Saturday, November 29, 2008

Mind over Matter

Because no matter what my leg still hurts. It hurts so bad that my 3.5 mile run yesterday was littered with walking breaks and tears. I went to Fleet Feet to buy a knee brace and Susan pointed me in the direction of the ITBand straps so I'll try that tomorrow and see how it goes.

I'm frustrated and scared... I really want to run next Sunday but I fear that my running has suffered so much these last two weeks that I won't hit my goal. I didn't even make it to the end of the street on Tuesday, there was so much pain every time my foot hit the pavement. Shooting stinging surging pain down my thigh to my knee.

Thursday was the Thanksgiving "Run for Food". I took the kiddos and walked ran through it with them. Of course there was a lot of running in the beginning and lots of walking at the end but that's OK. We had fun. I didn't hurt but then again I didn't run any farther than a few hundred yards at a time.

I've been super good about icing and I'll continue that this week. I usually run around the block a few times get warmed up, roll out both legs very well then ice my sore side.

I think one of two things occurred causing this malady to surface"

1. The long run post creek dip hasn't happened in like a month due to different routes and sick kiddos. I lived for those freezing dips in the local creek/pool to do my icing for me because if I don't get in I won't ice immediately after I run. Life just gets in the way you know.

2. My new Nike Pegasus shoes are cursed. My foot "rolls" in them ... A LOT. Let me tell you that this is my biggest culprit when it comes to instigating the ITBand pain. I may only wear my Brooks this week, wear the Nike's to short speed workouts and buy Mizunos again for my long dedicated runs. The hubby is going to be happy happy happy to be buying new shoes again just two months after buying me these.

4 comments:

Steven Cohen said...

Tina, do some soul-searching! If the pain is too nasty you're being told to not push too hard. You might end up with a worse injury, and that could keep you off the road all winter. I tend to err on the side of caution, so take it with a grain of salt, but think about it, please!

Best luck in whatever you decide to do!

Willie said...

IT band problems suck! So sorry. I don't think a marathon is such a good idea if it's hurting that bad. Just my opinion.

Nothing I could say would make you feel better about it I know. This is just a crappy situation. There will be other marathons and you will recover and get your goal.

ShirleyPerly said...

Oh no, not dreaded ITB. I doubt #1 is the root cause. More likely, it's being caused by something else like wrong shoes, running on uneven surfaces, tight IT band or biomechanical issues. Not icing probably just made the problem more apparent.

At this late point in time, if a quick fix doesn't work to keep the pain manageable, you may have to make a tough decision about your marathon. No race is worth a serious injury, IMO. I wish you luck!!

G said...

I agree with shirlyperly. Your shoes are most likely the issue, if you do not have a long history of ITB syndrome. I had the worst pain when my shoes started to fail and my pronation was not stopped by good stability or motion control shoes. There are some good stretches out there and also the beloved foam roller.