PT and ITBS update.

i just finished my second week of PT and things seem to be going well.  this past Monday, Tak (my physical therapist, who i immediately trusted once he told me he ran the nyc marathon last year) had me run a mile on the treadmill while he recorded me from behind and from the side.

guess what?  i am the most awesome runner ever.

yep, that's what he said. okay so maybe not in those exact words but that's what i heard.  he said that my cadence is really good (about 180 steps per minute) and that i don't do a lot of bouncing up and down.  he asked if i'd had any formal coaching (see! he does think i'm the best runner ever!) and i told him that i hang around with pretty awesome TFK coaches that would correct my form if they saw me doing something blatantly detrimental.

luckily, there is nothing wrong with my running form.  if there were, then i'd essentially have to change the way i run.  cuz that'd be easy.  how about you try walking differently from now on?  yea, go ahead. do it.

so yea, i'm glad that i don't have to think about trying to run in a way that isn't natural to me.

my main issues appear to be weak hip abductors and (omg) the tightest IT band ever.  Tak did a little "massage" (i don't think this qualifies as a massage as it was the most painful thing ever and i'm pretty sure massages should feel good and relaxing) over my IT band this week and i had a legit tear fall from my eye.  ugh.

i've been good with doing my stretches and exercises though!  each day i do:

• AM: IT crossover stretch (2 times for 2 minute holds), hip stretch on the side of my bed using the stretch out strap (2 times for 2 minute holds)

• POST-RUN/WORKOUT: 3 minutes of foam rolling on each side, hip abductor exercises with yellow band (shown below)

• PM: IT crossover stretch (2 times for 2 minute holds), hip stretch on the side of my bed using the stretch out strap (2 times for 2 minute holds)

it all seems to be working!  my IT band is obviously still super tight and inflamed but i've been able to continue running without any pain.  my pace is slower and i'm still keeping my distance below 5 miles, but Tak said i should start to pick up my pace back to what it was prior to the injury.  

this past week, my running has looked like this:

Monday: 1 mile at 10:10 pace (treadmill)

Tuesday: 3 miles at 10:15 pace (harlem meer in central park)

Wednesday: 1 mile at 10:00 pace (treadmill)

Thursday: 5 miles at 9:58 pace (riverside park)

obviously, no hills for me yet.  apparently running downhill is bad.  sorry, central park, i know you miss me.  

source

tomorrow will be an active rest day as i plan on doing lots of walking while i'm out and about with he-who-must-not-be-named.

if you've been injured, how did you go about speeding up your pace post-injury?  i feel so paranoid!