Turtles Can Run

A couple of weeks after I ran the Rock and Roll San Antonio marathon my right ITB has been tight and painful.  The knee pain has made me walk home a couple of times from a run or cut a run short.  I keep thinking I have moved past it and then it comes back.  There are a few things that I have found that help relieve the pain,keep it and little looser and allow me to keep running.

First thing is the foam roller.  Using this before and after a run help the tightness from setting it too soon during the run and helps the pain afterwards.  Yoga, especially the pigeon pose and the winshield wiper.  When I do yoga 2 or 3 times a week the ITB pain/tightness is greatly decreased.  The Pro-Tec Iliotibial Band Compression Wrap has also helped me get through longer runs with less discomfort.  Usually the pain and tightness sets in around mile 3 or 4 but when I wear the strap and have been foam rolling I can get through 10-14 miles.  Some other things that help are avoiding hills (downhill really irritates it), replacing my shoes, keeping most runs short and running on even surfaces.

It was no surprise to me that after 3M race last weekend both my ITBs were painful because the race has a lot of downhill.  I was actually surprised that I made it through the race with just a little tightness and not much slowing down.  So this past week I have taken an easy rest week with just three runs 6-7 miles each and lots of rolling and stretching.  I am hoping to be back in business next week to start training for my next half marathon.

Filed under: My Gear, Running Blog