Getting Back on Track

It took two months to recover from an injury near my left knee - IT Band syndrome - but I'm finally running pain-free. It started on Thanksgiving Day during a five mile run around my neighborhood. Around mile three I felt a sharp pain along my left leg, akin to what I imagine a bone breaking would feel like. Instead of doing what a normal person would probably do, i.e. stop, I decided to finish the full five miles. I never felt anything like that before, so surely it most go away after a while, right? I even ran a quick quarter mile towards the end for good measure. The result: difficulty walking down flights of stairs or bending my knee in any meaningful way for a few days. I ran a couple of miles on a treadmill a week later, but still felt pain. I aborted a third attempt one week later after running just half a mile.

Ultimately I think the culprit might have been my shoes. They're lightweight and great for racing, but the lack of heel cushioning and the constant running on street surfaces was too much for my legs. I rested for a few weeks, changed my sneakers and avoided anything resembling concrete for a while. Wearing my thickest socks, I started training on the softest surfaces I could find: dirt, grass and the rubber track at a local high school. This seems to have worked, as I slowly worked back up to normal running:

December 27: Two miles on a track at a leisurely pace

December 30: Three miles on a track at a leisurely pace

January 5: Two miles on a treadmill at a leisurely pace

January 9: Three miles on a treadmill at 7:40/mile

January 12: Three miles on a treadmill at 7:30/mile

January 15: Three miles on dirt and grass at a leisurely pace

January 17: 5K on a treadmill in 22:15

I only have three months until April, when I hope to finally run a sub-20:00. That may be a stretch with so little time left, but at this point I'm just glad to be running again. But let this be a cautionary tale for the rest of you! If you ever feel like your leg is breaking, just call an uber.