Recovery Process? 

I am currently nursing from a knee pain injury. One thing I learn from this process is the importance of listening to the body. If the body is signaling pain, then it is important to take a rest (yes, rest is the most difficult thing to do when your mind wants to keep training). Resting does not mean sitting at the couch, and refraining from doing any activities. Although, cycling may make the knee pain worse as one bends their knees a lot more which may put more pressure and pain. So, what am I doing at the moment?

I have been testing my knees. Yes, I want to see how much my knees can tolerate running. This may sound counter-intuitive as stopping running completely will allow the knees to recover. I think it is important to run (maybe not speed or strength workout) easy mileage. This is because easy mileage does not put a lot of stress to the knees which allow it to recover. And, at the same time, it allows the knees to get used to the stress of running. I am no sport medical doctor, or sport injury specialist. So, I will not recommend this to anyone. Complete rest would always be the safe option, as it may avoid new running injuries from happening.

I am planning to do some easy mileage, and hopefully continue to increase my running back to my old intensity and mileage. Other than easy mileage, I will incorporate some core strengthening, stretching, and icing. Finger-crossed this injury will be the story in the past, and I will be back to training hard (but also training smart!). The bad news is that it is hard to tell when the knee pain will be recovered.

Anyway, I wish everyone an injury-free training season...as we have 128 days to go until the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon. If you have not registered, just click the register button (yellow button on the top right hand corner on their website). 

#keeponrunning #trainhard #trainsmart #yycrun