Knee soreness

[bogrady]

Hi Jacquie,
This winter I have been getting 20+ miles on my long runs, most often on dirt/sand (snow) trails usually done every other week. I did 20 last week on pavement. We had such a spectacular weekend here in NY so I did a 25 mile trail run yesterday (my longest to date). During and after these long run I have experienced soreness around the bottom half on the outer area of my knee caps. Last week it was the right knee today it is more the left. I do not have any history of knee issues. Can you offer any insight as to what I may be doing to cause this and what I need to focus on.
Thank you,
Brian

[Jacquie Mardell]

Hi Brian-

Remember that 20+ milers are a very tough workout and a very long time to remember all your focuses, and because it is such a long distance, any even small breakdown in technique can become magnified in your tender areas. So with this signal from the knees, let's work on restoring hip/pelvic stability, especially late in the run when mental and physical fatigue are beginning to set in. Set your watch to beep at frequent intervals and apply your pelvic leveling focuses every time you hear the beep. Also remember that even though the rest of you may feel ok and you certainly have the fitness to do these distances, try not to push for mileage when your knees are signaling to you that they need some help. If you try to apply your fixes but your body doesn't signal back that it is working, it is really better to stop than to carry on and risk injury and have to stop or severely curtail your training. Hope this helps.

[bogrady]

Thank you so much Jacquie. That makes a lot of sense to me. After reading your post I recalled walking back to my car after the run and realizing I was completely hunched over so I can see my form may have gone in and out. I use my timer to remind myself to eat and drink (yes, I forget), I’ll add a check on my hip/pelvic stability into that.
-Brian