Last week I again realized how much I depend on running. I've shared before how I feel running is a gift from God. The ability to move my body and reap the benefits of better emotional, physical and even spiritual health can only be the design of our Creator.
I've been so fortunate to remain injury free so that last week when the pain on the outside of my knee alerted me to an ITB issue, I actually cried! I had been sick with an upper respiratory virus for several days and was sidelined from running and most everything else that involved stepping outside my front door.
Thanksgiving day I went for my first run since being sick and it was great! My breathing was a bit raspy but I was able to run 1.25 miles before needing to stop and was able to run 3.1 in total. But the next day the knee pain hit before I made it to the end of my street. I remembered that several weeks earlier I stepped on a twig while running. It was so small I didn't even see it in my path but it was enough to cause my foot to roll and my knee to turn inward. I felt some twinges that day but was able to continue training for a 1/2 marathon.
I've had to drastically alter my training and will actually forgo the 1/2 marathon in January. I plan to pick another one in the early spring. In the meantime, I'm icing, stretching, taking more days off and using a foam roller in the hopes of quickly rehabbing my knee.
Do you have knee issues? Here's a quick guide from Runner's World online to help you diagnose what's going on.
