Marathon Training Through Persistent Pain (Read 101 times)

Hi All,

I am about 60% through training for my first marathon. I have had no issue up to 14 miles.

I am experiencing a new kind of pain that does not prevent me from doing the runs or completing them but i feel it in everyday movement and walking around. Its weird in that the pain is very lightly perceptible during the run and doesn't slow me down much if at all. But afterwards, I'm lightly limping throughout the day.

Here is a brief history of how it developed:

A month ago, I ran 16 miles for the first time. I ran it without an issue but noticed afterwards a mild but deep pain in my hip where the femur connects. I noticed it the next day while I would walk. I wasn't surprised with this pain as i had just run 16mi for first time.

3 days later, I still felt it, but was able to complete my 5mi run. I did a few more 4-6mi runs and noticed that the pain was not going away. So then I took a full week off to try and get my body back to 100%.

Ater a week of rest, I started by doing a very light week of 2 mi runs 4 days in a row. I still noticed the pain, but it had gone done a lot.

So now, I'm back on schedule this week, and ran 12 miles, and after that, the pain is back. What's interesting is that I am able to run pretty much normally, but its afterwards that I feel the pain when walking or stretching, etc.. but it doesn't really affect the run.

I have continued to make my runs, and while I can perceive some pain during the run, it does not stop me. I am concerned that this persistent pain will be with me throughout. Resting for a full week did not do the trick, so if I am hoping to eliminate the pain, I would be benched indefinitely.

Has anyone encountered these kinds enduring pain throughout the training?

I really appreciate any insights.

Thanks again.

excellent suggestion. i should have mentioned that i stretch every night and do some comparable stretches.

my real question is, is it ok to accept a certain amount of pain and do others continue to run with pain?

thanks again!

It sounds like it may be your ITB Iliotibial Band.  There are some stretches that will help you stretch it out.  I typically do stretch 2 and 3 from the following link.  However, for the standing one, I do it in a doorway to provide stability if necessary.

 

https://www.verywellfit.com/iliotibial-band-stretches-2696360

 

If those stretches don't help, you may want to have it checked out and find out what stretches you need to be doing.

If it is IT band syndrome (I'm not sure it is) you need to remember that the IT band itself is not a stretchable tissue. It's not a muscle.  It's around 98% rigid.  Most stretches will pull the band at the only place that is flexible being at the connection points which are what hurts so you need to be careful.

Stretching is good in general but the root cause of most injuries is weakness.  For the IT band, it will generally hurt at the connection point on the lateral side of the knee which makes me think this might not be what it is.

The IT band gets irritated when it is being overworked generally because of weaknesses in the hip stability muscles.

But, if it is the issue strengthening hip stability muscles is the answer most often in solving this issue and most other issues.

Another problem might be a lack of range of motion in your hips.  One side can have good range and the other side could be dreadfully bad.  A good indication of this is if you irritate it more while running up hills.

I have a team of 80-100 in the fall and we have 0% IT band problems.  They do mini-band exercises every day during their warm up for strengthening. It only takes about 5 minutes of this per day.

I would suggest making an appointment with a physical therapist to get a proper diagnosis.  Find one that works with sports related issues and not just senior problems.  The exercises they give you, you will want to continue to prevent the problem from coming back

Is your discomfort in front of hip or boney area on side? Also, can you feel it when you do a certain stretch or certain motion with your leg? What is that stretch or motion? There is a difference between soreness and injury. The concern would be if soreness persists or gets worse affecting not only your runs but also your quality of life. I think it is always wise to address the cause. Many times it could be an injury but in your case it appears to be an over use type of soreness. There are so many things that it could be.

Are you over stretching? The worst advice out there is when you have a tweak is to stretch it more or roll it more, grind on etc. If some tissue has damage or there is an area of damage, how does doing more potential damage to the area help? Otter had an awesome perspective above. I do think you need to focus on hip/butt/core strengthening from all angles. I would also warm the heck out of that area before your runs. Sit in hot tub or other heat and/or do a bunch of dynamic movements, walking, leg swinging etc before each run and every run.

You can see if adding more strength work, less stretching and better warm ups can get you feeling better in next 3-4 weeks. I would probably try to do just easier paced runs the next 2 weeks and maybe no real long runs the next 2 weeeks to see if you can get ahead of this. If in 3-4 weeks no improvement or worsening, you will need to evaluate your whole plan and upcoming goals and think about your long term running health.

thanks for all of the great input.

after some consideration, i decided to pull back and make an appointment to see a sports specialist to get an opinion.

being careful is better than causing more injury even though this means i lose some time.

thank you everyone for providing sound advice to be careful.