My Knees Are...

A) Older than the hills

B) Killing me

C) A biomechanical nightmare

D) All of the above

If you chose "D", you would be correct! As if recoverying from torn meniscus in EACH knee was not enough, now my left knee has what appears to be a medial collateral ligament strain, AND, my right knee is exhibiting some symptoms of runner's knee. I ran a total of 5 miles last week and they hurt again.

I have a theory.

I've been working out extensively on an elliptical trainer. I suspect the elliptical motions may have overdeveloped certain muscles and when I began running again, they stressed my knee ligaments in new ways.

I'll be backing off on things for a little while (yet again). Maybe I'll just swim for a little while. Perhaps do some cycling. And then I'll try running again (without the elliptical). Eventually I'll run again.

C-Ya (in a few weeks)

Haiku Time Again!

gray above, gray below

spring rain falls on Fresh Pond

a run unfolds

It's been a long time coming. I can't remember the last time I went out for a run. For the past month or so, it seems, it's been a 1/2 mile at a time on a treadmill, in between elliptical training and stair climbing or rowing. All indoors. In the gym. But today...

I went OUT for a run. It was one mile, then a little walking, then another half mile.

It felt so good to run outside (at Fresh Pond of course). Cool with a few sprinkles. Gray skies above, Fresh Pond itself steel gray. And in between, Spring is just exploding here in Boston. Cherry trees are blossoming. Trees are showing more green. Flowers everywhere.

And I went out for a run.

[Gee, I almost feel blessed.]

Boston Marathon 2009

So, once again I find myself on the sidelines watching the Boston Marathon. But this year, there is a difference. The knees are healing. I am beginning to re-introduce running into my workouts. I've got a long way to go, but things are looking good. I'm looking forward to posting the account of my "return to running"!

Sunday, April 19th

Had lunch with Elizabeth and two of her friends from Cleveland, Amie and Barb. It was a nice lunch at Bertucci's (especially nice for the extraordinarily short 5-minute wait) in Harvard Square. Nice to talk running for a change. I'm really missing it and am more motivated than ever to get the strength back in my knees and hit the roads and trails again.

After lunch I drove them over to Marathon Sports -- Amie was in need of a few more energy gels, and then dropped them off at Copley near their hotel -- after wishing them a good run for the marathon.

Monday, April 20th - 113th running of the Boston Marathon

Anita and I found a nice spot just before the beginning of Heartbreak Hill, right around mile 20. Seemed to be almost perfect running conditions early in the race. I'm guessing mid to high 40's with just a light breeze. As the day wore on, however, the temperature seemed to drop and the wind picked up (headwind for the runners).

The first of the wheelchair athletes had already passed when we got there, but soon after the elite women came by. At that point in the race Kara Goucher was right in the front of the lead pack. Kara finished third, only 9 seconds behind the winner, Salina Kosgei. Second place Dire Tune was only 1 second behind Salina.

The elite men came quite soon after. Ryan Hall was already in third place, though still within sight of the two leaders. He would finish third, 58 seconds behind Deriba Merga. Ryan finished 8 seconds behind the second place finisher, Daniel Rono.

Now came the most difficult task of all...

Spotting Elizabeth! ('cause she's so fast, right?)

Twice over the last three years I've looked for her without success. This year was going to be different. She gave me her predicted pace. I calculated when she would pass mile 20. And then I almost missed her. Almost...



So there she is, running in top form, looking great at 20 miles! [Yeah, crappy video from my cell phone.]

Unfortunately, I missed Barb and Amie (though I'll have to check my cell phone videos against their times -- maybe they're in one of them). [You'll just have to come back and do Boston again! If I'm on the sidelines, I'll find you next time.]

So now...

Congratulations Elizabeth (3:16:30) -- great run! Think you were close to your goal, right? [I see a sub-3 in your future.]

Great run, Amie (4:11:09) -- pretty damn good for your third marathon!

And Barbara (3:28:25) -- WOW! You won your division at Boston! That was well ahead of your prediction.

And congratulations to all the other runners who made it through the 113th running here in Boston.

So that's all for now.

Runner's Blessing

For all you runners, this is for you. My new song, "Runner's Blessing".

Copyright 2009, Winikka Music (BMI)

A high quality digital download is available at my website, kurt.winikka.com.

Run in harmony!

It's April Already

And still no regular running.

Sigh.

Apparently, two miles in one week was just a bit too much for my right knee. So here I am a couple weeks later getting ready to test it again. Persistent, aren't I?

I think I need to change the name of my blog to "(Running seems to be receding) fast and far".

So -- on another note...

I wrote a song about running. I was taking a song-writing class from Bob Franke and I was having problems coming up with my songwriting assignment. He asked about hobbies. I mentioned running. "Write a song about the meaning of running!"

Thanks a lot, Bob.

At that point, I think that was the last thing I wanted to do. Running means so much to me, and not running has been really pretty depressing. It's something that has been at the core of me for quite some time. I mean, I know a lot of these running blogs are all about trying to find the meaning in our running, but to try and explain it in a song just didn't seem right. Can art explain music? Can music explain art? Aren't they all about trying to understand the human condition? Finding truth and beauty in the world and our lives? How can a song explain the meaning of running?

Not to mention that I CAN'T RUN RIGHT NOW! So why don't I just give myself a paper cut and drip lemon juice over it?

I was wrong.

Maybe a song about running can say something about life itself.

I'm actually quite happy with how the song came out. Kind of inspired, actually. I'm looking forward to putting it out there for the running community. I've got a basic demo recorded and I'm just putting the final touches on that mix. [It's not a full blown arrangement or anything -- just guitar and voice -- but I think it's worth putting out there.]

I'll put a link up this weekend.

March Update

Yeah, things are still coming along slowly. I've been taking glucosamine for my knees, and it really seems to help. I've been very slowly building things back up. And...

I have gotten up to one mile -- PAIN FREE! (on an incline on a treadmill)

And then the next day the knee was a little stiff. But not too bad. This next week I'll do my 1 mile run a couple times (in addition to all the stair climbing, elliptical and rowing time).

It was like 60 degrees in Boston today and I want to be out running so badly. And I can feel that the knees are improving. But I know that I really need to take my time.

Patience.

Oh, and look for a new running-related song on this blog pretty soon.

C-Ya

Progress...

Just a quick update:

I am working out at the MIT fitness center. I am rebuilding ... well, practically everything. Concentrating on the knees, building strength everywhere around them and in my legs in general.

Aerobically? No running yet. Elliptical training, stair climbing, rowing, cycling. But no running yet. I expect to begin introducing running in another month or so.

The knees? Left knee seems to be doing fine. Right knee still gets occasional pain (due to meniscus tear).

Expect another update next month.

Have a great holiday season and C-Ya in the new year!

Did I Mention...

...that the meniscus in my other knee has torn?

Yep. The left knee feels great.

Now I'm rehabilitating the right knee. It doesn't seem to be quite as bad as the left one was, but it's been enough to keep me from running. I'm rebuilding strength (again) in my knees, and working out aerobically. I have no idea how long it's going to take. The left knee took about a year to heal. It's been about 6 months now on the right knee. I'm hoping that by the end of the year, I'll be back to some regular running.

So, don't expect much in the way of blogging about my running. Cuz it's almost non-existent right now. Once I start running again, I'll blog regularly.

Until then...

C-Ya

Thoughts on Marathon Day

Since I was "off" from work, A and I of course went down to Kenmore Square to watch the Boston marathon. We got a bit of a late start and so missed the very first elite frontrunners. We were across the street from the "Citgo" sign and had a great view of everything. The weather was probably just a little warm for the runners and it was sunny.

It's always amazing watching the finishers. Especially those who are obviously gritting through a lot of pain -- and are still moving at a good clip. It was also amazing to see the Hoyt team again (their 26th Boston marathon!), and of course Lance Armstrong (and his entourage).

For the second time, searched for E-Speed, but never saw her -- she was that fast!

We watched for a couple hours then left. It certainly does help in the inspiration department!

Some Other "Famous" Marathoners

After watching the trials, I met up with a couple of famous marathoners for lunch. At least "famous" in the running-blog world.



DaisyDuc and E-Speed.

They were loading up for the marathon. And yes, E did eat that last sweet potato fry!



And here we are before I drove them back to their hotel.