Medieval Torture Devices and other interesting developments

Well, my little blog community , Saturday's run did not go so well.


At. All.


IT Band was on fire by mile 2. The next 7 miles were pretty ugly, but big thanks to my running buddies in the back of the pack who "leave no man behind"! I made the whole 9 miles, but it was definitely time to regroup and come up with a new strategy!


My running coach wants to "re-fit" me for my shoes (oh! Keith, were you wrong?Say it isn't so!). That happens Tuesday morning.


This afternoon I saw my doctor to confirm the self diagnosis of IT Band syndrome - and, yes! I have one unhappy IT Band. Are you wondering what the heck is an IT Band? Glad you asked - see the lovely pic below:

The part that's circled, that's the part that's ON FIRE when I run. (And P.S. - I wish my gluteus maximus looked like that! ) So - what are the wise words of my running coach and doctor?

1. Rest the inflamed soft tissue (check, haven't run since Saturday).

2. ICE the inflamed soft tissue (check, but this stinks because ice is cold and I hate cold).

3. Stretch!!! (check - and no complaints, it feels good)

4. Foam Roller . . . otherwise known as a Medieval Torture Device. Don't know what this is? Take a look:

I don't care how innocent it looks . . . it is a little cylinder of evil. You lay it on the floor and then you lie on top of it, with the offending muscle against the foam and then you roll the foam along the muscle, with your body weight as the pressure. Like deep tissue massage you give yourself. It works but it sucks.

5. NSAID or Motrin (Check, check, check - but no more children's chewables - those are another form of evil).

Today, my doctor said that if all these things don't bring pain relief, he can always give me a shot of steroid into my hip, right where the IT Band begins, before the big race. UUUmmmmmm????

Probably won't be choosing this method of pain relief.

The only bright moment in all of this? My doctor referred to me as a "high performance athlete" today. OK, I was laughing because HELLO!! I'm no Lance Armstrong . . . but it still felt good to hear . . . bless him.

The lesson in all of this for ya'll: STRETCH your soft tissue people.