Update from the Physio

Well, I went to see the Physio on Tuesday morning.

The problem with my knee does come from my IT band. This article explains it quite well.

The other impact of this is that it has been stopping my kneecap moving freely and this has been another source of the pain. When he examined my knee he found that one of the tendons was "stuck" in the wrong place.

The Physio treated it with something that looks like a Black & Decker sander (without a sanding pad !) to free up the tendon and then also used ultrasound to treat it.

The advice I have been given is that I can continue training BUT if it starts hurting then stop immediately, he said I won't be able to run through this.....

I have been told that now he has freed the tendon then it may be fine, but it may not.... and I do also need to look at how I run to make sure that is not an underlying cause of the problems. I need to massage my knee and part of my leg before and after running to try and keep the tendon moving freely and to keep the movement in my kneecap. It will also take time to heal...

So where does this leave me for the Brighton marathon ?

If I'm honest I don't know. I went for a 5 mile run last night that was a lot less painful than Sundays run. I am due to do a 7/8 mile run this evening. If that run is ok (I won't use the words pain free...) then on Monday I have an 18 mile run scheduled. That run will let me know one way or another if I will stand a chance of completing the marathon. If I make the 18 miles then I have 2 weeks taper to help my knee recover. If I can't run the 18 miles then I would be foolish to attempt the marathon.

I love running. The Brighton Marathon is one race. If I don't run it this year then I will defer my place to next year, I don't want to start the race thinking I may not be able to finish it and I do not want to hurt myself to a degree that it then takes me months to recover and I can't get out running all summer.

Sometimes we are so busy looking forwards to the next goal that we forget to look back and see where we have come from.

Two years ago I couldn't run to the end of the road. I can now run 17 miles and run a half marathon in under two hours.

I have found something that I LOVE doing and I am fitter now than I ever have been in my life.

I am lucky to be able to run any distance at all; there are plenty of people in the world who would love to be able to get up and walk outside the door yet alone run through some of the amazing countryside that we have around here.

I may not get to run this marathon, but I still think I am one of the luckiest people around to be able to do what I can do :)