I ran the Statesman Capitol 10K in Austin this past Sunday. Ooops - correction - tried to run. I would have, could have, run with a vengeance if my Achilles leg hadn't struck with a vengeance; its intensity a weave of the crippling pain I felt in the San Antonio half and the simply irritating pain of a long run.
The first two miles were comfortable; enough that I began thinking maybe I would get off lucky and not have any ITB problems. I concentrated on my posture and my stride by straightening my spine and widening my stance. The ITB (ilio-timoral band) is a muscle on the outside of the thigh that connects the hip to the knee. It is one of the longer muscles in the body and is very hard to stretch properly. When it gets tight, and with the friction that comes from the motion of both running and cycling, it causes pain and swelling which then can lead to runner's knee. Women are more prone than men because of our wider hips. The ITB tends to be torqued because of that wider angle.
I don't have particularly wide hips but nevertheless I am still in ITB hell and trying everything I can to reduce the pain.
ITB symptoms tend to worsen when running downhill. As I walked the downhills I know the other runners in the field of 20,000 were running past me thinking "Doesn't she have it backwards? The downhill is the easy part." If they thought that, they obviously have never been in ITB hell. Downhill is excruciating; uphill and straightaway are easy. I ran uphill at a not-so-slow but steady pace, trying to make up some time, past the huffing and puffing of those not in shape, only to reach the crest and gauge the grade of the decline to see if it was something I had to walk or could slowly shuffle down. Only once did I have the liberty of choosing the second option.
ITB symptoms tend to be erratic~up to a certain point. I mentioned earlier, everything was fine up to mile 2-ish. That is when the breakdown began. The end of the timed field that I had passed up to mile 2 began to go past me as I had to slow my pace. Around mile 4, as the fun runners (those without a timing chip) began to slowly surge past me, I fought the humiliation of not being able to keep up with my timed group and had to watch them pull away. More and more chipless runners came past around mile 5. Children, the overweight, and the out-of-shape all overtook me, despite my efforts.
Run, walk, run, walk, walk, shuffle, walk, slower, slower, still slower.
The first two miles were comfortable; enough that I began thinking maybe I would get off lucky and not have any ITB problems. I concentrated on my posture and my stride by straightening my spine and widening my stance. The ITB (ilio-timoral band) is a muscle on the outside of the thigh that connects the hip to the knee. It is one of the longer muscles in the body and is very hard to stretch properly. When it gets tight, and with the friction that comes from the motion of both running and cycling, it causes pain and swelling which then can lead to runner's knee. Women are more prone than men because of our wider hips. The ITB tends to be torqued because of that wider angle.
I don't have particularly wide hips but nevertheless I am still in ITB hell and trying everything I can to reduce the pain.
ITB symptoms tend to worsen when running downhill. As I walked the downhills I know the other runners in the field of 20,000 were running past me thinking "Doesn't she have it backwards? The downhill is the easy part." If they thought that, they obviously have never been in ITB hell. Downhill is excruciating; uphill and straightaway are easy. I ran uphill at a not-so-slow but steady pace, trying to make up some time, past the huffing and puffing of those not in shape, only to reach the crest and gauge the grade of the decline to see if it was something I had to walk or could slowly shuffle down. Only once did I have the liberty of choosing the second option.
ITB symptoms tend to be erratic~up to a certain point. I mentioned earlier, everything was fine up to mile 2-ish. That is when the breakdown began. The end of the timed field that I had passed up to mile 2 began to go past me as I had to slow my pace. Around mile 4, as the fun runners (those without a timing chip) began to slowly surge past me, I fought the humiliation of not being able to keep up with my timed group and had to watch them pull away. More and more chipless runners came past around mile 5. Children, the overweight, and the out-of-shape all overtook me, despite my efforts.
Run, walk, run, walk, walk, shuffle, walk, slower, slower, still slower.
The distance between mile 5 and mile 6 was the hardest because by that point I was fighting the urge to just walk the rest of it.... until I rounded the corner at the end of the bridge and eyed the finish line. It was then that I pushed all of the defeating thoughts away. Mustering as much speed as I could I did what any self-respecting runner would do: I ran through the pain regardless of the long lasting effects to my body. I sped up past a very overweight lady shuffling along in too-tight peach capris (and no timing chip!), and crossed the finish line.
I am hobbling today, 24 hours later. With the pain like it is now, I anticipate I will be hobbling through most of this week. Definitely on the DL for at least the next 4 weeks. Then, back to training, slow and steady, in preparation for next running season.
I am hobbling today, 24 hours later. With the pain like it is now, I anticipate I will be hobbling through most of this week. Definitely on the DL for at least the next 4 weeks. Then, back to training, slow and steady, in preparation for next running season.
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