Subject: Knee issues going into a race...advice plz Up until this past Sat. I have NEVER EVER had a single issue with my knees. Well I had a pretty heavy duty bike ride followed by a short (10min )run, brick workout that day and a few hours after I finished I noticed a mild burning pain just above my left kneecap, deep inside almost under the kneecap. The only time I felt the pain was if I was sitting still and then went to move the joint. If I continued to walk or move the joint it was fine...it only hurt after sitting for a bit then moving initally again.
I iced it for 40min. on Sat., decided to not workout at all on Sun. and iced it again for another 40 min. I didn't take any pain killers (ibuprofin ) as it wasn't all that bad, but it was definitely noticable. It's now Mon. morning and I have a run and lifting session planned and it still hurts, mildly. So I'm forgoing the workout today too. I plan on biking and swmming this week as scheduled, but now I'm concerned. I have a race coming up this Sun. and I don't know what I should do. The run portion is longer than I'm used to running and I was really hoping to get at least 2 good runs in this week going into the race, but now I'm afraid of pushing it with this potential knee issue.
I've been training for about 3mo. for the race. It's a bit longer than a sprint: 880swim, 20mi. bike, & 4mi. run. I've been looking forward to this race since Jan and now I'm worried I'll do more damage to the knee if I push it. However not racing is out of the question, the hotel is booked and paid for, the race is paid for and I have the time off from work. I can't not go because of a knee twinge. What to do?? Should I just keep resting the knee all week, forgoing the runs? What about biking? Is that to strenuous on the knees as well? Should I rest on that? I know the lifting is out this week, and the swims shouldn't be an issue. But now I'm worried I'm going to loose a lot of my run & bike strength by "resting" all week.
The knee doesn't hurt at all when I run or bike, it's only later after I stop and try to get started again that I feel the twinge under the kneecap. What should I do this week leading into the race? Advice please...I'll hear all of it. |