Happy Knees - Runner's Cocktail

Well, this is just getting silly. No sooner had my knee decided to partially cooperate in my marathon training than I go down with a Christmas cold. Bah humbug - I've been "resting" but am going out again tomorrow come what may. Frankly, I need perfect health for the next 9 weeks or I'm really snookered.

In the meantime, I have discovered that I can mix this juice I told you about with alcohol and claim it's a healthy necessity :)
Well, what the heck, it is New Year's Eve.

Happy Knees Cocktail

• 2-3 ice cubes
• splash of vodka* (berry flavor is good)
• splash of cointreau*
• top up with Elations juice, or a mix of apple & cranberry.

*The size of the splashes is entirely up to you. I won't tell.
Here's to a very happy (and please, please, healthy) New Year!

Photo thanks: Ilker

How to know if you're hooked on running

Do any of these tell-tale signs apply in your life?

• On big days like Thanksgiving and Christmas, you squeeze in a morning run and end up burning more calories that day than you eat.
• Your most expensive piece of 'jewelry' is your GPS watch.
• You turn down Friday night social invitations so you can be up bright and early for your long run on Saturday.
• When you get sick or injured, you act like an abandoned puppy until you're well enough to run again.
  
• You have lucky socks that you save for special runs and races.
• The best thing about time off work for Christmas is all that extra daylight running available to you.
  

Well, I'm totally hooked, and that's OK, I'm loving it. Yesterday I managed a long slow distance run of 14 miles, and while my knee started whispering very gently for the last mile, it's absolutely fine today. So I'm still in with a chance of at least being able to start the Napa marathon with 2 working legs.

However, time is getting tight and I won't be able to do as much total training as I would like. But hey, the last few miles of a marathon are supposed to be grim, aren't they? I'd hate to miss out on the full experience. :)

Photo thanks: Ariel da Silva Parreira

I want that T-shirt

I definitely don't count amongst the world's stylish runners. Usually, I fall out of bed, locate something almost-clean and weather-appropriate, and off I trot.

So when I come across clever people with inspirational quotes on their gear, I take note. Here are a few I've seen that I love and would love to own. Have you any to add?

I run for chocolate.

The will to win is important.

But the will to prepare is vital.

Does my butt look fast in this?

Because 26.2 is too far.
(seen at a half marathon)

Photo:
Run with friends, it's cheaper than therapy
by See Jane Run.

Today I was thrilled to do another 8 pain-free miles. The fresh and breezy weather here really blew the cobwebs away and reminded me why I got hooked on this sport in the first place. I'm planning a short outing on Thursday (maybe some very gentle intervals) and then Saturday will be long, slow distance to see whether there's life in the old knee yet.

Cautiously hopeful

Well, it looks like the very pleasant people at Fleet Feet Sports might know a thing or two about running with a dodgy knee.

I'm cautiously pleased to report that I managed 4 pain-free miles on Friday and another 7 this morning. I can only assume that the surprisingly low-tech piece of velcro I bought is doing the trick. And I'm trying not to think about the cost-per-inch of my new friend. But hey, if it's doing it's job, who cares?

I totally realize that there is a huge difference between 7 miles and 26 in just 11 weeks. And I've clearly lost a lot of fitness (as my high heart rate to achieve an 11-minute-mile pace demonstrated). But I'm thrilled to be out running again and even if the odds are still pretty long, at least I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

Needless to say I'll be proceeding with extreme caution. If you see anyone out running with bubble-wrap on their knees, please wave and say Hi. :)

Image thanks: Ilco

All I want for Christmas is a healthy pair of knees

Ooh, I love a good spreadsheet. As you might imagine, entering a marathon was a wonderful excuse for drawing up training plans, pace calculations, and what-if scenarios.

Unfortunately when I started all this, I didn't really expect to be doing the spreadsheet to figure out just how long can I rest my knee without kissing Napa goodbye. It turns out, Excel has spoken, and if I don't start trotting this weekend, with a LSD run next weekend, it ain't gonna happen.

With this in mind, I took myself down to Fleet Feet in Menlo Park, much beloved amongst local pavement-pounders for their friendly, helpful (miracle-working?) staff. I left the store $20 lighter and the owner of a Pro-Tec Patellar Tendon Strap. What the heck, it's worth a try, right? I'm heading for the track a little later to do just a couple of miles and see what happens.

But don't worry, I'll be careful. I've received some wonderful advice here about the importance of perspective and that I may be looking at one marathon versus the rest of my life. Sounds kinda scary when put like that.

Although, Santa, if you could return the Tiffany earrings and BMW convertible, and pop a couple of new knees down the chimney instead, it'd be much appreciated. Cheers.

Photo thanks: Pro-Tec Athletics, and please note, that's not my hairy knee.

Lies and statistics

Well, I can tell you truthfully that yesterday morning, Beloved Husband and I headed out and covered 16 miles. I can also say, perfectly honestly, that one of those miles was done in 6 minutes, which for Struggler is an incredibly fast pace.

The problem with statistics like these is the piece of missing information: we were on bikes.

I still don't dare run on my knee, but having experimented with some extremely cold swimming pools and received some thoughtful feedback here that a lower body workout would be a better idea, we opted for bikes instead. My knee wasn't exactly thrilled at the whole adventure, but I think it was a little stiff and cold more than anything else. And at least the pain in my backside took my mind off it.

I need to do some calculations, but I've a feeling if I can't get back to trotting rather than pedaling in the next week or so, the Napa Valley marathon will be over for me. Every day I "rest", I lose a bit of fitness, and the remaining time in which to rebuild my mileage shrinks. If I don't see a drastic improvement soon, the decision on whether to run or not will effectively be made for me.

Photo thanks: Karin Eggink

Keep drinking the pink stuff

I surprised myself by getting through a Body Sculpt class yesterday, albeit missing out some lunges and other knee-needy activities. It felt good to be doing something a little bit active and I might even have burned off a few dastardly calories. (I'm convinced that, if my knee does get better, I'm going to be lugging some extra pounds with me.)

This week has turned unusually cold for northern California and there is no way I'm going near a swimming pool until it gets milder again. However, hopes are currently high that I might be able to trot a bit by the weekend. I won't dwell too much on the plan on my fridge door that says 20 miles, long slow distance - I'll just settle for any mileage at this point, before my feet forget how to do it altogether.

Meanwhile, I came across a free sample of a drink called Elations. Yes, I know, very strange name, but apparently it contains supplements Glucosamine and Chondroitin that are supposed to "improve joint comfort in just 6 days". Oh yeah, and they have a photo of men in running shorts on their web site. Given my total knee-obsession right now, I gleefully seized it to give it a try. It tastes OK: not fabulous, but not awful, and if there's even a slight chance it might help me, then frankly I'm happy to hand over the credit card. Desperate? Yup, just a bit.

Photo thanks: Elations