the bee's knees?

Hi, I'm The Blogger's Wife. This is still his baby but apparently I get to throw in my two cents' from time to time, so I'll take full advantage.

So about a year into my running career I started noticing some pain under my kneecaps. It was mostly just while running up or down hills and sometimes while climbing or descending stairs. Gradually it became more and more prominent, but being the non-hospital-going type that I am, I kept convincing myself that it would go away. It didn't. I finally set up an appointment with at at orthopedic practice in Muncie, Indiana, where I was told that initial x-rays showed nothing wrong, I was probably just making it up, and I was fine. Now, I'm not a crier (no matter what my husband may say) but I definitely cried as I was leaving. . .I mean, by that point I couldn't even DRIVE without my knees hurting, but he was telling me there was nothing wrong?

It was another year or so of agony before I finally was convinced to go back to another doctor. This one gave me the diagnosis I had been pretty sure I would hear - chondromalacia, or patellofemoral pain syndrome. Basically what this entails is a roughening of the underside of the patella. It generally is caused by the patella being pulled laterally instead of straight over the joint. The two main causes for this are a relatively weak VMO (compared to your lateral quad muscles) and the Q-angle. In women, the angle between your hips and knee (aka. . .the Q-angle) is wider than in men, causing the patella to be pulled towards that outer hip.

The diagnosing doctor gave me a few exercises for my VMO (some good ones are straight leg raises, lateral leg raises, and partial squats while holding a ball between your knees. Also helpful is running backwards or going backwards on an elliptical machine.)and gave me another nugget of wisdom that I knew but didn't want to heed. . .rest will make you feel a whole lot better.

I didn't rest like I probably should have, but what did seem to help was the crosstraining on an elliptical. I don't like gyms or elliptical machines, but a half hour or 45 minutes of going backwards on one a couple of times a week really did seem to help out the knees some. Then I quit doing that and just stuck to trail running. I think you can guess how that went. It was four days after our first trail marathon that suddenly from a seated position I couldn't even lift my leg to cross it over the other. . .my knee simply couldn't handle the weight of my lower leg without causing debilitating pain.

And then I rested, finally.

Moral of the story? Chondromalacia is not fun. It's a very distinct pain - you'll feel it on inclines, declines, stairs, and whenever your leg is bent with weight on it. Rest it, ice it, and strengthen that VMO!

Play nice

I'm introducing my wife to you all. She's going to be joining in the posting, lots on her running journey, and then other stuff. I'm asking her to talk to you first about her knees. She'll give you the low down, hopefully give you an idea when to seek help for your own knee problems. I'm speaking mostly to women here, they're more at risk for this specific knee problem.

Dogs on Trails

I love, love running with my dog. I also love not study epileptic drugs (which I'm not doing right now). Running with a dog is a great way to have a fresh perspective on running. Here's a short list on why
1. They take potty breaks. You may have to clean up after them, but I love it when he's the one that gracefully bows out on hill intervals, you know, to "go potty". I can also assure you that he's had a few fake-outs, to get a blatant break. I love him for it.
2. Level of safety/assurance. I don't like it when the wife runs w/o the dog. He's very, very defensive of us (he's a rescue pooch, it happens) and I always feel secure when he's on board.
3. He's constantly happy. Running is by far the thing he loves most in the world. Belly rubs come in a close second.
4. He can drink from streams. I'm not going to lie, I'm jealous.

That being said, a quick discussion on dog ethics should be had.
1. I don't find it offensive to let your dog poop in the woods. I do find it uncalled for if the dog poops on some one's yard. Also, just flip the poop away from the actual trail.
2. Don't think that your dog is the most well behaved dog in the world. It's not. I met the most well behaved dog in the world, and it's not yours. That story to come.
3. LEASH YOUR DOG! Just yesterday, on our hill interval workout, a lady was walking on the trail with two dogs, unleashed. The ran uphill to us, I pulled Scoot off to the side and tried to call them off. The front mutt got aggressive towards me, which Scoot will have none of. Barely was a fight avoided, and trust me, the other dog is lucky. When it comes to protecting his owner's, Scoot (who is incredibly well behaved to ppl) will have NONE of it. Worse of all, the lady attempted to call her dogs back, showed absolutely no control over the dog, and didn't even bother to jog up to stop her dogs from confronting us. LEASH YOUR DOG!
4. Please, please don't forget that your dog is covered in fur, doesn't sweat, and does much poorer than you in hot weather. Treat them with respect. He can out-sprint you, but not out sweat you.

Perhaps the best training tip for running with your dog? Scoot knows that when my arm is held out to the side, at 90 degrees, he's supposed to jump up and let me hold him. This is very, very handy for crossing metal grate bridges (no broken paws here), and to avoid precarious situations (running into 5 coyotes this January comes to mind). I can't tell you how handy this trick has been.

Time to learn some more about Levetiracetam. I did have to look how to spell that word at least 3 times.

Trails again

As road running starts to lose it's fun (about 4 weeks max for me), trails start to call. NE Ohio has a stunning trail system, most specifically the Buckeye Trail. The hills are perfect, decent spread, good singletrack, with many a root to catch your toe.

Dog and master left for the normal 8 mile run and soon found themselves entranced by the depth of wilderness so close to a large city. The lack of greenery in distal tree trunks gave a stark contrast to the sprawling buds growing on the forest base. All 360 degrees on top of a large hill gave way to what could only be spoken as "holy crap". The general feeling of being so deep into the middle of nowhere is so hard to find, but my dog and I found ourselves deep into nothing civil, only wooded.

Our one hour run was to be a classical test piece on a long arguement for and against walking hills while trail running. I tend to be for walking the hills. Based on simple biomechanics, I know that by walking and being able to center my weight directly on the postural muscles of the lower back and glutes, more consisent Type 1 fiber distribution can be had. Type 1 muscle fiber is the type that lets you run marathons, it's the go the distance fiber type. Type 2 muscle fibers let you rip and sprint. Keep in mind this is a quick and dirty fiber type description, there's too much detail and sub-typing to adequately explain.
Leg 1 of the experiment: 30 minute trail run out on singletrack, with heart rate held at 150 BPM, with an allowance to 170 BPM for uphill. Downhill had to be kept in check at 160 BPM.
Leg 2: 29:30 back, with general awareness not to exceed 165 BPM for flats, who cares about the downhill BPM, and strict adherence to walking on the uphills

The difference of 30 seconds may appear to be minimal, but considering I only allowed 3-4 minutes lag time between sets, and man, that's looking good to me.

more science to come!

Thumbs up for safety

Two prime examples of terrifying thumb injuries come to mind, both involving what is called gamekeepers thumb.
Gamekeepers thumb (skiers thumb) got its name from the “gamekeepers” of old, basically popping necks of rabbits, chickens, ducks, platypus, rhinoceros, and basically any poppable animal. The ulnar collateral ligament connects to the base of the thumb, from another bone in the back of your hand. It prevents your thumb from touching your wrist, a rather painful complication. I personally have been on the receiving end of this injury twice. One time while tacking in football, the other while training for AK in the local Midwest ex-dump converted to ski… well hill I guess you say. Both times are examples of acute injury, when a single incident causes gamekeepers thumb, basically by making your thumb touch the wrist. Painful and it typically doesn’t just tear the ligament (bad enough) but brings some bone with it. Treatment depends on severity and your doctor’s decision. This is also an injury when you do go to the doctor; it’s your opposable thumb we’re talking about!
So why should you, the skier or climber, be wary of a condition named for professional head-popper-offers? When you catch yourself after a crash in skiing, and you didn’t put your poles on properly (I was guilty of that), it puts your thumbs in direct contact with the ground. When bouldering, many spot with their thumbs parallel to the ground, rather than thumbs up. Huge mistake. One of the first things offensive lineman are taught in football is thumbs up. This prevents thumb injuries, as you’re less likely to push your thumb into your wrist. Same thing with bouldering, keep your thumbs up!
So remember, wear your poles correctly, hands go from the bottom of the wrist loop up, this puts all the weight on your wrist while pole planting, preventing hand fatigue. Also, when spotting your partner while bouldering, thumbs always point up, not inwards or down.

Patagonia Cap 1 short sleeve t-shirt

Patagonia Capilene 1 Short Sleeve Shirt

For those of you athletes who haven’t embraced the tech revolution brought on primarily by Under Armour, perhaps it’s time to join. For those of you not donning football pads, trying to cut air resistance, or don’t want to look like a complete meat head weekend warrior, it’s time for Patagonia’s Capilene 1 short sleeve shirt (or a similar shirt put out by many of the other wonderful companies not associated with . . . you know, the mainstream).

Patagonia has been pumping out great stuff since Chouinard made some pitons, but many of us have started to mutter PataGucci in our outdoor circles. Eh, some truth, some truth, but none the less, this is a good shirt. After snagging a few off SAC, I quickly got them moving. Everything from running, hiking, climbing, and skiing.

As a next to skin layer, the Pat Cap 1 does a fine job of pulling sweat right off your nasty skin and letting it evaporate no matter how much sweat you pour out. I’ve never felt saturated while wearing this shirt, but in the most humid of weather, I definitely did feel clammy. Also, I’ve had some chafing problems, only on long runs, mostly while wearing a camelbak, and oddly around the neck. Luckily, there are not a whole lot of seams along the shoulder to really cause you misery.
As a trail running piece, never had any tears from branches or the occasional fall, so abrasion wise it’s fine. Wicking wise, I’m happy. Fit wise, lil snug as a medium, so for running it’s not the most flowing shirt. I guess that’s good for a first layer, not great as a running shirt.

None the less, it’s comfortable, it wickes, I’m happy with it. Runs about $40, on SAC for $15.

ASICS Trabuco WP Men’s Trail Shoe

ASICS Trabuco WP Men’s Trail Shoe

First, let’s just get the bad out in open. The Gore-Tex gets hot and muggy on 80 plus degree days. And there you have it, I have praise for these beauties from here on out.

These shoes are like chocolate chip cookies. Sure they’re not the most exotic, kinda plain, but man, they always get the job done. The gore-tex membrane does a killer job at keeping your feet dry (assuming you don’t tank your foot above the ankle) and do a pretty good job at regulating temperature at all but the most humid, hot runs. The uppers are firm enough to prevent many ankle injuries, yet let your feet flex naturally as you run on pretty much any terrain. The shank is stiff and has one of the better rock plates I’ve used. They’re not as stiff as true mountain running shoes (see la sportive lynx), but the rock plate will protect you from roots and most rocks. The tread is very aggressive, with good forward and reverse lug placement. Not incredible at running downhill, yet they make up for it in their odd ability to be fairly comfortable in the occasional road session. They shed mud very well and I personally have never had any clumping issues. I like the the round shoe laces, but my wife (who has the women’s version) happens to hate them. They also have a nice shoe lace pocket in the tongue, so they can be stowed out of the way while running.

These shoes are made for the neutral to moderate pronator, but have plenty of room to accommodate most orthotics. They are fairly well cushioned and supportive, giving a comfortable ride.

They come with or without a goretex membrane, giving a runner the option of opting out of the extra weight and warmth of goretex. W/O Goretex they cost around 80. With goretex they cost about 100.

Coming in both men’s and women’s versions, a running couple can have his and hers models and look like incredible dorks (aka Mrs CP and I).

Who should buy:

1. neutral to moderate pronators

2. those looking for a good go anywhere trail shoe

3. if you’re looking for a tough shoe that protects the ankles well (Mrs. Two Feet has no TaloFibular Ligament and can attest to the ankle protecting powers)

Terrain:

Rocks: eh, could find a better ride for rocks

Packed trail: Great shoes, great shoes

Mud: so good, so good

How happy are the Feet?

Very happy feet. Well protected, Not too wet. Great for long runs. Definitely better options for those looking for very technical terrain.