IT Band

I have been in a little funk lately. My IT band has been bothering me, I haven’t been sleeping as well, I have been sore…you name it, I feel like I have complained about it. So of course, I have decided that instead of actually resting my IT band, I needed an immediate cure! Bring on yoga (which I go to on a regular basis anyways), the foam roller, ice, ibuprofen, elevating, and the worst of all an IT band brace. I mean seriously, who wears those things…well, me apparently.
So I have started back to running, but due to the fact that my pain seems to sneak up at mile 3 or 4, I have decided that I would do the treadmill. You see, I am optimistic. If I go out running, I would go on the 6 mile loop just because I think that I can do it. Then what would happen is I would have to limp back to my car. I have no boundaries, so I had to do the treadmill in order to avoid the painful 2-3 mile walk back to my car. So let me tell you that the treadmill is boring, especially if you can’t figure out how to use the TV. At our gym the TV is turned on when you plug in your headphones…it will not work if you don’t plug in the headphones…Seriously. I was so mad…I told the guy working the gym that day, well, what if I want to watch TV and listen to my ipod. He just shook his head and walked away. So instead of listening to his advice, I continued to push the button on the tv, just in case I could trick the system. Which does not work, and leads you to having to take your headphones off many times just to explain to people that yes, you are aware of how the contraption works, and you just don’t like it.
So I finally ventured out to run outside with my friends. It was okay, of course it hurt, and I felt like there were old ladies in walkers passing me. But, I was able to get in about 5 miles, only having to walk back 1 mile, whoo-hoo! Saturday found me at a group run with Runners’ World. So the marathon group was supposed to do 14, and my friend asked if I would be running 14 miles. And, I started laughing hysterically, because the thought of running 14 miles seemed like the equivalent of me becoming a brain surgeon. NOT EVER GOING TO HAPPEN! But, I just replied that I thought I would hang out with my half marathon runners on their 7 mile run. Which may have been optimistic, but since they kept a slower pace, I was able to hang in there with them until we stopped at the last water. Then I had to walk off the tightness that formed during our stop, but I was able to begin running again, and finish out the 7!
But, now if anyone has any suggestions on how to get over my paranoia about running with others I would appreciate it! I am worried I will have to walk back, or being going too slow for them.