As I alluded to in a previous post, it looks like I am currently suffering from patellofemoral syndrome (or -> PFS or -> Runner's Knee) since early August. I've now gone through a few physical therapy sessions to strengthen & stretch various muscles and tendons along my leg that could be causing this. In addition to the PT, my mileage has gone way down from about 50-70 miles/week, to about 20-30 currently. But hey, at least I can still run. I just can't do it very well (not that I ever could). The pain almost always flares up around mile 3 (or sooner) and just lingers until I stop, thus making going long not only difficult but stupid lest I want this problem to stick around forever.
Probably the biggest hit for me personally was the admonishment to stay off trails until further notice. Since the onset could be traced to downhill running (or overuse...or a combo of both) I was told if I had to run, I needed to stick to flat hard man-made surfaces. Ugh. Running on city streets and city streets alone has not been easy. I've been longing for car/traffic light/pedestrian/exhaust fume free runs high atop the city with nothing but a pair of shoes, shorts, water bottle and miles of dirt trails to keep me going. But if the alternative is no running at all, trust me - I'm happy to take morsels and scraps anywhere and anyway I can.
With that in mind, I'm focusing on primarily on road races this Fall/Winter. Figure now's a good a time as any to work on gaining a little more speed and in lowering some of my pathetic PRs a bit. We'll see how that goes and how long my knee can tolerate it.
