Taper Pains

Last night, I broke down and admitted to myself that I have a mild case of runner's knee.  It's a dull ache that I've had crop up a bit here and there just below my right kneecap.  One of those simple overuse injuries that normally just takes care of itself as one's body adjusts to its workout regimen.  It hasn't really bothered me much until recently.  It's a nagging pain that I feel particularly when going down stairs, running downhill, before I've fully warmed up on a run, or immediately after I've finished.  But now it's become sensitive when I'm not even running.  And seeing as I'm now only 10 days from race day, I've started to freak out.  No, let me correct that.  I've started to:  FREAK.  THE.  FUCK.  OUT.

And what do I do when I freak out?  Ridiculous amounts of internet research.  Self-diagnosis.  Obsessive worrying.  Nitpicking and modifying what little is left of my training plan.  Here's my revised course of action.

I gave up my four-mile run today to allow an extra day of rest before my last long(ish) run of eight miles on Saturday.  If I'm up for it, I might replace today's run with a two- to three-miler tomorrow just to see how it feels.  In the meantime, I'm upping the ice packs to several times a day.  I even took one to work and used it a few times today, which I felt warranted a nice pat on the back.  Unfortunately, I left the ice pack in the freezer at work, so maybe no pat deserved.  (Luckily, I still have two more ice packs in my home freezer.  We like to ice around here.)

I'm also taking regular doses of anti-inflammatories every so often as I remember.  And as of right now--right this very second--I've decided to wear no more heels until after the marathon.  This is heartbreaking for a heel-struttin' lady like myself, but I know it's good for me in general and even better for encouraging the proper alignment I'm sure my spine (and knee) is craving.

I believe I'll be feeling okay in time for my final few baby runs next week.  I just feel like, if anything, it's easier to destroy my training at this point by overdoing it rather than doing too little.  If push came to shove, I could theoretically do no more running until race day and still be okay.  I'd be a deranged nutjob by then but physically okay.

So really it's just a waiting game right now.  A total mindfuck, but a game of "wait and see" no less.

And you know what's an even bigger mindfuck?!  In all of my research, I've found that it's common for runners to get new and/or exaggerated aches and pains during marathon tapers.  And not only in the "I'm anxious and obsessed" hypochondriacal way.  It turns out that apparently taper is a time in which the body is doing tons of microscopic tissue repair, which in turn causes real pain as runners' bodies rehabilitate themselves.  Who knew?

Which means . . . maybe I'm not doomed by an ill-timed injury after all.  Perhaps this is just my body doing everything it's supposed to do:  exploiting its tiny little muscle elves for a tune-up right on time and badgering me to chill out and slow down in the meantime . . . and driving me fucking insane.