I didn’t want to write this post, but the day has come….

I cannot run right now.  I will not be doing the Marathon in February and I will not be bumping it down to a Half-Marathon either.  I will not and cannot run right now.

It’s extremely disappointing and even though I would love to stay snuggled up in bed the majority of the day (which I sort of do at the moment), I know that I can’t just sit still and wait for my knee to heal just so I can start running again.

On Saturday night, we attended my company awards banquet and there was dinner & dancing!  I almost made it through the entire night (even dancing in heels) without any issues.  Then in one fail swoop, my knee pops out of place and immediately back in.  I stumbled, luckily Nick caught me pretty good and helped me to a chair where I sat and waited for it to feel better.  Eventually I was back out on the dance floor and everything was fine until I woke up the next morning.  Sunday I was limping in pain and when I got home I did 15 minutes of on and off icing for a few hours while watching Friends on Netflix.  Monday it was still a little sore and today, it’s feeling a little better than the day before.  I’m sure by the end of the week, I’ll have no more pain, but I’m not running.

It’s been difficult to motivate myself the past few weeks without running.  I can’t push myself out of bed to go to the gym in the mornings and I can’t bring myself to leave the house at night once I’ve already gotten home from work.  I’m going to start working out immediately after work so then I can head straight home from the gym and not have to leave the house again if I don’t want to.

I’ve determined that my knee is extremely weak, so i certainly need to be strengthening it before I get back out to running.  I have that Jamaica trip in ONE MONTH and I’d like to feel comfortable on the trip (i.e. fit and healthy in a swim suit), which I thought wouldn’t be a problem because I’d have just finished a marathon the weekend before and I’m on the Engine 2 Diet, but that’s no longer going to be the case (well, I am still on the Engine 2 Diet), so I need to start focusing on my trouble spots – Arms, Abs, & Butt (isn’t that everyone’s trouble spots?!)  I still need to incorporate cardio for some fat burn so I’m looking for low impact cardio such as the elliptical & the bicycle.

My biggest struggle right now is just getting to the gym and doing it, so I need to be more strategic with my schedule so I force myself to the gym!

My workout goal for the next month is to do one hour/day (with a rest day every 4-5 days) that incorporated 30 minutes of cardio (biking, walking, elliptical) and 30 minutes of strength training.  I have found some really great options for strengthening my knee, but since I also want to incorporate abs & arms, I’ll be adding in some other exercises as well.

• Post Run Power Exercises – by the Foodie Runner
• Incline Walking is No Joke – by Peanut Butter Fingers
• Burnin Legs & Abs Circuit Workout – by Peanut Butter Fingers

• Super Sweaty Ab Circuit Workout – by Peanut Butter Fingers
• Exercises to Help Prevent Runners Knee – by Loving on the Run
• 7 Strength Moves Runners Should do – by Women’s Health Magazine
• 30 Day Butt Challenge – by 30dayfitnesschallenges.com

I’m hoping to get back out there as soon as possible, but I don’t want to start running too fast.  I want to properly heal, I want to properly strengthen, I want to be happy when I run, not miserable.  A lot of people don’t enjoy running and I’ll be honest, I haven’t enjoyed it for a while, but I used to enjoy it and I want to go back to that point in my running, but I can only do that by properly taking care of my body and listening to what it has to say.  Although this is a major set back and I’m disappointed I will not be checking “Marathoner” off my bucket list this year, I think this has the potential to be a really great thing for me.  I’ve never been good at the “fit” part of running – meaning that I don’t always do my strength training or cross training.  It’s a terrible habit to have, but it’s one I’ve had from the beginning.  This is forcing me to put running on hold and to find health & fitness through other avenues, which I think will be great in the long run!

To finish up my post today, I came across this helpful piece from Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers (I know, I share a lot of her stuff with y’all, but she’s my favorite fitness blogger!) – Staying Positive Through an Exercise Setback.  I found it to be a useful post for my situation and one that gave me encouragement to believe that I can get past this set-back and get back to running in the future, today may not be that day, but that’s okay!  I have been going to doctor’s  and they’ve been helpful, but it’s my responsibility to strengthen this knee back up, it’s my responsibility to listen to my body and do what’s right, so that’s where I am.

• Have you had a running set-back?  What was the issue?  How did you fix it?
• What other strengthening exercises/workouts could you share with me so I can mix things up?