Falling Apart: The Knee

Knee pains have bothered me since the beginning of training and right through Ironman Arizona.  Usually appearing only during long training runs, the pain is pretty sharp, on the outside bone of the knee.  Yes, I'm lacking any actual medical terminology, but then again, I'm not a scientist.



That's not my butt



A visit to the physical therapist, who advised me that the knee pain is actually due to my Iliotibial band (IT band).  Anti-inflammatory medicine should help - which is great since I already have a stash of 800mg ibuprofens. 

Unfortunately, even after complete rest for nearly two weeks, the pain still comes back during training runs.  Yesterday, an attempt at an easy few miles was cut short when the pain hit just past mile 2, and forced me to stop when the pain continued to get worse at mile 3.  This is not a good sign, as the pain usually does not occur so early. 

It's time to start doing IT band stretches and being more careful with it.  Even though Ironman Arizona is behind me now, Iron Sherpa is still sherpaing.  She already bought me an IT band/knee brace which has garnered multiple positive reviews for being helpful.  I'll have to try it soon.