Ruckin’ and Rollin’

Done freaking out. I got that out of my system in the last post. In the days after writing it, I went on a 1.5 mile swim, did 2 hours of intense fitness classes at the gym, and hiked 7 miles up a mountain with my pack in snowy, below-freezing weather, helping me realize that despite the hiccup in my training program, I am still fit. At the same time, I ran everyday and have continued to build up my mileage. I've made my way from the treadmill to the "wild," and from there to running with my pack again - first two bricks, then three, and yesterday, four.  With such short time before the Challenge, I've been running as much as  my body could possibly take without pushing the knee back into inflammation, which has meant lots of shorter runs, sometimes multiple times a day.

I started out by doing short runs on the treadmill in a little workout room at my office. The treadmill faces a window, and since it was dark outside when I ran, all I had to look at was my own reflection. As corny as it may sound, there was something kind of powerful about seeing myself striding along, looking strong, feeling relaxed and pain-free. It was a powerful image, and one that I've called to mind several times since, to give me the strength to run without fear about whether the knee will hold up. I felt like I really hit a psychological turning point when I was able to start increasing my daily mileage - even if only by 0.25 miles at first, without pain. I never dreamed that a 0.75-mile run could feel like such a victory, but it did, and it turned my frustration into determination to see this through.

Ten days ago I could go 0.5 miles with no pack, on the treadmill. Yesterday I went 1.75 mi with four bricks (outside), and later that day, 3.5 miles with three bricks. The miles haven't come easily. On almost every run I've gotten some minor aches and pains, but in every case so far they've gone away quickly and haven't lingered after the run. After my two runs yesterday, I realized that I've put in more mileage in the last week than during any other week of my training. That's progress I can feel really good about.

My knee and I have come a long way. I'm absolutely confident that I'm fit enough to get through the Challenge, but with one week to go, I had hoped to do a 5-mile ruck run today with my full loadout of 6 bricks just to make sure my knee was going to be hardy enough. But, after eight runs in the last seven days, my body needs a couple days off. The two runs I did yesterday were some of the hardest I've done. My legs felt weak, tired, and inefficient, no doubt because of all the work I've put them through this week.

I've probably broken every rule of running training by ramping up my mileage and training volume so fast, but that's what had to be done to get myself back on track to do the challenge. My knee has done extremely well considering the rate at which I've added mileage. I think after a day or two of rest I can get back out for one fully-loaded ruck run and still have time to rest up before the big night. Regardless, I feel confident that come challenge-time my knee and legs are going to be feeling strong.

I can do this.