Sunday, August 31, 2008

Not the Bees Knees

All of my non-running friends are constantly asking about my knees. How are you knees? Don't your knees hurt? How can you run without knee pain? I've always been able to say no my knees don't hurt, they're just fine.

That is, until this week.

This week, my knees have decided that they are not fine. They hurt when I wake up. It gets better after I get moving. They're unhappy about walking. They're angry about running. What the font?!?

There are several possibilities about what is causing the pain, but I think the most likely culprit is osteoarthritis. I've started taking glucosamine (Schiff Move Free Advanced to be exact) hoping for substantial improvement in 2-4 weeks. I've also backed off on running intensity.

I'm not my usual cheery self at the moment. In fact, I'm rather whiney & grumpy about the whole thing.

Today husband & I showed up for a local Nike Human Race 10K. I managed to find a slow, easy pace that didn't cause it to hurt worse, and struggled through what felt like the longest 10K ever. [edited to add: Even though it seemed like the longest 10K ever, my hurtin-knee-limp-run got me across the finish line faster than I did for the Mariposa Death March in June *and* the Jingle Bell run last December. I must be making progress]

Husband has been experiencing pain of his own, so he decided to stay with me the whole way. I guess that's one positive in this whole thing. We make a lovely pair - Mr & Mrs Gimpy.

Running with pain is no fun. Somehow, I need to be pain-free for the Chips-n-Salsa half-marathon next weekend. RICE seems like a good starting point.

Recent workouts
Fri: OWS with Misty :-)
Sat: Rest
Sun: Nike Human Race 10K - easy pace


Shoutout to Cindy and Misty who are running the New Mexico Marathon today. You Go, Girls!

17 comments:

  1. So sorry about your knees. That sti-iiiii-inks!

    You are being smart with easing up on the intensity and giving it some time. RICE 'em and I hope you are feeling better soon.

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  2. Sorry to hear about the knee pain! RICE is a good idea as you prepare for you half!

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  3. Ugh...I am so sorry to hear this, Lisa. I hope the glucosamine and RICE help you. (I would be grumpy, too)

    Thanks for the shout out :)

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  4. The family that Gimps together....

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  5. I have had knee pain before...I bet if you ice and rest you will feel better. Or look at your shoes. Hang in there!

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  6. Sorry your knees are bothering you. Hope the glucosamine and the RICE help. I'm not sure where in your knee it hurts, but mine bother me sometimes when I haven't been stretching my calves enough. Just a thought...

    Hang in there!

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  7. I think non-runners think your knees are gonna hurt no matter what. I think alot of people use that as an excuse to stay on the couch.

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  8. Java brings up a good point about the shoes. Hope you knees feel better soon.

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  9. Hope the knees improve soon. Good luck next weekend, enjoy the RICE.

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  10. Hi Lisa,
    I'm sorry about the knee pain! Maybe just a few days off would help? RICE too of course!!! You will do great in your half, not to worry!!!

    Michelle

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  11. I hope you knee pain is fleeting and minor. I also take glucosamine and chondroitin daily.

    Health care providers often suggest a three month trial of glucosamine and discontinuing it if there is no improvement after three months.

    You may want to keep that in mind and not expect any immediate results.

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  12. So sorry to hear about the rather sudden knee pain! Fighting through pain like that on a run sucks all of my energy right out. I hope RICE does the trick this week!

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  13. You speak of being whiny and grumpy as though it was a bad thing?

    Really, best wishes that the glucosamine works well - if it does I'm going to try some. Get well soon, Lisa's pesky knees!

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  14. Oh bummer. Hope it will go away very very quickly, as quickly as it appeared.

    BTW: Emails keep bouncing back. I even tried to cut and paste or send just an email with new subject line and no attachment. No luck. Always says it got rejected by the spam protection? Any idea?

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  15. Oh Lisa, that bites about your knees. I hate when something like that just sneaks in. Smart to back off the intensity and try to get it feeling better asap. And you know, its fine to be grumpy - hey, I'd be throwing things in frustration, lol. Hang in there, and hoping the glucosamine kicks in fast!

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  16. ewwww, sorry to hear about your ssooorrreee knees. That hurts...

    take care, go easy let them heal and you'll be back in no time!

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  17. That knee pain must be contagious virtually because I've had a little trouble on and off too. And then I whacked it on the car getting in yesterday and ended up with a goose egg and pain and stiffness. Hope yours clears up soon!

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