This morning’s 12-mile run started out like usual: Mal and I woke up bright and early, I took the pug for a walk, and he made us peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
And iced coffees with soy milk.
Our team run was canceled due to the holiday, so Mal and I planned our own 12-mile route around town.
The run started like any other Saturday long run. Mal and I ran together for the first two miles and then he took off at his super fast pace.
I trucked along by myself at a pretty good pace:
- Mile 1: 8:24
- Mile 2: 8:34
- Mile 3: 8:58
- Mile 4: 9:12
- Mile 5: 9:22 <— Gu #1
- Mile 6: 9:21
- Mile 7: 8:56
- Mile 8: 9:06
- Mile 9: 9:16
- Mile 10: 9:27 <– Gu #2
But, then I hit Mile 10.5 and things went down hill from there. 😕
The IT band on the left side of my leg started to feel really tight and even hurt a little bit. It didn’t seem like anything major, so I just stopped and stretched.
When I started to run again, I realized that I had made my IT band very angry. I tried to run the last 1.5 miles, but my IT band/knee wasn’t having it. Basically, it felt like an injury was waiting to happen– like if I pushed it, something bad would happen. So, I walked the rest of the way home and immediately put ice on it as soon as I walked in the door.
Eventually, my sweaty clothing started to make me cold, so I moved myself to the heat vent while I finished icing.
My IT band/knee feels better now that I’ve iced it, but I’m definitely giving it a break for the next couple of days.
Now, I am starving! Time to refuel with leftovers from On the Border! 
41 Comments
I hate IT band pain. It’s so hard to get rid of as well. Hope it doesn’t bother you on your next run and the ice helps whatever caused it.
Have a great rest of the day!
I LOVE on the border! Wow. Wish I was having some of that food myself :). And PS: running 10 miles sounds like more than enough! Good idea to get some rest for a couple of days!
foam roller STAT!
if you don’t own one, buy one STAT!
i love your marathon training posts–they are really inspirational.
Ughh at least you were able to get most of your run in. Very smart to stop…Good luck with the injury!
Ugh! At least you got 10 miles done – that’s still pretty amazing! Hope your leg feels better. 😀
ah that pain does not sound fun. congrats on making it over 10 miles!
Great run even though your it band gave you issues! Hope you have a great day!!
Oh dear 🙁 Hope it feels better soon! At least you knew to stop though, rather than trying to push on which could have really made things bad!
Still, 10 miles at that pace is great! 😀
Oh noooo! So smart of you to stop and walk the rest instead of continuing your run and hurting yourself even more. I am with Lolly when she says foam roller – Those puppies work miracles for IT bands. Enjoy your leftovers and I hope your IT band feel better soon!
Sitting on the vent… that’s a benefit to having your heating vents built into the floor! I foresee Murphy taking a liking to that spot, as well. 🙂 12 miles is not easy!
I had problems with my IT band on my right knee and even stopped running for a while because I couldn’t figure out how to fix it or what was going on. Hopefully you can stop by a running store and pick up a band to go around your knee-it really helps!
I’m sorry to hear about the pain, and I really hope a few days off and icing and stretching will make it all better 🙂
good for you for not pushing it! hope it feels better!
My IT band/knee was perfect during my half training until I got to those double digits! Mile 11 was the trigger for me! I did just what you are doing – icing, foam rolling and backed off running for a week- and all went well with the half. Good for you for realizing that you don’t need to push it and do further damage! Hope it heals up quick for you, Tina!
Ditto all of the foam roller comments! Stretch, ice, and roll!
ditto on the foam roller!! Painful but ultimately very, very worth it!
Good for you for stopping and not hurting yourself.
way to stop before you got injured! that could be a real damper in your marathon training…but way to go on the first 10 miles!
Be careful with that IT band! It seems like a lot of us bloggers are having IT band issues (myself included…I have to cut way back on my half-marathon training for the next two weeks :/)
Unlike me, you actually listened to your legs, so I’m sure you will be great! 🙂
Great run despite the IT band! 🙂
Good for you for going for a run even without your team. Wish I had your motivation and I do hope that your leg continues to feel better 🙂
Sorry about your IT band hurting. Hopefully the icing helped!
oh dear, sorry to hear about your leg. good for you for listening to your body and stopping when you needed to. i’m still learning to do that myself. sigh… :p
Good call on not pushing it too hard. Since IT bands run from your hip to your knee, angry ones can cause all sorts of pain!!
As others have suggested, foam rolling is a life saver, as well as specific IT band stretches (cross one foot in front of the other and bend to touch your toes)
Best of luck!
Yikes – I hope it feels better soon! You did the right thing by walking the rest of the way. Take it easy! 🙂
Oh no, the left IT band is my nemesis! Sounds like you did the smart thing by stopping and icing- hope it’s just a 1 time thing and you get back to running pain-free asap!
Ugh, I’ve been dealing with those IT band/knee pains post-marathon. Hang in there, and foam roll!
Be careful with your IT Band! I am running my first half marathon next weekend and my left IT Band at the knee bothered me on my last long run of 10 miles. It hurt at mile 9 and I ran/walked the last mile. It sucked and scared me for the race. I wrote about it here: http://www.marcigilbert.com/2010/11/21/my-pesky-it-band/
Everyone says to foam roll, ice, and take it easy. And cross your fingers!
I hope that resting your IT band for a couple days brings everything back to normal! At least you listened to your body and didn’t push through the pain. This will definitely pay off for you!
It is a good thing you listened to your body and stopped running immediately! 🙂
Sorry about your IT band! =( The best thing to do for the first 72 hours is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). If you can, put ice on your bare skin & wrap an ace bandage at 75% of its stretching capacity around it for 20 minutes every 2 hours. I just learned about this in my Prevention & Care of Sports Injuries class lol. Hope that helps though!
I hope your leg feels better soon. I did something to mine a few weeks ago and haven’t been able to do much since, but it’s feeling better so I think I’ll try running tomorrow.
Wow, I would definitely have taken the day off for the holiday too! You guys are troopers 😀
I am glad you iced away- you will be better in no time!
Oh,no!! Ihope you heal and feel better soon!!!That’s a great color in the hall.What is it?:-)cc
hope your knee heals soon, so you can keep running!
So sorry to hear about your IT band pain. I know it very well, and can definitely attest to the fact it’s no fun — and not something to take lightly. Good for you for ending your run at the onset of the pain! Doing that will go such a long way in ensuring that you don’t suffer an injury. (I wish I’d had that foresight two years ago!)
IT band pain aside, you had a great run!
I hope your leg feels better after a few days of rest!
Hahaha I love that picture of you sitting by the vent because I do the exact same thing whenever I get cold in my house! 😛
IT band pain is the worst. Hope you are able to take care of it before it becomes a major issue.
If your knee pain is related to IT Band Friction Syndrome, you should definitely check out the website: http://www.bulletproofknee.com . Good luck!
Sorry to hear about the IT band issue.
It is so great that you stopped though when your body was sending a warning. Sometimes the hardest thing to do when training is to respect your physical limits and listen to those pain cues.
Hi! I’ve actually hurt my IT band three weeks ago and it still keeps hurting anytime I try to run for long distances. The last time I tried running was two days ago and it was just suppose to be an easy 3.5 miler but my knee was killing me so i have once again taken a break off of running. I ice it every time it hurts but it hasn’t gotten any better.
Any tips on how to get better?