i took up triathlon early this year and have successfully completed one sprint and two olympic
distance events, and whilst my swim and bike times are fairly respectable my running is just bloody
rubbish. i thought that i would tackle that in the close season by focusing on running and really
easing back on the swim and bike training, so for the last couple of months i've been pounding the
pavements and am aiming to complete a half marathon in early Feb. yesterday i was entered in a 15km
cross-country run, which is a jump up of 3km from my longest run to date and the intention was
simply to finish in a semi-respectable time rather than to compete. all was going well until at
about the 5km mark when an old groin strain started nagging. i eased off a little not wanting to
exacerbate the problem. shortly after my knee (same leg) started playing up, and by the halfway mark
i was unable to flex the joint properly at all. i finished the race using a combination of an
ungainly hobbling run, a limping walk and crawling up steps on all fours.
i've been scouring the internet for a clue to what in my knee is shot, but it doesn't seem to fit
any of the symptoms for normal ligament damage: there is no swelling and no pain when the joint is
examined, but the knee stiffens up pretty quickly when rested, doesn't seem to have any strength and
really doesn't like to be bent backwards. i suspect some kind of strain related to compensating for
the groin strain but can't find any information on this. can anyone let me know if this is possible,
and if so what i should be doing to rectify it? (i'm already resting it as much as possible, have it
strapped up and am taking anit-inflammatories).
Thanks.