Fantastic Workout, Craptastic Knee

Goal: 15x1 min on/off
Actual: 11.5 miles total, 15x1 min on/off, hurt IT Band/Knee

After procrastinating about 8 hours of the day away at the timeshare on Newport Coast, I finally got ready for a workout. This was difficult to do considering that all I did today was watch Discovery Channel, read Franzen's book The Corrections, eat food, and take a nap. Once my parents drove off to pick Sally up in Long Beach, I decided 3:30pm was a good time to go running because 1) it had stopped raining and 2) I would finish before the sun fell below the ocean line.

I ran down the mountain that defines Newport Coast Drive and made my way to the Crystal Cove State Park, where I ran along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I enjoyed watching the sun drop lower and lower until it finally seemed to touch the ocean and reflect its brilliance straight into my sensitive eyes (I forgot my sweet new Nike sunglasses Garrett's parents gave me at the timeshare).

I noticed for the first 5 miles of my warmup that the wind was terribly strong going one direction, so I started my fartlek with the wind at my back to make it easier. For the first 9 minuters, I ran with the wind. I felt really good and my legs felt like they had lots of bounce to them. However, everything changed once I turned around when the wind was in my face. It was difficult to get my legs up, I was leaning forward too much, and my hair was blowing all into my face. I'm sure I looked like a terrible mess. I finished out the workout, and slowed to a stop, and knelt down to stretch for a moment.

As soon as I stood up, all my confidence from having a good workout slipped away as a sharp, persistent pain pulsed through my knee. A pain that literally came out of nowhere worried the crap out of me, and I wondered if I could even make it home the next three miles. The sun had already set and I knew that if I were any tick past 5:30, my parents would be really worried. Fortunately, the pain seemed to subside just a bit so that I could run to the bottom of the big mountain. I walked/jogged up the mountain and counted down every second until I made it to my temporary abode. As soon as I walked into the timeshare, I grabbed some ice and stretched.

Online research commenced and the pain worsened. I determined that my IT Band was rubbing against the side of my knee, causing inflammation and irritation. I could tell there was excess fluid in the attachment of the IT Band and the knee. I decided to take the next two days off and figured rest, ice, and massages from my mom would do the trick. I could only wait and see if it would actually be a magical formula to recovery.