Runner's Knee

My first week of training is finished.  Even better, I met my fundraising goal for the week.  All in all, a successful marathon training week.

My long run this weekend was 7 miles.  I didn't do so well...my left knee got really sore once we hit 3 miles so we cut the run short about 2 miles and "speed walked" home.  It was kind of a bummer, but I think I just tweaked it running the half marathon a couple weeks ago.  I'll just rub some dirt on it and I'll be okay.

Any time I have any aches or pains, running induced or not, I attempt self-diagnosis.  My initial go-to is Google, of course.  I Google EVERYTHING because Google has everything you could ever need.  Just recently, I interviewed three different people for a cashier position we had available.  I picked one person and couldn't figure out what to say to the other two.  Since I found them through Craigslist (not recommended, by the way), I decided emailing would be most appropriate.  So I googled "how to reject someone for a position."  Here is my favorite hit.  My goal was to find a sample letter that I could copy and paste thinking it would save me time.  Instead I wasted a half hour going through the search results and began to realize what a huge dork I am.  I ended up writing the e-mail all by myself.  It was 2 lines and took 30 seconds.  But I feel my google perusing gave me a good knowledge base.


The last time I googled a possible ailment was at work last year.  I didn't feel well, so I decided I was going to get everything done early so I could go home and rest.  Feeling short of breath was the only symptom I could pinpoint.  I just couldn't fill my lungs all the way.  Otherwise, I just felt like crap.  When I mentioned this to my boss, she seemed genuinely concerned and said "you may want to check that out, Al."  I'm pretty sure by "check that out" she meant "Google it," so Google it I did.  I gathered all the information I could find from my all-truth, all-knowing web sites like Wikipedia and WebMD (you know, the legitimate ones) and found that my shortness of breath could be a symptom of one of three things:

1. I am having a heart attack
2. My cancer radiation treatment is the culprit
3. I was bitten by a venomous snake.  (Not sure what kind of snake, @iamdoctorish needed a bit more information before releasing the full details of my analysis.)

Since I was still walking around and not currently undergoing chemotherapy I figured I could rule out 1 and 2.  Number 3 was a little unnerving.

Naturally, when my knee started hurting I figured there was no better place to turn other than good 'ole trusty Google.  I typed in "sharp ache kneecap running."  Can you believe that what came up was Runner's Knee?  Google is so smart.  So there it is, kids, I have runner's knee.  It's fairly common among hardcore athletes such as myself, so no need to worry.  I'll just wear a cool kneestrap.  It just makes me look more legit anyway.  It will help me move faster when I'm running away from all the venomous snakes hanging around Mass Ave.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Breakin' in the Bikilas

Allie Running in Bikilas

Bikilas are my new barefoot running shoes.  Don't I look cool in them?

I'm starting off Thanksgiving week on a good foot.  I have officially transitioned from my half marathon training plan to full on marathon training.  I have 22 weeks to get in tip top shape and raise $3065 more for the Melanoma Foundation.  Funny how "April" sounds so far away but "22 weeks" feels like it's right around the corner.   I wanted to loosen up and break in my new shoes with an easy 1 mile run.  Micah and I grabbed the dogs and set out on our usual 1 mile loop.  Sota was not in the mood to run on a leash.  As soon as we got down the steps she broke into a run, dragging me behind, and went straight for the park across the street.  I got her under control and untangled myself from the rose bushes in front of the abandoned house at the end of our street and continued on our way.  These random bursts of speed from Sota make my running times look a lot better.  It doesn't matter that I am flailing behind her, I figure I am still covering ground and should count that toward my running time.  Of course, she makes up for it on her pee breaks in front of houses 42, 44, 46, 48, 50...  I tell her bad dogs pee during training runs.  She doesn't seem to care.  Minus the constant stopping, the dogs do pretty well on our short runs.  Buttercup starts showing her age after 1 mile and Sota starts showing her lack of attention span at about 2.  We leave them at home on our longer runs, and then they join us on our cool down W-A-L-Ks (I have to spell it out, otherwise there will be two very excited dogs harassing one very tired Allie). 

With Turkey Day coming up, my training will be off a  little bit.  I'm headed for Nashville, TN Wednesday night and will get back on Friday.  I probably won't do any training while down there - I'll be too busy eating.  But I'll be back in time for our first Running for Cover team run where I can embarrass myself in front of the teammates who have run 10-18 marathons (yikes).  My long run this week is 7 miles, which means my fundraising goal is $70. Help me hit my goal so I can run off my second helping of turkey and sweet potato casserole!

Daylight Savings Time

It's starting to feel like winter.  I went to City Sports the other day and purchased things like "base layers" and "running gloves" (I'm not really sure how running gloves differ from other gloves, but I bought them anyway because I feel like it'll make me look more like an athlete). Now all I need is to remind myself that when I get home from work I should probably go for a run instead of immediately climbing in bed. 

About the time I should have really been gearing up for the half marathon we ran Sunday, it was time to fall back an hour.  Which means it is pitch dark by about 5:30.  Darkness = Bedtime.  Bedtime ≠ Running.

The half marathon went well.  Probably would have been better if I had run more the two weeks before but Micah and I finished within our time goal, so we were happy.  I do want to note here that the half marathon started and ended at Newton South High School, which means we had to loop around and run the same three miles at the beginning and end of the race.  Listen up, Grandpas, because you'll only hear this once.  You were right, it can happen.  WE RAN UPHILL BOTH WAYS.  Literally.  I saw the 10 mile mark and thought "oh, this is a piece of cake.  The whole first half of the race was uphill so we'll just be flying down the hills and be finished in no time."  Fail.

Anyway, we had our first Running for Cover team meeting this week and I was discussing my early darkness dilemma with a teammate.  His immediate response was, "you should run in the morning."  I responded with "yea, I would, but, you know, I have to be to work by 6:30 so it's kind of impossible."  And he said, "oh yea, me too, I wake up at 4:00 AM every day."  WHAT????  The only time I ever see 4am is when I wake up having to use the bathroom.  And  I usually lay in bed for 10-15 minutes doing a cost/benefit analysis of whether it is worth getting out of bed for.  Like maybe I could hold it for another 5 hours or so.  No way.  So on Monday when you get home from work and it looks like nighttime outside, give me a call and tell me to get off my butt and go for a run. 

Patriots' Day Woes

My first encounter with Patriots' Day was on Monday, April 20, 2009.  Toward the end of the work day on this particular Monday I decided I desperately needed mint chocolate chip ice cream on a chocolate dipped waffle cone from Brigham's.  (Yes, my cravings are that specific).  I convinced a friend to sneak a break and walk down High Street with me to get my ice cream cone.  It was about 3:00 PM by the time we got there and the doors were closed with a sign that said "Brigham's will be closing early for Patriots' Day Monday, April 20."  I looked at my friend and said "Patriots' Day?!?!  There's no such thing.  Brigham's is making that up.  If that was a real holiday I would have the day off, too."  He assured me that Patriots' Day was a real thing with real historical significance blah, blah, blah.  I, however, was hearing none of it because all I could think of was my elusive ice cream cone and how jealous I was that the kids at Brigham's got to go home early while I was stuck at work for at least another hour.  I went home hungry, unhappy, and very much against the holiday.

My second encounter with Patriots' Day was on Monday, April 19, 2010.  The wounds were still open about the whole Brigham's ordeal and I was still pretty skeptical about it being a holiday since I was expected to be at work, but this year I was prepared for the nonsense.  My boss was running the Boston Marathon which meant in addition to running the joint, I was also the designated "How's she doing so far?" lady.  She had been training for the marathon for 5-6 months and I had slowly become jealous of her ability to run 26.2 miles while I occasionally ran out of breath on the ride up the elevator.  After following her training and seeing her after the race, I decided I wanted to run a marathon.  And do it faster than her.

So this is my year, folks!  Patriots' Day 2011 is the day where all previous Patriots' Day experiences are forgiven.  I am on the Running for Cover Marathon Team for the Melanoma Foundation of New England.  Cancer, including Melanoma, has affected all of us in one way or another.  Many members of my family have been diagnosed with all different types of cancer, some of whom have been lost to the battle.  Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, but if detected early can be cured.  Research has also shown that Melanoma can be prevented by reducing the amount of exposure to ultraviolet rays.  In my opinion, there is no better reason to run 26.2 miles than to help the Melanoma Foundation of New England educate the public about the prevention and detection of Melanoma and other forms of skin cancer.  Please help me raise my goal of $3250 for this great program!

Donate on my First Giving page, www.firstgiving.com/allisonsilletto.  I appreciate all of your help and support.