IT Band Woes

Right around the time that I was able to run 2 miles straight the tendon that runs from the outer side of my knee to my pelvis began to hurt. If I stopped running it would stop hurting, when I started running again it would begin hurting again... What the hell! I am not going to stop running after 2 miles. That is just pathetic, especially since my goal is to run a 5K (which is about 3.1 miles). After reading articles on Runners World and Google searching about the pain I discovered that it is most likely my IT Band or the Iliotibial Band. Luckily my boyfriend has an athletic sister who I could ask for some quick advice. What do I do??? I don't want to stop running at 2 miles!

She gave me a list of ideas to try:
1. Hey Jessi :0)Ah the IT band pain. Been there, a few times. Here are a few things that I have found help:
1. Stretching after the run helps. If you lay on your back,legs straight, and pull the knee up of the leg that hurts, and then slightly pull it across your chest you can usually get a good stretch.
2. A second option, that is painful but really helps is to use a foam roller (or wine bottle wrapped in a towel). You can probably find diagrams of the exercise on the Internet but it's pretty easy. You lay on the side of the iT pain. Put the foam roller under the thigh. Lift yourself up on your elbow and roll your thigh (hip to knee) over the foam roller. This does hurt but it is really effective for breaking up the crap in the IT band that makes it stiff and improves the circulation so it heals faster. If the pain is bad I will roll over the side 5-10 times, stop. And repeat 2 more times. I would do this even on the days I didn't ride/run.
3. Stretch breaks mid run.
4. Ibuprofen before and after the run. Just keeps the inflammation down.
Hope this helps! ~Becka

She is seriously a life saver. Becka if you ever read this, THANK YOU!! :)

Even with these tips my IT Band still tends to hurt when I run sometimes. This morning was a fantastic run, as you read in my previous blog; however, it also caused ample pain to my IT Band. I have decided that I am going to integrate more hills into my running to help me truly train to be a long distance runner. When you add hills or uneven terrain this can cause your IT band to flair up.

All day I have been stretching my leg muscles at my desk. Forget sitting in the chair I was leaning on the desk stretching my legs anyway possible trying to help the pain go away. When I got home I used the foam roller to help break up the junk causing the pain. I sure hope that I can run tomorrow morning! I am going to try! I suppose I should have gone easier on myself since it was my first morning back after not running for 2 weeks. Oh well, live and learn!

Here is an article on IT Band Stretches:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7120,s6-241-285--11642-0,00.html

Tomorrow is another day. I wonder what I can accomplish!