So the knee feels a lot better, but I think it is still going to cause problems throughout the season…and possibly for the rest of my life (unless I get surgery to clean up the inside). But I’m okay with that. I have good health insurance and I am really going to try to train smart: to go easy when it’s time to go easy, to really work on increasing my cadence when I’m going hard, and to really concentrate on my form at all times. As Kevin Schwantz (and probably others) have said, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect.” I have to be as close to perfect at all times to avoid further injury.
Today was a good example. I spent the weekend at my parents’ house and ran a pretty flat trail by the San Gabriel “River” (jerk quotes used because it’s almost completely paved at many stretches). Anyway, I warmed up for about a mile at about an 11:30/mile pace, then ran the next two miles at a comfortable 10:30/mile pace, then when I made my U-turn to head back, I ran at a tempo pace of 10:00/mile. I felt good afterward and the knee feels fine. Also, the knot in my calf is going away slowly, so that helps a lot. I tried to increase my cadence throughout, but without my watch (I tracked it with my iPhone), I have no way to know if I was successful or not.
Well, the good news is I am improving. I ran 6.5 miles at a good pace and don’t have any pain to show for it.