Run Run Away

Question:

Hi, I’ve been dealing with IT Band for several months now. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can run 4 miles with a 1 minute walk break between each mile. I have a half marathon scheduled in June and a marathon at the end of july. Has anyone else dealt with this and been able to race through? Any information will be helpful!

Response:

Jennifer, Can you run 4 miles without ITBS pain? If you have any pains on these 4 mile runs you need to stop running for a week or 2 and then try to run again. You can’t just ‘run through’ ITBS. It will only get worse. Are you stretching? Do lots of very gentle stretches everyday, especially after running. You still have plenty of time to recover from this before a June 1/2 marathon. Good luck, Jim

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I’ve been dealing with IT Band for several months now. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can run 4 miles with a 1 minute walk break between each mile. I have a half marathon scheduled in June and a marathon at the end of july. Has anyone else dealt with this and been able to race through? Any information will be helpful!

Response:

Hi, I’ve been dealing with IT Band for several months now. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can run 4 miles with a 1 minute walk break between each mile. I have a half marathon scheduled in June and a marathon at the end of july. Has anyone else dealt with this and been able to race through? Any information will be helpful!

If you have IT band problems, don’t even try to run through it.  The frustration that will cause will be far worse than what you’re feeling now.  I haven’t been able to run properly since the end of December (did a 10k) because of this.  I tried gently running through it, but didn’t get anyway – last time I ran was 5 weeks ago, and all I managed was 3.5km. You need to correct what is causing the problem, and you need to give your body chance to heal.  If you do enough damage that you get scar tissue, you’ll tighter and more prone to this injury.  In my case, the problem was caused by weakness in certain muscles and wonky feet (forefoot something-or-other).  I now have new running shoes, orthotic inserts, and being doing stretches and strengthening exercises recommended by a physiotherapist I was referred to.  I’m looking forward to starting out as a beginner runner again – and doing my marathon next year. Take this serious.  If it doesn’t go away after a week or twos rest, go and see your doctor and get advice.  Hopefully they’ll refer you to a sports medicine specialist.  You will be able to run your marathon if you want to… but you have to give your body a chance too. Malc

Response:

Hi, I’ve been dealing with IT Band for several months now. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can run 4 miles with a 1 minute walk break between each mile. I have a half marathon scheduled in June and a marathon at the end of july. Has anyone else dealt with this and been able to race through? Any information will be helpful!

As you can see you have received two normative oh-my-lord-cease-running-at-once replies, and you probably get many more. I say "normative" because, in most, cases this is the case. My experience was mixed in this regard, however. I stopped running (or moving my legs during excercise altogether) for 2 weeks, then proceeded with cross-training (cycling, mainly) for another week or so, and found that though the ITB pain had subsided, it didn’t go away. At this juncture, however, I could run–which wasn’t the case when I first got injured–so, I rested for another week, and still, no improvement. I read up a lot, and decided to try out a minority opinion option: run lightly, taking anti-inflammatories 1-2 hours prior to the run (with food). Progress was slow, but over the course of 2-3 months, my ITB improved steadily. The point: in some cases, rest alone, even when throwing some stretches, etc., might in fact tighten up the muscles further–only movement will finally loosen them. Finally, the addition of targeted weight-training dispensed with the discomfort, and I was actually able to run a marathon pain free. Your situation may be different, but it sounds like we share some common traits: you can run 4 miles, which indicates a milder case of ITB. You may want to cautiously try the "minority" approach. —