Do you run?
Do you have knee pain?
If you answered yes to both of these questions, there is a good chance you have runner's knee. Okay, so there is more to it than that but you get the idea. And while it can be easy to diagnose, it's definitely not easy to remedy, and there is a good chance it never goes away fully. There are a lot of causes; inadequate shoes, overpronation, weak thigh muscles, leg misalignment, the list goes on. There is also a good chance that it is a combination of these issues. Therefore, there is also going to be a combination of things to help get rid of the pain. These can be; new shoes, thigh muscle exercises, icing your knee, taking anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, and just plain running less. The last one is where I will be starting.
It seems silly to write, but the fact of the matter is the best training for running a marathon is to run................a lot. So what to do when running just plain hurts? You can ride a bike - stationary or not, swim (well you can, I can't), step aerobics, rowing, or use an elliptical. I happen to have access to an elliptical thanks to the gym at work, so that's what I have chosen. I had never used an elliptical before, so my first concern was getting a comparable workout. My trainer/big sister gave me some suggestions on setting the level and what a comparable pace for her was. It's important to note that these were based on her experiences and what worked for her, and I was just going to have to hop on the thing and figure out what was best for me. It did give me a place to start though.
The elliptical I have access to has a whole bunch of options I won't be using. What was important for me was the level, motion, and speed - in this case they used RPMs. The hardest thing for me was controlling this pace, unlike a treadmill where you set the pace and so long as you don't push any buttons you keep this pace, the elliptical forces you to just work as hard as you can to maintain it. The Level setting controls how difficult it is to perform one rotation, and the Motion setting controlled the incline, which just seemed like a dumb way to label it.
Anyway, after about five minutes of flailing around and pushing buttons, I settled on a level setting of 8 and a motion setting of 4, while trying to maintain an RPM of 65. This seemed to be giving me approximately the same workout. I do want to point out, I probably wouldn't have been able to make this assessment without having been running for a month. I also want to point out, I was wrong. I decided to use the elliptical in the same manner I was running, with intervals. I also decided to jump in where I was at with my runs at a faster pace for nine minutes and a slower pace (walk) for one minute for a half an hour. So with the elliptical set I went for it, and at about minute eight of the first interval, I was struggling. But, I had made up my mind and finished the workout. I may have dipped a little below the 65 RPM mark a few times, but I kept it as close as I could and finished the last half of the last nine minute interval where I started it.
So what did I take away from the elliptical? Well a few things:
My knees didn't hurt afterwards.
My arms were tired and sore afterwards.
I didn't go as far as I do on runs, only about 1.8 miles vs. 3 miles or so.
I did get a really good workout.
So needless to say it was a success. I worked muscles I don't normally on a run and I truly felt like I wasn't slacking off by not running. I will definitely keep using the elliptical when it makes sense for me. Take this week for example, I am on my week off and have no desire to go into work just to workout. Since I don't have an elliptical machine and I'm not getting a gym membership, this week I run.
Now since I will still be running a lot I still need to pursue other ways to keep from getting knee pain.
Coming Soon........
Shoe Shopping...
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1 comment:
Good Luck!
. . .Lace bra!
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