W5R3 then bashed my knee!! :( how long to recover?

[hillyq]

So 6 days ago (Friday) I completed W5R3. It. felt. amazing. I was so surprised at how quickly the 5 min reminders went - although I went at snails pace I still can't quite believe I kept going for 20 mins straight!!

Frustratingly, and quite classically, on Monday (3 days ago) I bashed my knee at work just shortly before I was due to go on my W6R1. Seriously!??!!?!? I was being a helpful colleague and bought my office pals coffees and some snacks - as I was carrying them up the stairs I tripped. Coffee everywhere, snacks everywhere, one very painful left knee.

On Monday I couldn't even walk/weight bear. I decided not to run and see how I felt on the Tuesday. On Tuesday morning I woke up with a massive bruise and still felt uncomfortable to walk.

It's now Thursday and my knee is still aching without moving it. I can walk ok but not for long periods of time and I know I definitely would be in pain running.

My question is - is it safe to do W6R1 on a bruised knee? It's been nearly a week since my last run and I'm worrying about resting for too long and losing progress.

Any advice appreciated.

Of course this happens at the pinnacle of the programme!! xxx

[mrrun Graduate]

Well, it sound you've bashed it alright. How long to heal? God only knows........or a good physio, perhaps. You certainly don't want to run with an injury, that's for sure. I pushed through a knee injury once and as a result it flared up so I couldn't run for months. It took an osteopath, a physio, and a MasterCard to fix my idiocy. You don't want to copy that so it's better to let it heal, for as long as it takes.

[hillyq in reply to mrrun]

Gosh!! Months? That's scary how quickly things can escalate. Thank you for the advice and I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

You're right. I'll just have to wait it out - which is frustrating as after the high of W5R3 I've really got my mojo and just want to keep running!! I suppose I can always pick up where I left off in a week or so and if it takes longer I'll just have to go back to W4/5. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for the advice!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

As long as it takes, is the simple answer.

You don't lose significant condition in the first couple of weeks and even then it is slow.

Far better to fully recover than rush back too early.