sub-3 or blow-up trying

Took well over a week off.  Leg still sore, but tested it today.  Went 2.35 miles at a 12 minute pace.  Stopped before feeling any real pain.  Hope to inch my way back to strength.  Benched 225 x 5 today + 15 min bike + 10 min elliptic...

Evening:  2.65 on TM at 9:30 pace.  Tender, but I think the injury may have been my new over-cushioned shoes (nike's).  Switched back to the old pair this evening (saucony's) and felt much better.  I'd gotten more cushioned shoes to deal with tender achilles, but it may have backfired. 

Ran outside in high teens- used new triumph 6's and went very cautious pace (10min) for 5.6 miles.  A little tender in the knee, but no achilles/ankle issues.

3 miles on TM at the gym...kept it at 10min pace- knee is still sore.  Really can't go much longer without knee giving out. 

2.5 miles on TM at home...goal was 3, but knee started to feel it a bit after 2.25, so shut things down.  Just taking whatever my body will give me. 

Gym:  2 miles TM @ 9min pace, 30 min elliptical (12), and 2 more miles on TM @ 9min pace.

Home:  3 miles on TM @ 9:30 pace.  Still "ginger", very careful, and shut things down before feeling any pain.  Good day, staying patient.

Went out in high 20's and snow and kept a very slow pace of 10min for 6 miles.  Still tender, yet no sharp pain.  Plan to keep plugging along slowly and working my way back to health.

3 miles on the TM at 9min pace.

TM at gym for 5.5 miles, progressively working my way up to an 8:41 pace.  Things seem to be improving- very slowly, yet still improving. 

4.5 miles on home TM @ 9:15 pace.  Knee started to feel stiff at mile 4, so shut things down. 

Ran on TM at home.  Knee began to buckle on mile 5, so immediately shut things down. 

Ran outside in high teens.  Mile 2 knee seemed like it was starting to act up.  Focused on form and leaned back a little in posture.  Felt comfortable through mile 5.  On mile 6 I experimented just a tad- kept upright posture and picked up the pace to 7:10 for maybe a minute or two- no pain.  All downhills are difficult and I'm also having to be careful not to lean forward.  6 miles total at about a 9:45 pace. 

4 miles on the TM- knee feels shot.  Think I'll cross-train for the next several weeks until the pain is gone.  Nothing hurts the knee except for running.  Bike, elliptical, all forms of weight training (included 205 sets of 8-10 on free weight squats).  Run 3 miles at 10 min pace- gotta be careful- anything faster or longer begins to hurt.  I'm seeing a doctor on Wednesday (spoke to one in my church on Sunday who basically said stop running- cross-train, stretch, ice, you know the standard response).  Boston's not really looking all that promising right now, but long-term health is my bigger concern at this stage.

No diagnosis on the knee yet.  Will have a MRI done on Wednesday.  Took a full week off from running and decided to test things again today.  Ran 4.5 miles at the gym at a 9min pace.  No pain, but ran very cautiously. 

Ran 1.5 miles on TM...running with a weird kind of caution.  I kept it slow (10min/mile), things didn't hurt, but I was too fearful to run faster or longer.  The pain over the last couple weaks has not been very sharp, yet when  it appears it becomes almost impossible for me to run. 

Not a good day...shut things down quickly.

MRI:  Cleared to train for Boston.  A tiny bit of cartilage irregularity near the knee, but no tear, perceived damage or swelling.  They did think it was odd I was still feeling pain, so encouraged me to see an orthopedic doctor if problems persist.  I'll start small again and see what happens. 

6 miles on TM @ an overall 8:30 pace.  Cautious, yet worked my way up to a 2.5 incline and 8min pace.  No locking or pain today.  Leg does feel a little weak.  I will compensate with cross-training as I work up the mileage.  Hope to average 6 miles per day (+ 30 min elliptical) over the next week and work from there. 

6 miles on the TM, progressively working up to 8min/mile and holding for 3 miles.  Total average of 8:10/per mile.  A little week, but absolutely no pain.  Best I've felt since pre-marathon in October.  Got a ways to go to build up endurance and speed again. 

6 miles on TM, working down to a 7:41 pace.  Overall, kept about an 8:20 pace and experienced no pain whatsoever. 

15 minutes on elliptical and then ran 6mile on TM, progressively working up to a 7:24 pace and holding for 2 miles.  Overall, averaged 7:55 per/mile.  Getting stronger. 

Ran 6 miles on the TM:  9min, 7:18, 7:18, 7:08, 7:08, 8:41.  Feeling better everyday. 

Felt fine...just no time to run today.

Snowing pretty good out today.  Went to the gym and did 20 min elliptical, 15 min weights, and 7 miles on the TM- 9min, 8:30, 8:00, 7:53, 7:41, 7:30, 9:30.  Felt fine. 

Negative wind chill today, so back on the TM.  5 miles:  9min, 8min, 8, 7:30, 8:30.  Little bit sore today, so stopped a little early. 

Would love to have gone outside, but it's like 3 degrees and icy.  My knee's not stable enough to absorb another slip.  Back on the TM and had my first 10-mile run since Thanksgiving weekend (I think).  Overall, kept about an 8:40 pace, bouncing around from about 9:05 pace to 8:20.  Stopped 2x for 1 minute to stretch and make sure everything felt ok.  Knee wasn't in pain, but still noticably weak.  It's going to take some time to rebuild strength and endurance.  Hoping to stay consistent, keep away from speedwork for the time being, and continue to listen to my body.