Ice, ice baby

So earlier this week I went down to Super Jock n' Jill to potentially buy a new pair of shoes. Problem is, according to the shoe people, there is nothing wrong with the pair I have. They said I was wearing the proper shoes for my stride and to come back on Thursday when the in-house Physical Therapist was on duty. This is an awesome FREE service by the way that they provide to the running community. Really, I am so impressed with the service at Jock n' Jill and if you're in the market for some new shoes, please buy from them :)....

So I went in last night and Michelle was on duty to talk with me about my problem. She asked me several questions and had me lie down on the ground to test the strength in both legs. After about 10 minutes of pushing, prodding, and yanking on my limbs, she told me that the left side of my body is much weaker than the right, and that my patella-femoral is most likely due to weak core and butt muscles. She told me that A) if I were her client she would advise against running the marathon, but B) since I'm going ahead and doing it anyway, please do exercises (demonstrated) to stregthen my gluteus maximus, run on soft dirt if possible, and ice like crazy. She said I will most likely not do any long-term damage to the knee, but it will definitely not be able to heal over the next six weeks :(

I have a lot of mixed emotions about her advice, and while I'm not planning to stop training at this point in time, I have serious doubts about my running future post-marathon. I have never felt any overwhelming love for the sport, in all honesty. Participating in these races has always been more about overcoming fear and anxiety and following through with my commitments than anything else. It's always been about my compulsion to keep on reaching higher...and then higher...a little more.... well, you get the idea. In a way, it's become an addiction, albeit a healthy addiction :)

Tomorrow I am running 16 miles, two miles further than last week. My planned route is from Golden Gardens park to U-Village and back, along the Burke Gilman. Wacarra is joining me on my return route to give me water and moral support for the last 4.5 miles or so, starting at Gasworks park. I am hoping to feel stronger this Saturday than last, and pray to the sports injury gods for a pain-free long run :)