What you are are describing sounds very much like a tight IT Band. The area of pain you described is just about exactly where my knee starts to hurt when my IT Band gets too tight, although mine is very localized to the exact center of the outside of the knee joint - right about where the menisci are. Here's a good article with some IT Band stretches:
http://www.howtostretch.com/iliotibi.htmIf your IT Band is tight, you are going to feel a really good stretch up around the outside of your hip. One of the other things you should look at is if you always run on the same side of the road (i.e. run on the right side of the road and run a loop) - this can throw you off kilter because the roads here are crowned. My chiropractor always tells me to make sure I either alternate sides of the road, or run an out-and-back on the same side of the road. Eric's other suggestions are good as well - ice should help, ibuprofen will help with pain, but will only help with swelling if you maintain a certain level in your bloodstream. If it still hurts after a week, go get it checked out by a doc. Preferrably an orthopedic or someone with a sports medicine specialty.
