Oct 5, 2009 5:18 PM
Stupid in More Ways than One
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So...I entered the lottery for the New York Marathon and the St. George marathon planning that I would not get into either...but I got into both, and I had already registered for Denver. Yes they are all two weeks apart. I know I know, what the heck is my problem? (stupid #1). I planned on running all of them. (stupid #2). I ran the Aspen half marathon the weekend before my first marathon, St. George (stupid #3).
So here is where I need the advice. Clearly I have problems, but I also fell on mile 9 down the freaking mountain in Aspen. I fell on my knee and had to have Search and Rescue at mile 10 take me down the mountain. So I had to continue to hike down a mile on my injured knee. At the bottom doctors looked at it and it was so swollen they did not know what to tell me. I ran on it last week a couple miles and no problems, no pain anywhere, no excessive swelling, no problems just a buttload of bruising. I decided to sit the St. George out because the marathon I want to do the most is New York. Today the outside of my knee is sore and it looks like it got whacked by Tanya Harding. Do I run on it at all? Do I try Denver? Can I do New York? Am I screwed?
Thanks for the help.
kinnamon32, let me throw in my two cents on this issue:
First off how does the knee actually feel? After a fall like that, I would expect you to have some lagging aches and pains. If all is well I guess the priority would be the New York Marathon. I am not sure when it comes about, but it also sounds like you may need to rest the leg a little. Doesn't sound like it has had enough time to recover. I have heard of a few people who can run marathons every two weeks or so but I guess it might be a bit tougher for you due to the injury. However, since each of the races is two weeks apart, which I guess means at least two of the races are 4 weeks apart, maybe you can at least run two.
Whatever you decide, good luck on your races! ![]()
Kinnamon,
I would definitely advise against running either marathon. With an acute injury like yours, you may experience some lasting problems if you try to tough it out for 26.2 miles. It may feel good for some of the race, but who knows how it will feel at mile 16 when you're heading up the Queensboro bridge or the rolling hills of Central Park. I ran New York last year and it's not as flat as a lot of people claim.
Take a long-term view of your health - tackle these difficult races when you're 100% so you don't compromise your racing in the future.
Good luck.
- Jason.
The good news is that you can defer NYC this year and run it next year if need be.
With respect to your knee it depends on what is wrong. Since you have run on it with no problems and you didn't think it was bad enough to go to a doctor then you are probably good to go. But I'm an engineer, not a doctor, so take my opinion for what it is worth. My thinking is that If there is no major bone or tissue damage and the swelling is gone then that's great and you can enjoy NYC.
Good Luck
Lies Spectators tell Marathoners: 1) Last Hill! 2) Almost there! 3) You look great!
Thank you so much for everyone's input. I have been speaking with a PT and he thinks that the chances of damage are very unlikely that I probably just bruised the crud out of it. I feel like I NEED to run. My knee feels good when I run and my thighs and calves are aching because of inactivity, not to mention the fat that is sticking to me. I think I will take it easy and see if after tonight there is more bruising or swelling. It just looks really bad but does not hurt, so I should be fine right?
Heather
Jason,
Thank you for your input on New York. I scares me that I could be jeopardizing my running future. I am so stubborn, I was still planning on running St. George the night before hoping that I could chance it. Between my stubborness and need to fulfill every goal, I could be limping across the finish line. My whole mindset is that if I run and need to stop, that is better than not even trying - like I said -stupid in more ways than one. I am hoping that I indeed just bruised my knee, because nothing hurts.
Thanks for the help.
Heather
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