Starting a marathon training block with ITBS
Hey everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice on how to approach training for the Sydney Marathon.
The race is in just under 15 weeks, and I was planning to start a full 16-week marathon block around now. However, my IT band issues / runner’s knee have flared up again after racing a half marathon recently, so I don’t think I can jump straight into full mileage yet.
At the moment, I’m getting knee pain during runs and walking downs stairs, and I’m worried about making it worse by trying to force marathon training too early.
Has anyone dealt with ITBS or runner’s knee this close to a marathon build before? How did you approach returning to training? Did you temporarily reduce mileage, cross-train, focus on strength work, etc.? Also, would you recommend seeing a physio early, or trying to manage it myself first?
For context, I’d ideally love to aim for sub-4 if training goes well, but right now my priority is getting to the start line healthy. Would really appreciate any advice or experiences 😄