Strengthening the Core

When I was running half marathons in the early 2000s, I knew that my knees couldn't handle too much more. I always thought that I wouldn't be able to do a marathon if for my knees alone. (Although that certainly wasn't my only fear!) My knees definitely hurt through the training, and in weird ways. The right would hurt for a week, then after a long run it would stop hurting for a week. The left would hurt sometimes, then the right. Sometimes both, sometimes neither, always changing on Thursdays after my long runs. I tried to pinpoint the spot they hurt, and it seemed to be mostly on the outside, but sometimes on the inside...

Since the marathon (one month ago today), my knees have been ok. As I started to pick up mileage again, though, and geared up to start a new 18 week marathon training session, my left knee would have none of it. It got to the point where I needed to make some decisions, so I decided that since I do want to run another marathon, and I hope to get one in this coming fall, I need to start the training healthy instead of injured. I am self-diagnosing here, which is probably kind of stupid of me, but after looking at a lot of websites and videos by doctors, athletic trainers, and chiropractors, I am pretty sure that I at least have an idea of what the problem is.

So I decided I would take a break. It was a hard decision to make since my training was supposed to start the day I made this decision, but I decided that a month off will strengthen my running in the long-term, and I can use this as time to work on some other weaknesses, like my core (back and stomach), my arms, and my rear end. So far it has seemed like a good choice since my knee is still hurting. It is a hard thing to do mentally, as I feel myself being more stressed and frustratedwithout my normal running release. However, I feel like so far I am handling it in more of a mature way than I did when I was injured in college or when I broke my foot a few years back. It is only a month off (hopefully!) and I can still work out. I may not be able to do some of my favorite things (running and cycling), but I can enjoy working out inside with a fan on instead of trying to beat the heat outside. The paths outside are calling me again, and that can only be a good thing since I was admittedly a little sick of running the same routes all the time.

This is going to be a good thing. I keep telling myself that. I am already a few days into it, and my body needs this break. It's not really a break from everything, but a time to refocus. And that is my connection to the "beautiful" theme. There is a time to rest, and this is my time.