardio, but after about 8 Km, my knees have started to protest rather aggressively.  That said, I have made some improvements to that end.  I think one of the big problems was the fact that I was running in cheap cross-trainers I bought a Payless.  So after an hour of running on no padding and no support, my knees were just giving up and telling me to stop.

But that's been remedied.

Kar got me some sweet new kicks for my birthday that are made for running and are actually suited to my running style and the angles of my feet and ankles.  They're Adidas something or other...  They've got lots of Red and Silver and they make me feel significantly faster.

I also got new short-shorts... believe it... and one of those shirts made out of some sort of elvish woven glory-fibre that sucks the sweat right off your body before it even has a chance to exist.  I did my first run with the new stuff on Sunday.  It's crazy how much better it feels when you're wearing the right stuff.  The shoes make a huge difference.  Without realizing it before, I now know that I was having to work really hard against myself.. against my ankles and my knees, to make headway.  Additionally, it's hilariously more comfortable than running in big skate-shorts and old T-shirts.

So that's it for today.  There are rumors and murmurings of other exciting happenings in regards to the half-marathon plan.  Namely, the notion of additional entrants.  More to come on that if something materializes.

JB

The Beginning

It's been on my mind for a little bit now to set a goal. It's always been in me, I think, to take a "go big, or go home" approach to life. We were raised on it.. the mentality that if you're going to do something, you may as well do it to the best of your ability.

As a kid, it was hockey. And I'll be durned if Saturday morning championship games didn't feel like our own little Stanley Cup Finals, with all the gravity of a game seven before breakfast was even done. Later on, golf was a passion, and then guitar. And I've found that, over the years, the rush, and the value that I took away from all of these always seemed to be rooted in the pursuit, as opposed to the result. At some point, like most boys, I was forced to reconcile with the fact that the NHL was not in my future. Nor a PGA tour card, nor a life on stage alongside the Don Ross's of this world. And yet, looking back, so much of who I am today has come out of who I was in those pursuits.

So it's with that in mind that I've decided to create a new goal... a new passion.

Running is not like anything else I've done. It's solitary, and it's painful. It requires a more deliberate version of myself. It's about discipline. I see now that I've always relied loosely on the "artistic out"... the fact that, in a pinch, I could always lean on the knowledge, either expressed or internally, that focus and discipline wasn't in my makeup. I was a "go with the flow" guy... Ya.. I read, I made records, I progressed as a songwriter.. but hey, don't ask me to force the issue. These things ebb and flow in tides of inspiration.

And yet, the consistency of running is what I'm finding attractive. It's a means by which I can stretch those muscles that I've seldom used over the years... literally, yes, but also figuratively.

Quarter Century, Half Marathon, Full Speed Ahead. I'll be 25 years old in a few days. No quarter-life crisis here... I'm finding myself more on-top of myself now than ever before. But I am aware of the milestone, and, particularly, the notion that activity, and fullness are aspects of life that are no longer inherent. I want to think clearly, and feel strong. I want to wake up feeling alive. In a moment of clarity last week, crossing the bridge over the Don Valley, I was infinitely aware of my body as a moving, working, living thing over which I had ultimate control. I was acutely conscious of the incredible beauty of creation in that sense... everything working together, striving, growing. I could feel my heart beating, and my knees working against the pressure of the pavement.. constant motion, constant struggle, constant growth... as though every step better informs the next one.

Specifics:

My gameplan is to run the Half-Marathon segment of the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon on Sunday, October 18, 2009. I have no interest in time. I'm aiming to finish. The total distance is approximately 21 Km.

Currently, I'm topping out at 10.5 Km total distance. I'll be tracking my improvements in the "Personal Bests" section in the top right corner.

Why create a separate space in which to track the progress, and share thoughts? Well.. because I recognize that people writing constantly and continually about a specific passion can be tiring, or altogether annoying, and I want for you to have the option to avoid checking in if you grow tired of the rhetoric. And additionally, perhaps because I feel as though something new, and specific, will benefit from a new and specific forum. I don't deny that I'm a bit of an exhibitionist. There's a reason that I blog at all... and I admit that I enjoy the prospect of sharing the ride with friends and family. It's a personal goal, but then.. life is only fun when it's shared. I realize that, at the end of the day, if I manage to finish this race, it won't make any difference to you. But hopefully it'll be worth a smile or two along the way, and maybe a provoking thought.

Who knows.. maybe we'll meet in a few months, and I'll be a completely different person. Or maybe I'll be exactly the same. Or maybe I'll be that much closer to who I was actually designed to be. I think that's my hope. Something feels right about this, and while I'm out there dodging fruit-stand shoppers and dog-walkers, I feel a little bit closer to God.

Talk soon. Training starts tonight.

JB