Attempted to run. Hobbled 1/2 mile, outside of right knee down through the outside of ankle feeling very odd, similar to yesterday when it felt like the lower part of my leg would separate from the knee, and the foot separate from the ankle, but this time with more pain. At about 1/2 mile, I came down on the right foot and shooting pain went through my knee to ankle and I came to a sudden halt. It felt oddly similar to when I tore my MCL skiing a few years ago (same knee). I tried to stretch the leg and run again but the hobble was much more pronounced- so I turned around and walked back to work. Walking is okay- not great. Going down the stairs is pretty painful and going up isn't good either. I called my physical therapist, but she can't see me until Friday the 14th. I'm thinking about calling a knee specialist to get an opinion. I'm thinking it seems like IT band issues- but I'm not sure. May try the bike or snow shoeing this evening. Looks like I need to adjust my race schedule. First thing to go is the marathon in February. Incredibly disappointed. PM: After considering the knee issue a bit more and realizing that the pain this time around was significantly worse than it was ~1.5 years ago when I was having some swelling and achiness post run (which was diagnosed as lateral plica syndrome + illiotibial band tightness), I decided to call the knee specialist I saw before. I figured it would be a couple weeks before he could see me, so maybe it would be prudent of me to go ahead and set something up. In short, the great news was that he had an opening today at 4pm. The bad news is that he prescribed serious rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory meds for the next 7 days, then PT for an extended period of time and worst of all.. no running for 4-6 weeks. It was as I suspected, IT band issues/ tightness/ syndrome. He said I'm presenting classic the symptoms and just by moving the knee around and prodding various places around the knee that the IT band is incredibly tight and inflamed. So, I'm incredibly bummed. But after sulking for a couple hours, I've determined to make the best of the next 4-6 weeks.. eat right, sleep well, and get strong. I forgot to ask about skiing (specifically telemark) and snow shoeing, but I can swim, bike as long as my right foot is free so as to not irritate the IT band, lift weights, and do copious amounts of yoga and pilates. I suspect at PT we'll be concentrating on old and new strengthening exercises and stretches and probably graston.. ouch. I also realize that this is completely my fault. I slacked on the stretches and strengthening exercises the last 6 months or more. I am grateful that I was able to stay healthy through marathon training and even through and post-marathon. He suspects that when I attempted to work on my running form that I may have set off the chain of events and it's going to need some serious rest and rehabilitation to get it back into shape. If this doesn't work, he suggested we try a single steroid shot which may clear up the issue. He only does 1 shot though and if it doesn't work, the next option would be surgery. I'm not fond of either of those two options, so I'm going to work towards getting it healthy through rest, physical therapy, foam rolling (for 1/2 hour every day), and strengthening the quads, hips, glutes, and ankles. To stay in the habit of writing in this blog, I'll be writing about the road to recovery instead of the miles logged. Wish me luck.
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