The One Where I Still Have Leg Issues.

I have been avoiding talking to you guys for the last few weeks because I have been in denial about a huge hiccup in my training. My right leg and I currently have a terrible relationship. I searched YouTube for the perfect video to help you understand the dire situation the two of us are in. While watching the video below, pretend that I am Bobby Knight and my leg is the Referee.

Meanwhile, my left leg and I have been getting along great. Our love can best be summed up by this video:

Since running Around the Bay I have had some serious right problems that have interrupted my training. It started with my self diagnosed Hamstring Tendonitis, and has since turned into a roaring case of IT band syndrome. As I rode my high from our 20 miler a couple of weeks ago I felt great. My hamstring tendonitis seemed to be resolving and I was ready for the home stretch of training. Then I was out on my scheduled 15 miler the following weekend and by 12 miles I had to stop every 5 minutes to do this:

My shorts are actually a little shorter

I was experiencing intense pain on the outside of my knee, I shut it down at 14.5 miles and headed home. Lexie then diagnosed me with ITBS and I spent the next week doing this (minus the tank top):

I cut my mileage back in hopes of resolving the pain by our scheduled 20 miler last weekend. No dice, I had to cut it short at 18.5 miles. Needless to say I am frustrated to a great degree, I did a 3 mile long run yesterday followed by a 15 mile bike ride, which would be cool if I were training for a Triathlon and not a Marathon. I finally gave in and saw the Doctor on Friday, it looked something like this (except my doctor is an lady and my knee is MUCH smarter than that guy's knee):

This week I will see a massage therapist and a physiotherapist and hope I can get back on track. My goal is to just finish the marathon now, and I'm pretty confident I can do that as long as my knee heals up in time. So send me your positive vibes. Lexie will back in the next post to entertain you with her tales of how amazing running is.

-Leigh