Actually, I find that I have more trouble when I run slowly. Kind of weird, maybe. But, for example, I ran the last mile and a half about 20 seconds per mile faster and that felt better. It's just hard to keep it up for that distance! Plus, I was under orders not to push it if it was doing this. For the first time since I started running barefoot, it feels like my iliotibial band.
My husband thinks my system is just stressed to it's limit right now. He says he's been at a point like this many times in his running career... since he is still being sympathetic while his arm is in a sling and quite painful from surgery on his rotator cuff a week ago, I can't complain too much. He does understand the potential disappointment.
Edit: the half is May 18th
Well, I know you've read about it, but let me just repeat what worked for my ITB issue in case it helps.
[1] I found, like you, that faster paces help, and that slower paces tend to provoke it more.
[2] If you find you can't sustain the faster paces over the distance you want to run, then try either the run-walk-run method, or what I ended up doing, the run-stretch-run method. Even now, although I haven't heard the roar of the ITBS ogre for many months, I still stop for a quick stretch the minute I feel the least bit of strain. (Jen, avert your eyes, the following images have been rated 'B' for Bozo, and may not be appropriate for viewing by a post-Bozo audience.)
I do the ITB stretch,
a hammie/calf stretch (I like to put my leg up higher than this guy, and grab my toes/forefoot to stretch out the calves well too)
, a quad/shin stretch
, and sometimes I also get down on the ground and do a piriformis stretch
. (Notice the gals are barefoot but the dude has his heels on.)
The stretches don't take that long to do, give you a bit of a breather, and really rejuvenate the legs. If you're running faster paces, your overall pace won't be too bad even with the stops to stretch.
[3] I'm also pretty sure that emphasizing deadlifts, squats, and mobility stuff more in my strength training sessions has helped.
[4] Make sure to roll your ITB good when you're not running, and do the ITB stretch every few hours too, in the course of your everyday activities. I also like to massage the length of the band and really dig my fingers in.
[5] I've found any bump up in distance tends to lead to greater tightness in my calf muscles and iliotibial bands. Right now I seem good up to about nine miles, but I know when I start to push over 10 miles, I'll probably have to stop and stretch more until my legs adapt to the greater distance.
[6] Stop running when you begin to feel fatigued or feel some strain. This is hard, I know. We're supposed to push on through that, right? Well, don't. I don't run fatigued anymore. I run a comfortable distance and when it starts to feel really comfortable I then bump up the distance a bit and stay there for however long it takes for the new distance to become comfortable. No 10% rule for me. I'm especially wary of strain/fatigue if I haven't run for more than a few days. Then, instead of going right back to my max distance, I like to do one or two shorter preparatory runs first to make sure everything's good and loose. And I think micro runs on your off days help keep the legs loose too.
[7] Unfortunately, I think age is a factor in all this. That took me a long time to accept. But with a little patience, the same goals can be achieved, it just takes a little longer to get there than it would've when we were 10-20 years younger. I would definitely bail on the half if there's a chance that it will lead to a set-back in your overall progress, which has been great, in my opinion.
Please excuse any presumptuousness. You probably know all this, but even so, it's sometimes good to be reminded. It was also a good exercise for me to summarize my experience over the last nine months. Thanks for indulging me.
Tomorrow I will get a run in before my mri.
Good luck with the MRI today Nick!
Tomorrow is rest day before IBRD (unfortunately running on my own)
I'm in the same boat. Apparently the Minnesota Chapter is defunct, now that Christian has to work for a living. Oh well, I've always been a solitary runner anyway.