Denial is not just a river in Egypt

I appreciate all of the supportive comments, over the past few days as well as the ones pointing out my obvious training errors. Yes, I admit I have probably been overtraining. I’ve been racking up the miles for marathon training while simultaneously training to PR 5k’s. But I preferred to live in a state of denial about it. So, I promise, no more 5k’s for a while. Just don’t ask me to define what I mean by “a while.” ;-}

I have good news though, thanks to this simple, yet miraculous, device - a foam roller.

My knee pain was likely caused by Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) and is already much improved today. The picture makes using the roller look simple enough, but don’t be deceived. Using it felt a bit like medieval torture on par with the rack.

I’ll also credit stretching, a much reduced training schedule, ice and Motrin as instrumental in my rehab. I learned a great ITB stretch from club members of WVR. It’s a bit hard to describe, so I’ll try to find some pictures within the next few days to illustrate it.

It’s probably premature to say I’ve put the problem behind me, but I felt well enough today to finish 7.5 miles. The first 6 miles of it were pain free. During the last 1.5 miles I had just a dull ache in the knee, probably 3-4 on a scale of 10, but not enough to force me to stop.

I’ve been despairing the past few days about how long it has been taking to resolve this pain. Now I have hope again.