After my workout on Saturday (aikido, running 8 miles, biking 11 miles), I felt fine. That is until I attempted to start my 13 mile scheduled run on Sunday. I would run 30 seconds to a minutes, and I would start to get a sharp pain on the outside of my left knee. After a few attempts and less than a mile, I finally abandoned my run for that day. My knee felt fine when I wasn’t running. I had aikido class on Monday, but no scheduled running. My first scheduled running was on Tuesday. I went and did a 2 hours of karate class, then came home, and started my 5 mile easy run on the treadmill. My knee felt fine until I hit about 3.5 miles. Then I started to get a growing discomfort on the outside of the left knee. I managed to finish my 5 miles. Then I took some Ibuprofen, and iced the knee.
Tonight I had an 8 mile tempo run scheduled. I was a little nervous how the knee would be. People on a running related message board suggested it was my IT Band. I didn’t even know what an IT band was. I looked it up, and it is short for Iliotibial Band. I found some stretches for that were supposed to help Iliotibial Band pain. So I did some of them. Then I got on the treadmill. I managed to get to about 7 miles before I started to feel just the slighest pain on the side of my knee. I finished my 8 miles, and took a quick shower. Now as I type this, I have ice on my knee. Reading on the web, I think I might be suffering from Iliotibial Band Syndrome. It sounds like what I have been feeling. I don’t think mine is ENTIRELY running related. I had been doing fine running. I think the 11 mile bike ride I did on Saturday may have aggravated the Iliotibial Band. So I am going to hold off my bike riding until after the Las Vegas Marathon. Then following the Marathon on New Years Eve, I am looking at doing a 50k. And we are heading into winter. So maybe in spring I will start to ride my bike. I might be able to get some winter rides in if I dress warmly, and there is no snow on the ground. Mean while I am going to keep an eye on my iliotibial Band, and cross my fingers that it doesn’t keep acting up.
This IT Band compression wrap by Pro-Tec Athletics has proven to be very effective for IT Band syndrome. Ice massage will also help a lot.
Pro-Tec also offers an ice massager called the Ice-Up.
Comment by Jeff Rodgers — February 3, 2007 @ 12:06 pm