Fast Running Blog

Here's a quick background of my running (in case this info helps) and I'll try to give as many details.  Last year I trained for my first ever half-marathon.  Before that, I never ran more than a mile at one time, EVER.  The Half went well, no major issues.

I then gained all the weight I lost plus more up to 225 last winter including no running for about 6-8 months.  I was at 185 at the time of the race.

This year I'm training again, and am about 5-10 pounds heavier than my training last year because I'm not eating quite as well as last year.

On Monday (a few days ago) I did a 9 mile run.  Next Monday will be the last big run before the Half.  On Monday, about mile 7 or 8, the outside of my left knee started irritating me.  As I rested Monday it got worst.  Even to the point that almost anytime I would move my knee it would hurt.  It especially hurt going up and down stairs.

The pain is kind of sharp, and runs kind of under the bottom of my knee over to the left side.  Do I need to give more details?

Anyways, I woke up on Tuesday and all day Tuesday it was fine, as well as today, Wednesday.  However, I did a short run today and at about mile 3 or so the pain started coming back so I stopped.

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!

The most likely cause of the problem is trying to run on a knee with more weight than it was designed to handle. I would attack the problem from two angles - reduce the weight, and strengthen the knee.

a) Start eating better and be serious about it. No excuses, no exceptions,  no rewarding yourself by eating bad. Learn to control yourself. It is mental. Mental is easy to fix. The good news is that bad food cannot get into your mouth against your will. Your brain has to issue a signal to the hands to load it, and it is a conscious decision. Just tell yourself to behave and do not make a big deal about the struggle. This actually kills two birds with one stone. Your weight will go down, and your body will have the nutrients to strengthen the knee.

b) Go to bed early and get up early while getting plenty of sleep. Quality sleep is important for rebuilding the body. The same amount of stress that would do no lasting damage to the body that is getting enough sleep will result in a debilitating injury to the body that is sleep-deprived.

c) Run as much as you can without pain, cross-train the rest of the time.

I'm no expert, but I used to get iliotibial band problems when I ran more than I was prepared for.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome

I agree, with Sasha, your body is not yet prepared for the running you are doing, but consider doing a search on the IT band.

Sounds like IT band to me too.  I'd get yourself a foam roller and go to town on the outside of your quads from the hip to the outside of the knee (http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=9911).  If done properly then it will hurt so much that you will curse the day you were born.......but it really helped me. 

ITB is your best bet on the problem from everything you described.

Make sure you are paying attention to the kinds of surfaces you are running on. Crowned roads, sidewalks, etc can further aggravate the issue. Head out to a field or grass park and do your running there for the next little bit and that will help considerably. Only run on sidewalks, bad roads if it is absolutely necessary for you to do so.

Also, regarding treatments, make sure you take the time to stretch your IT band. Good stretching and icing are all part of the game to keep you healthy.

Josse (on the blog at http://josse.fastrunningblog.com/) can help you look at other treatment tools which are very effective and useful.

If it is indeed IT Band Syndrome - stay on flat surfaces.  Running hills aggravates the cause.  The roller is painful - but worth it.  Also google IT Band stretches and follow them.

I will add one more thing - earlier this year I started to have issues with the outside of my right knee, right at the joint - kind of felt like it was right where the meniscus was.  Mine ended up being a couple of things:  1) excessively tight muscles in my glutes (esp. piriformis) and also a tight IT Band and 2) either the wrong kind of shoes for my feet or over-used shoes no longer providing the proper amount of cushioning.  Stretching and scraping helped with the piriformis and IT band, and switching to a different brand of shoe helped as well.  Everyone's feet are different and respond best to certain brands/types of shoes.  Mine respond best to Saucony's.  I still agree that the weight is an issue, but I think there are various possibilities that need to be explored without placing 100% of the blame on one single thing.