Sunday 9th October 2022
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On Sunday 9th October, John, my sister Fidelia and I took part in the Lee Valley Run the River 10k. We also saw our Comets fellow runner Hameera. I was still having slight niggle on my left knee. This month I celebrated (or commiserated) the 10th anniversary of my posterior cruciate ligament injury (PCLI) which I first sustained from over stretching in the post Stroud Half Marathon in October 2012 to try to alleviate the nasty cramp on my calf. During the past decade, my PCLI came and went. The most recent time it came back to haunt was at the end of May this year while hiking along the West Highland Way in Scotland. I couldn’t bear the excruciating pains shooting down from my knee all the way to my shin. I had to retire on day 4 of 8 days of our hike. For the rest of the trip, every morning I had to take the bus or taxi to travel to the next hotel to wait for John to finish his segment. For the next 4 months between June and September, I ran very little and if I ran, I ran very slowly and I always wore knee guard. I tried to do some walking to stay fit. At the beginning of October, I took part in the Heathrow Runway Charity Run. It was only 2 and half miles but it gave my confidence back and I decided to go ahead to run the Lee Valley 10k the week after.
Start gun went off and my sister was already in front of me. John overtook me in 4k. When running on the grass surface just after 5k, my knee started to give me some jip, but with the knee guard, I felt protected, so I went on. After all, I was jogging rather than running. The last 2k was challenging not just on my dodgy knee but also my lack of running training had taken its tolls. I felt so unfit. I had no energy. I just hobbled on to the finish. Fidelia and John were already at the finish chanting encouraging words to me enthusiastically. I crossed the finish line in 1:11’01”. My time was disappointing but I was just so relieved to have completed the whole 10k. Fidelia finished in 1 hour and a few seconds. John finished in 1:07’35”. When I looked at other runners around me, I noticed there were a noticeable few wearing knee guards. I chatted with one of them, a young chap who looks like in his 20’s. He told me he didn’t have knee injury but he wore a knee guard to prevent injury. Hmmmmm…. Interesting concept!! I personally find the knee guard very restrictive to my stride. If I have a choice, I’d rather run without it.
