The I word

My week in running has not been quite so good as I had hoped. After my disastrous splat against The Wall two Sundays ago, I've been taking it a bit easy. This past Sat. I did my long run. I felt really good-- made it up The Hill twice with no problems. My time goal was 84 minutes, which I surpassed. My distance goal was 7.5 miles, which I made, finishing in 1 hr. 25 min. and 35 sec. My pace averaged out to 11.4 minutes per mile, about 1 minute per mile slower than my goal pace of 10.25 minutes for my "easy" long runs. I'm pleased because I stayed aerobic the entire time. Making progress!

BUT. Somewhere around 4 miles, I became aware of A New Pain. Something I haven't noticed before. My right hip was hurting. I probably should have stopped, right then, but I wanted to get to the water fountain at mile 5. I took a short break of a minute or two at the water fountain, which was, thank heaven, working for once. I sucked down as much water as I could. Then I went back to finish my run. When I got to the finish, I realized my hip had stopped hurting-- I hadn't even thought about if for that last 2.5 miles.

When I got home, I noticed my hip was sore. I've had some chronic soreness in that hip for ages, but it was a lot more painful than it has been. Oh, no. Don't even say it-- not the dreaded I word! Not now! I(njuries) are not allowed!

I took Motrin through the day. I checked my running book. It could be an ITB injury, which commonly causes pain in the knee but can cause pain in the hip. ITB stands for Iliotibial band syndrome, which is more common in women runners than in men. It is caused by inflammation of the Iliotibial band, a muscle that runs down the outside of the thigh to the outside of the knee.

The inflammation can be the result of overpronation, possibly caused by worn shoes; excessive downhill running; running on a cambered surface (where the middle of the road is higher than the sides), or overtraining. Climbing stairs is supposed to make it worse. (Unavoidable in my apartment, which is on 3 levels.) Recommended treatment is RICE-- rest, ice, compression, and elevation, along with a non-steroidal anti-inflammitory and stretching of the ITB, hamstrings, and quads.

I did this. I stretched throughout the day. I applied ice and compression by using an ace bandage to hold a bag of frozen peas on the sore spot. This reminded me of the scene from The Cutting Edge, where DB Sweeney is so sore from repeatedly falling on the ice that he's sitting at the dinner table with a large ice pack strapped to each hip!

(I loved this movie. I had the hugest crush on DB Sweeney. I'm definitely giving up my age now!)

On Sunday, the pain was pretty much gone. I took the next two days off from running just to be sure. Tuesday came, and I thought I should rest another day before doing my pace workout. I had planned to do it yesterday, but ended up running out of time. I did take Zelda for a short walk (2 miles). My hip has been more painful since then.

So, not sure if I will run anymore this week. I am not convinced it really IS an ITB injury. I've been thinking it could be a bit of arthritis, but the pain really does seem to be more muscular than in the joint. I'm really hoping to start my new training plan on Sat., but will have to see how I'm feeling. If it is still painful then, I will need to see a sports medicine doc ASAP.