Sidelined

It's been nearly three weeks since my last post. The knee problem came back with a vengeance on that last 20-miler, and did not go away as quickly as I had hoped. With a schedule to keep, I decided to see a sports doctor. He says - barring a stress fracture - he's going to get me to the marathon. He thinks it is irritation of the IT band, that runs from the outside of the knee up to the hip. Won't get an MRI to eliminate the stress fracture possibility until next week, but in the mean time, I've gotten a little running in. Did a six-miler at about an 8:00 pace with Chris on Friday, but it left me so that I couldn't finish a mile jogging with Paul on Saturday. Didn't try again until yesterday, and was able to do 3 miles at a 7:19 pace with little pain. Saw the physical therapist today - he pulled and twisted, and taught me a bunch of stretching exercises. Immediately after, I did four miles at the track at a 7:01 pace and felt very little pain except at the 1.5 mile point. Will do my stretches again tonight and tomorrow morning and if still in no pain will do a 5 or 6-miler at a slower pace tomorrow.