Training Day 24 of 71: Breakdown

I am now writing from Lincoln Center in New York City. I am here to visit my family and friends for 10 days and I was looking forward to some springtime Manhattan training. However, things are really not going as planned.

About a week and a half ago something funky happened to my left knee. I'm not sure what. It didn't seem to occur during yoga or during a training run. I actually think it happened when I was experimenting with some ChiRunning warm-up exercises that are based on T'ai Chi. I have a feeling that I swung the knee in a direction it was not meant to go, and the result has been a sort of dull ache. I thought this dull ache would subside, but when it hadn't by Friday (which was my scheduled 12 mile run), I decided to push the run to this Monday to give the knee ample time to rest. This meant no heavy yoga and no running for a total of four days.

So today I put on my leggings and my sneaks and my fuel belt and visor and made my way to 66th and Central Park West, then began trotting south. The idea was to run the perimeter of the park once, and then run the inner perimeter on Central Park Drive. I jogged by tourists and people in suits on their lunch breaks. Jogged by the horses that pull the Handsome Cabs. Jogged by construction workers and hot dog stand guys. As I was jogging along I was definitely feeling the ache in the inner knee. I was thinking that if I just made myself run evenly, instead of with the slight limp that was emerging, I would be able to transcend the ache. But then I saw other people running by and they did not seem to be trying to avoid a limp. They seemed to be quite free in their stride. Rule #1 with knees in yoga is If it feels weird or uncomfortable, stop doing it. In the land of yoga the knees are considered too fragile to mess around with and a lot of the reason that teachers instruct to flex the foot in different positions is to protect the fragile knee joint. So I made it to Central Park East and 64th Street and decided to call it quits.

I walked back through the park, past the petting zoo, past the skating rink, past various boulders with small groups lounging on them, past a couple saxophone players. As I walked I felt sad and disappointed. I really wanted to be writing this blog about having just run 12 miles. I really didn't want to fall off my training schedule. But that doesn't change the state of the knee. In yoga we try to accept and work with what is REALLY going on, not what we wish were happening. So, I accept. I will not run again until the knee is no longer bothering me. I hope this is very soon.