Two days and Sara and I will be in Livigno, Italy for my last training camp before the CCC 100 kilometres (6.200m+) ultra run. I’m afraid I won’t do a lot of trail running. Just walking. My knee still doesn’t want to run.
On paper it all looked perfect. Half of June the Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques, a 80 kilometres ultra run with 3.200 metres of elevation to see if I was ready for the CCC. Two weeks of rest after that run, a couple of weeks with lots and lots of kilometres, topped off with one last week in the mountains to work on my mountain legs and to get my body even more used to running at altitude.
2.200 metres up in the mountains
For that last reason we selected Hotel Interalpen in Valdidentro. That hotel is located high up in the mountains at 2.200 metres. Annemiek van Vleuten, the Dutch (former) cyclist, used to go there. She won the Tour de France, La Vuelta, the Giro d’Italia, the world title (road and time trial) and the Olympic title (time trial). I might not be a cyclist, but if it’s a good place for her, it should work for me.
At least, that’s what I thought a couple of months ago, when I booked. In those days I was still happy running five times a week. Now, I’m not so sure what I’m going to do with my time in Livigno. For sure it’s not going to be running. July 6 was my last long run. The one I had to stop running after 30 kilometres, because my knee was too painful. The same reason I didn’t finish the Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques. Ever since I’ve rested my knee, in the hope that the inflammation in my tendon would go away. It doesn’t.
Still not pain free
This morning I ran 5 kilometres. Just a very slow run. Sara is picking up running again, so in the last few weeks I’ve just ran with her. Starting with a minute of running and a minute of walking. This morning she tested herself and ran her first 5 kilometres without stopping. I was super proud on her and super happy for her. Not so much for myself. I felt my knee. I could run, but it felt irritated.
I’ve done a bit of strength training lately. To strengthen the stabilisers of my knee. Not too much, as I’m afraid to make the inflammation worse. I’ve had one dry needling session, and I will have some more as soon as the dry needling therapist returns from her holiday. I swam. Mostly freestyle, as my knee doesn’t like breaststroke. I biked a bit. All in an effort to keep my fitness levels up. But I haven’t done any serious running. So I hoped to be better by now. Especially because I took anti-inflammatory drugs for ten days.
Scared
To be completely honest, I can’t say my knee isn’t better. It’s for sure not pain free, but I haven’t tested it on a long run. I don’t dare. I’m afraid of doing one. If I already feel irritation now during a 5k, a long run might inflame the knee tendon even more. So I also don’t dare to run in Livigno. Walking is okay. The knee doesn’t react when I walk. It’s the hammering of running that it doesn’t like. Just like the bending and kicking when I swim breaststroke. At night the pain becomes worse and wakes me up.
So what about the CCC? I don’t dare to say. It’s still five weeks away. That’s five weeks in which the inflammation can go away. It’s an overuse injury, according to all the specialists I’ve seen. If using it too much has caused the problem, let’s hope using it only a little will solve the problem. Fingers crossed.
Keep on running. (You, not me at this moment.)
John
