Singing (And Walking) In The Rain

Today, the forecast called for rain and I was really hoping to go for a walk. I’ve been enjoying walking lately, as it has allowed me to keep building my mileage while recovering from an injury. I pulled up my weather app on my phone and saw that the rain was already happening on the radar and would be heavier later. But a peek outside showed that it was barely drizzling. The weather app always seems to over-emphasize the rain, so I put on some swim trunks (I’ve been walking in swim trunks so I can jump in the pool afterward), grabbed a plastic rain jacket, and hit the start button on my watch.

Ten to twelve miles of walking was the plan, and I could barely tell that it was raining. When I got to the trail I could see that I wasn’t alone in thinking the rain was nothing, lots of others out on the trail. The sprinkles started getting stronger about three miles into the walk, so I grabbed the rain jacket and slipped it on. I would keep it on for the rest of the walk.

Walking has been a savior for this injured runner. Running injuries can be minor, a big deal, or something in between. I have “runner’s knee” which has become the most serious and longest running injury that I have had to deal with. Taping the knee with kinesio-type tape help with the knee pain, but I stopped trying to tape it in order to run on it when I realized one of the major issues was the soreness of my quad muscles, especially the one known as VMO. And that was caused by running, which was also causing the knee pain, I suspect. Taping wasn’t going to help the muscles. It’s never easy for a runner to stop running, but I committed to getting the knee better. However, when you have three races coming up in the fall, not running for a month is going to put a dent in those plans.

I recently re-evaluated the races I had signed up for. My “A” race was going to be Broken Anvil in September, a last-runner standing/backyard ultra that I really enjoyed doing last year. The second race was Mines of Spain in Dubuque, Iowa. I don’t know what I was thinking when I signed up for this one – that area is really hilly and the race photos from previous years showed people wading through thigh-high water. I decided that I better pass on that one, requesting a (partial) refund, and letting someone from the waitlist take my spot. I had also signed up for Tunnel Hill 100 in Vienna, Illinois in November as a back-up, in case I failed at getting my 100 at Mines of Spain. Now it looks like Broken Anvil might be a tune-up for Tunnel Hill. And walking just might be what gets me there.

Stopping running was necessary to get the knee back in good condition, but I felt the pressure of the race calendar, and I also felt like I would be losing a lot of conditioning to at least not do something. Riding a bike was good for cardio, but it wasn’t good for the knee. Any standing and pedaling caused the knee to ache, so that was stopped. But walking seemed to fit the bill. I could walk without my knee hurting, and eventually, the muscle soreness diminished. I kept doing the stretching regimen that the physical therapist told me to do, and I added a 15-20 minute session of muscle massaging using my Theragun Mini massager.

I may not have been able to run, but I was still getting the miles in. Walking has become really enjoyable for me. I look forward to them, maybe more so than a planned run. I haven’t been doing the really long-distance stuff that the ultra running plan has in it (runs of 20 miles or more) on a Saturday, but I was averaging about 5.5 miles of walking per day, almost 38 miles per week! That was a surprise, and an especially good one when I realized I was keeping the miles going without getting sore or aggravating the runner’s knee. I’ve walked 150 miles since July 9th. I’m very happy with that.

I got six miles into my walk and contemplated doing another mile before turning around, but thought better of it. One thing that this past month has taught me is patience, and I’m not about to push it too hard.

Saw a group of wild turkeys cross my path on the Old Plank Road Trail.

The rain picked up in its intensity, but I wasn’t worried about it at all. I was maintaining less than 17 minutes per mile, which is pretty good for me. I had some good tunes playing in my ear (Rush, of course!), and I was really enjoying the walk. The best part about it was that I didn’t bail on it just because it was raining. It may rain in the race I do, just like last year when it poured at Broken Anvil.

I ended with 12 total miles, done in three hours and twenty-three minutes (16:55 minutes/mile pace). And the best part is that I am not sore or beat up like I would have been if it had been a run. I think that I will wait one more week before adding some running back into the mix. I’ll start with some one-minute slow-paced intervals just to make sure I don’t overdo it. Thanks to walking, I just might be able to get to the start line next month in Iowa. Fingers crossed.