Aftermath

Things are starting to return to normal around here, though things never go as we want them to.

During marathon training, I noticed some pain on the outside of my right kneecap. It felt like I'd bumped into something. I'm a klutz, so it made sense. I kept on running on it and it didn't get any worse, and I ran my marathon.

But the pain never went away, so I idled back a little bit. I ran Wednesday as my first time out after the race, (31 for that week), and 26 the next, which included a Saturday 8.5.

Digression:

That Saturday run came after I volunteered at the inaugural Chick-Fil-A half marathon here in Athens. I didn't plan to run this event since I'd just come off running in Atlanta. I pitched in at the Fleet Feet water stop at mile 8 handing out water, sports drink, energy gels, and pretzels to all comers. It was much more fun to do this than to stand as a course marshal at mile 13 on a cold day as I did in Tuscaloosa (ironically, as that half marathon made its debut). There were about a dozen of us on the job, and it made for light work. I enjoyed helping, making new friends, and encouraging other friends as they ran past. I'm told the course was hilly, so I doubt I missed anything. I did score a big-ass bag of leftover pretzels though. Hey, somebody's got to eat them, right?

Anyhow, my 8.5 miler came right after the race, and my knee wasn't feeling any better. So I laid off until last Saturday's fiver. The downtime seems to have helped, as I haven't had any problems since. May have been an overuse thing. It's one of those times where something has gone wrong and you feel better, but you're still looking for it. And when you focus on a dinged knee and can't find anything, it's definitely a positive.

This week I'm up to 12 miles, as running takes a bit of a back seat to other things in my life. I'll still get out there and hit my running groups as I can, plus there is a whole new neighborhood to explore, but I'm reorganizing my priorities just a bit.