Smart Running

Well....I am the new ward fitness coordinator (whatever that means).  So I am following in Jesse's footsteps and continuing on this blog.

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Megan Hunter and I am from Portland, Oregon.  I like to consider myself a runner.  I have run several 5k's, 10k's, halfs, and relays.  My goal this summer is to run a full marathon, if my knee gets better.......

My husband and I have only been married a few months and we haven't been doing very good on working out.  We had a race a couple weeks ago in Moab, Utah.  Its called the Red Rock Relay, Moab.  Our running habits have gone down the drain since about January, with school, work, being cold, planning a wedding it was very hard to fit that into the schedule.  So we decided to intensify our workouts about two weeks before our race.  Dumb idea.  I over worked my knee and now have what is called "Runners Knee."

Runner's Knee causes pain around your knee cap.  It is caused  by increasing your mileage too quickly (which I did), tightness in you IT band (it is a fibrous band that runs along the length of your thigh and when tight it rubs against your knee cap), poor running form, and your leg muscles are disproportional (they aren't strong enough to keep your knee cap in place).  It is really, really, really painful.  I could barely walk with out being in pain.

How to cure it? Well I have done a lot of research over the internet and this is what I have found

1. Cut back on your mileage and give it rest
2. Ice it and take ibuprofen after your run
3. Stretch your muscles a ton
4. Cross train (biking, weight lifting, lunges)
5. New shoes (you are supposed to switch out your shoes about every 200 miles)
6. Correct your form.

I know the majority of you probably don't have runners knee, but it is more common in women because our legs are angled more and put more strain on our knees.  But the key to prevent any kind of injury in running is to stretch a lot after every run, and cross training will strengthen other parts of you body which will help correct your form and actually quicken you pace.

To make a long story short, I never cured my knee in time for the race.  I know it wasn't smart but I just drugged myself up before each leg and stretched while in the car waiting for my next leg.  I can successfully say I ran all my legs, but I was in  a lot of pain for the next few days.

I am currently waiting on my new shoes to come in the mail, but in the meantime I have done a lot of cross training and stretching so when my shoes come I can begin slowly running again.  YA!