Update: Grandma’s Marathon, Leadville Training Camp and Knee

Its’s been a little while since the site has had an update as things have gotten a little hectic this spring. After the Navarino Trail Marathon, Dan started to have issues with his left knee again. The same knee that he had surgery on twice before. After taking a week off to fully recover from the marathon, the knee wasn’t getting any better and Dan went in for a MRI. The MRI showed that there was no tear but there was inflammation and fluid build-up. The MRI was followed by two weeks off of running. While taking two weeks off didn’t change the symptoms, it did help focus in on the source of the problem. The pain is being caused by the patella not tracking correctly and has been all but completely eliminated by the use of a brace to help with the alignment. There are a number of different braces now laying around the house while each one gets tossed aside as a better alternative is found. The current brace is a Mueller Dual Strap, which is significantly smaller than any of the other braces used but at the same time fully supports the patella.

The implementation of the brace has Dan back running at full speed again and while he won’t be racing the FANS 24 Hour this weekend as planned, everything else is still on the table for the race season. Dan will be heading to the Leadville 100 Training Camp the end of the month to get some time at altitude and to preview the course before heading out there in early August.

In 2 and 1/2 weeks, Lindsey will compete in her first running marathon at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN. Training for this event has meant that this spring has included significantly more running than she has done in the past and only a couple of roller skis. Lindsey is currently a stronger runner than she has ever been and were looking forward to how things will progress off of the current level of fitness. As we get closer to marathon weekend there will be another update and most definitely a post shortly after the race.

The pups are training too! The introduction of longboarding with Yukon and Montana should really help with their endurance once the snow flies again and the skijor harnesses are dusted off. We’re looking forward to doing more racing with the pups this coming winter. This may be the best mode of transportation there is and it’s the perfect way to get to the beach.