Name That Injury!

I'm changing the name of my blog to "Name That Injury!" It seems more fitting since I discover a new pain on what seems to be a daily basis. Today's pain has bothered me since my second 20-miler. I don't think my knee cap was displaced anymore. I think it's my stupid IT band because I'm getting pain in the exact same place (outside of knee and down leg) in my right leg. Yay... I made it a mile on my morning run before I cried "Uncle" and walked/limped home. Yup, a lousy mile later...

I did a little online research because I was curious why I was able to keep running on Saturday after the initial "stabbing" sensation. Web MD says that one of the symptoms of IT band symdrome is "pain that generally disappears as the band is stretched out and becomes more flexible." I guess that makes sense because I was able to run, albeit not well, after a few stretches. The website also says a few of the other IT band syndrome symptoms include:

1. Pain on the outside of the knee or hip. Check!
2. Snapping hip pain as the iliotibial band snaps back and forth over the point of the hip (greater trochanter). Check!
3. Pain that improves with rest. Check!

Ok, so I know that I'm no doctor, but all these seem to point to a big, fat "rest before you can't run the actual marathon, dummy!" Not what I want to hear or do, but I'm going to take today and tomorrow off and see what happens.

As for the rest of the marathon prep, I saved $300 on my Chicago hotel yesterday, so that's awesome! The hotel priced matched Expedia.com's 24-hour sale price. How nice is that??? It's a pretty pimp downtown hotel. Should be fun times!

P.S. Wearing heels when you have this kind of injury is not fun and quite painful. Not sure what I was thinking while getting ready for work this morning...