Black and Blue Knees

Triathlon Forum
1

Hey,

I ran a half marathon last weekend, did very well for myself (PR 1:35), and felt good after. I woke up Monday very sore, and rested then and Tuesday. I got back on the bike Wednesday for a hilly 18 miles, and noticed that my knees were both blueish/purpleish colors…any ideas? This has happened before (when I’ve been running). It isn’t coupled with any serious pain (soreness), but it still freaks me out a little.

Any ideas?

Thanks all,

Chris

2

If you were “very sore” on the day after it’s unlikely that the micro-trauma associated with your race effort is gone by the next day. You may feel a little better, but, you most likely still need more recovery.

What was the air temperature for the bike ride? If it was below 18 -20C, where you wearing knee or leg warmers?

3

It was warm (around 70 degrees)…It has happened in the past, during similar conditions, when running or biking.

Agreed, I probably didn’t give them enough time to recover. I’m used to being sore the day after a race, and this was absolutely **“Very” **Sore

4

The rule of thumb( thus a bit rough), full recover from a full out running race effort in days is equal to the race distance in miles. So for a 1/2 Marathon that would be 13 day. Recovery is very individual and is also driven by total base fitness. Most people, if they had an all-out go at a 1/2 Marathon would still be recovering 2 days after. Depending on level of muscle sorness ad how you feel, I would suggest taking 1 - 2 days completely off or possibly some swimming in there and then getting on the bike on day 3 - 4. Go for an easy test run at day 4 - 5 and see how you feel.

YMMV

5

A girl I used to run with would often get bruises or scrapes on her knees, too, but it had nothing to do with training
.

6

i’m shocked it took 5 posts for this comment.

7

I can think of two very rare conditions that discolor the knees, but both are associated with knee pain and swelling. As you probably know, blue-purple is the color of hemoglobin released from broken RBCs after bruising. The cause of bleeding should be investigated, especially if the color turns brown.