Marathon Training Week #3

I would really like to say that I had another spectacular week of training this week.

But I can't.

I started out strong and on track, but my knee started continued giving me problems. By the end of the week, I decided I really need to give it some quality rest and maybe a little RICE.  You know, listen to my body.

Here is what my week was supposed to look like.

Here is how it actually played out.

Mon, 2/27 - I decided to walk to school in the morning in order to stretch my legs out after my 10-miler the day before. This was a good idea, except I left WAY later than I should have and got to school only 15 minutes before class started. Oops! I also walked home after school because I didn't want to wait 15 minutes for the next bus. I skipped the core workout out of sheer laziness. :-(

Tue, 2/28 - I had 2 miles on the schedule for today, but I also had a virtual run scheduled for Wed. Instead of running two days in a row, I swapped Tue and Wed. I did the same video as last week. I figured it was both cross training and core work in one. Bonus!

Wed, 2/29 - I participated in the Virtual Leap Day 2.9 mile Run hosted by {lifeasa} Running Mom. It was fun! I did the 2.9 miles in 28 minutes flat. I felt good while running and had some fun music to listen to on the treadmill. It had snowed some nice sloppy snow the night before, so treadmill it was. I was totally okay with that. I really don't mind the treadmill at all. Most days, anyway.

Thu, 3/1 - I think I pushed it too hard running the day before. My knee has been giving me some minor problems since the beginning of January. I've tried to strength my core and took it easy on the running for most of January, but it's really flaring up again. I was supposed to get in 6 miles today, but I just wanted to give my knee a break.

Fri, 3/2 - Again, my knee prevented me from running. I did walk home from school It was such a nice afternoon, and I did do my StrongStride video to help with strength and core work. I really need to focus on the core sections more, or at the very least start with them. Today, I started with some of the legwork, and I was so tired by the time I got to the core that it was really difficult to get through those exercises. The good news is that I really could feel it in my abs and lower back (in a good way!) the next day. Yay!

Sat, 3/3 - NOTHING! It was a very lazy day. I slept late. Took a long nap. Neglected my lesson planning. Watched too much TV. Hardly drank any water. Ate like crap. Needless to say, I was definitely not feeling up to par the entire day.

Sun, 3/4 - Even today, I can still feel a little ab burn from Friday whenever I laugh. Yay! I decided to skip my long run today even though I have a half marathon in two weeks and even though I had a willing running partner. I simply decided I needed to give my knee another day or two to rest.

Any suggestions on dealing with knee pain? Sometimes it feels like my kneecap is not where it should be, but mostly it's kind of a throbbing pain right inside my knee.