Running update

I successfully defended my thesis today, so I can write about running as suggested by Morgan in a previous comment.

Two Fridays ago, I decided to go for a run after not running for two weeks due to my trip to Blacksburg and Bloomington. I had just purchased proper shoes (neutral Asics Gel Cumulus 10, size 9.5) at Pacers in Arlington, thanks to some great advice from the staff there. Stupidly, I didn't really stretch before setting out on the Capital Crescent Trail.

Early on in my 10K run, I noticed that my right knee was a bit tight. I figured I'd just run through the tightness, as it wasn't uncomfortable by any stretch of the imagination. On the home stretch, I broke into a sprint to finish off my run. After I hit the 10K mark, I started walking the short distance to the stairs back up to M Street.

Almost immediately after I stopped running I experienced sharp pain in both my knees, especially when I flexed them about 15-20 degrees. I had some trouble climbing up the stairs, and hobbled my way back to my office.

I limped my way to dinner with Aly afterwards, and probably made things worse by sitting for an hour and a half at Luna Grill and Diner. I could hardly walk once we left Luna, and it took a significant amount of effort to make it over to the Dupont Metro station so I could head home.

I was still hobbling around the next day, and things didn't really get better until Tuesday. On Wednesday, I felt good enough to play a bit of volleyball. My knees were a bit shaky, but overall things were okay. I suspected (or was convinced by the Internet and my friend/running pal Michaela) that I had an iliotibial band injury, so I did some stretching to see if it would help my situation.

I did another 6 mile run this past Saturday morning on the W & OD trail. About halfway through the run, I started to feel my knees stiffen up. I barely made it through the end of the run and headed home to ice and take ibuprofen to keep the swelling down. I was hobbling around later that evening, but I felt well enough to risk a soccer game the next afternoon.

Today is Tuesday, and the knees are still a bit creaky. I signed up for the GW Parkway 10 Miler a few months ago, and it's scheduled for this Sunday morning. Should I do it?