Day 1

Saturday, I danced the night away. It was good times with good friends. By the end of the night though, and all day yesterday, my knee let me know exactly how it felt about that. Not happy. Not horrible. No real pain, just very uncomfortable. Getting up and walking was difficult until I'd been on my feet for a few minutes, then it was considerably easier. I spent a bit of time off and on, stretching. I used a vibrating massager on my ankles, which have a tendency to be tight. I've found clenching and releasing muscles helps reduce tension, so spent some time working my thighs and hamstrings that way. At bedtime, I positioned my feet as if they were in plantar fasciitis booties, resting with the toes and balls of my feet down and my heels in the air. I kept them like that for as long as I could stand it, then made sure I did not lie with the tops of my feet flat on the bed.

All this seems to have helped. I woke up early this morning feeling much better. Stairs were not a problem, though as usual my knee is not quite right. I packed my bag for a long morning at the Y, had a small breakfast and headed out.

Last week's experience with my Vibrams on the treadmill was not stellar. My feet hurt from the way my toes were pushed into the pockets as my foot caught the belt. I decided to revisit the Saucony Kinvara I'd purchased late last year. I've not worn these much. The tightness around the ball of my foot that the saleperson said was normal and preferred, is not preferred. I thought they would be better than the Vibrams, for treadmill running at any rate. They were ok, though I'm hoping to be outside for my longer runs, as they were progressively more uncomfortable.

I'd also hoped to do my little 2-miler in one shot. That didn't happen. I warmed up with a half mile walk, then kicked it up to 5mph and started running. My knee complained a little, but not enough to make me stop. What made me stop was my heart rate and breathing. I am so out of shape! I ran a half mile, stopped and stretched, then ran another half, etc. etc. My legs were heavy and fatigued by the final half, and I ended up walking the last .2 miles.

Interesting side note. My knee hurt less, the faster I ran. It had nothing to do with how long I was on my feet, and more to do with the length of my stride.

After a short cooldown, I went to my water aerobics class. After an hour in the pool, I went to my line dancing class. Both are nice, low impact ways to move. I was supposed to go to my parents' and work on the drywall Ninja and I hung Friday, but they are having boiler issues and I am having trouble with a paper due today. I will be over there tomorrow, after another 2-miler and an hour of yoga. I'm hoping tomorrow's 2-miler will be less disjointed.

Eventually, as long as I keep doing them, my runs will get better. Right now, I have to take care of my knee and keep plugging at it. The knee is a bit sore now. I will do the same stretching and moving I did yesterday. I am not willing to miss a run on this program (though I am willing to run on the elliptical, if necessary).