Week 12 is complete. And this week it was all about the shoes! After my recovery week of yoga classes and a deep tissue massage, my knee was still bugging me. That is when I decided to take a look at the bottom of my shoes. I was shocked. I have only been running in them for four months. Of course, I do have 300+ miles on them. Take a look. The pink shoe is my old one. The blue is my new pair.
Now, I will be honest. The shoes were not some miracle cure. I am still a little sore when I run. But the shoes do help keep everything in better alignment and support my legs. It is a big difference. I was able to complete my long run - 10 miles. There was a little pain, but nothing too unbearable. I will say the IT compression band and taking brief walking breaks every two miles has helped. I never thought I would be the kind of runner who could stop and start during a run. However, this practice has not only made my running times faster, it has also helped give me knee some much need rest mid run.
I am looking forward to getting back on track this week and start adding some more miles. If all goes well, I will be back where I was before my knee started bothering me three weeks ago. I just have to be much better about taking care of myself. That means more yoga, ice packs, foam roller and hot baths. I think I can handle that.
