My first overuse injury

Sriracha Sauce: Great For Tacos. Knees? Not So Much.

I've read about them. I'm even aware of all the tricks to prevent them (and tried diligently to follow them). But somehow, I still managed to over stress one of my knees and it really sucks.

After a standard, nothing-unusual-about-it, 6-miler a few weeks ago, my knee felt like it had been injected with sriracha sauce. It was burning and hurt like hell. Dr. LindseyWife officially diagnosed it as Patellofemoral Pain (aka: Runner's Knee).

Looking for Answers

Trying to figure out how it happened was supposed to be easy – I've got my nerdy Garmin watch data to look back on, right? Surely I'd spot something from the run that morning that was out of control: too fast, wrong cadence, ground contact was off balance...something.

It's Gotta Be The Run

NOPE. All the stats matched my previous runs on that route: same route, same pace, same cadence, same ground contact balance. Heck, even the weather was the freaking same. See for yourself:

It's Gotta Be The Shoes

NOPE. Now, I did recently replace my best running shoes ever made with the latest model of the best running shoes ever made. However, after a super nerdy comparison of the two models with the awesome guys at the Run-In, we confirmed that nothing had changed that would affect my stride: same drop, same arch support, same foam materials. Must be something else.

It's Gotta be My Legs or Hips

YEP. After thinking of ALL the things, the problem most likely points to weak legs and/or hips. I haven't been on the bike since it turned cold and we haven't had have a lot of 'leg days' at 9Round lately. It was starting to make sense: less leg work likely meant my running form had suffered.

I've learned over the past year that weak legs (quads) and maybe more importantly, weak hips can lead to a pretty terrible running form, which in turn, puts undue stress on...everything. So this injury proves what I was already afraid of: my running form sucks.

Fixing The Problem is Making Me grumpy

First things first: Dr. LindseyWife prescribed the tried and true RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation). The ICE part, I can get down with. I've been throwing a bag of frozen okra on the knee to ice that bitch down, all while keeping it elevated...followed by a compression strap afterwards. Like a boss.

My biggest problem has been the "R" part: Rest. In this case, 'rest' doesn't mean good sleep. It means no running for several weeks. I never realized how much I enjoyed running until I wasn't allowed to do it.

Now I have to do silly-looking exercises like this to strengthen my legs & hips.

My second problem is the rehab exercises. They involve ridiculous-looking exercises like these and I generally hate doing them.

My third problem is having to resort to extra leg work in the pool and on the bike. In the pool, that means tons of kickboard drills (spoiler: I hate kickboard drills). On the bike, that means going to spin classes (actually, I don't mind spin class, it's just that I have to leave the house at 5:20am to make sure I can reserve a bike - yay!).

Anyway, the extra pool and bike work helps fill in the aerobic training I'm supposed to be getting from running with the upside of strengthening my legs...all without stressing my knee. The end result is supposed to be me running again, but with better form, leading to less chances of to re-injury – which is good. But I've been at this for a few weeks now and it's getting very old, very fast – which is making me grumpy.

It Was Bound To Happen...