Hey runners,

Anybody have experience with a small or slight meniscus tear? I have that problem and it seems to only be a problem during and after running and hiking. Doctor starting suggesting the surgery option. I shot that down, but it has got me thinking.  What to do....

Well, it turns out that I am not going to be able to run the Voyageur. So I will not be blogging anymore, either. Good luck to those who will be running.

I am going to get out for a road 5K this spring. It will be the 1st annual 5K for God. It is going to be held at St. Raphael's Church near Pike Lake on April 28th.

Its been a couple of years since I ran a road 5K, so there will be alot of cobwebs to dust off for me. Looking forward to it.

The best part might be watching my wife and her sister duke it out in their first head to head matchup.

I signed up for this year's Birkie at the Grandma's Marathon Expo last June. I was going to skate it. If I had known what this winter was going to be like, I might not have registered. My list of excuses for not training was pretty long, but it didn't matter. I was going to ski it anyway.

My strategy was to just ski like I was not racing. My main problem was that I have only skied 5 times this winter, and I knew I wasn't going to ski very fast. So I set off with the rest of wave two and tried to relax as we went along. The first 2k is flat, so I fit right in with everyone around me. Then we hit the first set of hills and everyone just went right around me like I was standing still. I was skiing hard, but trying not to dig too deep, and there were hundreds of people going by me. But on the downhills I flew past people. Since I wasn't skiing too hard on the uphills, I had energy left at the tops to put in some big strides and push myself down the hill. Plus I have quite a few extra pounds on my fellow skiers, and gravity pulled me down better.

My first signs of trouble were at 9k when my right calf muscle gave me some little piercing signs like it wants to cramp. I was only at 9k! I couldn't believe that I was already having signs of trouble this soon, but I continued on and tried to take it easy on all uphills. Soon my left calf joined in and my quads were also feeling the strain.

Well, I made it half way and got some gu shots. That and I was drinking heed at all aid stations. I could still glide really well, and all flat and downhill sections I just skied relaxed and rode my skis out on each stride without bending my knees too low to conserve energy.

Once I got past 30k I was basically walking all uphills. Gliding on my skis up the hills required too much from my quads and I could feel them dangerously close to cramping. I know from the 2002 Birkie (my first one) that once I start cramping, I can completely sieze up and be unable to move forward at all. So I was trying everything possible to avoid that, no matter how slow I was on the hills.

I made it up and over bitch hill, and I was happy to see the bitches were back. Last year that hill was barren of spectators, maybe because it was too cold. But it's fun to have them there taunting you as you are in misery. Then a couple of kilometers later, just as we were coming into the field before the hwy 77 crossing my right leg cramped in a major way. It was just as painful as I remember, and I was trying to keep the other muscles in my body from joining in. So I got in the track and slowly double poled until the cramp let up. So for the last 8k, I had to keep double poling in the track when I could, to keep my legs from cramping again. Even on the lake I could skate for a few minutes at a time, then I got in the track and double poled until my legs relaxed again. It was a nice fast track, and double poling is my strength, so it really wasn't much slower than skating anyway.

Then I made my way up off the lake and into town and saw my brother amongst the crowd, cheering loudly for me. I made it in 3:26. I was actually surprised it didn't take longer. I was happy about that, too. I thought I might be out for as long as 4 hours, but coming in under 3 and a half was a relief.

So, Birkie #5 is in the books, and I am already looking forward to next year. I think I'll skate again, but hopefully do some real training next fall and winter!

Anyone else ski the birkie? Tell me how it went!

    I have been reading runner's blogs for years now, and they always have a common thread. Injuries. In fact, part of why I never got into blogging before was that I think they are a curse to a runner. Every blogger seems to complain about knees, hips, muscles or plantar fascia-whatever. Well as soon as I began this blog, guess what? My knee began hurting. All the time. I think it was due to Skate skiing, but I have cut that out for 3 weeks now, and it isn't really improving.

   But regardless of my problem, I wonder if it is just running bloggers or is it all runners who have constant pain. I guess I am wondering if it is really possible to be injury free for an extended period of time while being a runner. For me personally, I only ran about 3-6 times a month for the past year and a half and my knees felt pretty good. Then I get back into running and it's like I get a new pain every day. Even on the off days! WTF!