back to last year

That pain I had last year on the right side, traveling from buttock to knee, that made me limp half of the Provo marathon... I stretched and tried to will it away, and it diminished to manageable proportions. But I still ran both Berlin and the Nashville ultra carrying it with me.

It took me months to figure out what it might be. Reading stuff here and there I finally concluded it was ITBS - ilio tibial band syndrome. I did some exercises for that, but it really went away when I started training for the triathlon. I didn't even notice how - one day I realized it was gone, I was pain-free. So good.

It came back. I mean the fall, almost two weeks ago, activated it somehow. Maybe it's not exactly the same thing, but it hurts exactly as it used to. It feels as if the impact with the ground threw me out of alignment. Or something.

Well, cross-training should take care of it again. I cannot swim yet - the scab on my knee has shrunk in size, but the thick, deep center, pulling the skin taut, is still there.

The knee itself is all right. I ran 16 miles yesterday. Had planned for 16, but was willing to cut it short in case the knee would give me trouble. It only started hurting during the 15th mile, so the pain must have been simply fatigue and I didn't stop.

Aside from the pain from last year, I am back to normal.