R U Serious?

My total mileage for this year so far is 398 miles.  Before my run on Monday evening I was only 6 miles away from the 400 mile mark and set out to run a routine 10K distance to break the milestone.  At mile 3 my left knee started feeling weird.  This is not the knee that has given me trouble in the past, nor did it feel like the IT band syndrome problem that my other knee has had previously.  There was some discomfort and tightness but nothing too bad...it just felt weird so I kept going at the same pace.  By mile 4 it was nagging and glitchy.  I was having to change my running form because it felt like something was catching under my knee cap.  I stopped to walk it out and planned to start running again after a one minute walk.  When I tried to start running again it was clear that something was very wrong.  Sharp pain and buckling of my knee happened whenever I tried to run.  I stretched some but still my knee was not having it.  CRAP!  I called Steve to come pick me up since I was across town.  I was 2 miles short of making it 400 miles this year injury-free : (

So, I'm having an 'R U Serious?' moment right now.  I just can't believe this happened.  I haven't had even a hint of pain in that knee.  I was running one of my usual routes and this happened after only 3 miles... a distance that is considered a short run for me now.  It really feels like something is out of place, like tissue, or cartilage, or something is wedged up and under my knee cap and is getting pinched in there.  It hurts at 2 specific angles...hyperextended and slightly bent.  Otherwise it is pain free.  Unfortunately to run I have to bend through that slightly bent spot and each time that sends shooting pains and causes my knee to go weak.  I'm not going to run until this gets straightened out but I'm freaking out at how long that may be.  I recently set up my marathon training schedule to start preparing for Chicago and I was 2 weeks into that.  I hadn't really increased my mileage from what I was already running so I don't think this is an over use or an increase in miles too quickly issue.  Plus I had just had 2 days off of running since I spent the weekend at my daughter's softball tournament so my legs were fresh and ready to run.  If it's not better by the end of the week I'm going to the Dr. to have it looked at.

In other news, prior to this recent setback, I have been having some great runs.  I've been increasing my speed little by little, especially on the longer runs.  Here is a pace progression for the year so far : )

Also, and I'm ultra excited about this, my girls have taken up an interest in running!  I think the bug bit them when they went to watch my last 10K race.  We got them new running shoes and they have been running on the road in front of our house to start training.  I had the oldest wear my garmin to map the distance and we calculated that up and down our street 2.5 times = 1 mile.  They are gearing up to do the fun run associated with the 5K event I'm running on July 7th.  There are 2 fun run distances to choose from... a 0.5K (0.3 miles) or a 1K (0.6 miles).  My youngest will likely do the 0.5K, but my other 2 will want to run the 1K race.  Everyone gets a medal and it will be a fun experience for them.  My oldest daughter, after seeing the amount of kids who ran in the Bridge the Gap race last month, decided she wants to run a 5K with me in the fall.  I told her to keep working at running longer distances this summer and she will be able to do the 5K being held in our hometown in mid-September.  She has been running several times a week, and with her drive to do something I'm sure she will be at the starting line with me for that race.  And since my middle daughter likes to keep up with her big sister I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up running it too.  It makes my heart happy to see my girls excited about this hobby of mine and wanting to run and get better themselves.