IT band syndrome?
I (44M) am signed up for a marathon on June 20. I've run 3 marathons before, but all were in my early 20s. I signed up for this one somewhat on a whim despite being older, not consistently running in a number of years, and being a little overweight. I found Runna and have been using their program, and things had been going well. I had even lost about 20 pounds and was feeling good.
Last week Saturday was my long run of 17 miles, and while I didn't have my best effort, I finished. Then the next day I started having some thigh pain on my left side and just chalked it up to the long run. Sunday was a rest day and Monday was a strength training day. I did my scheduled run on Tuesday despite lingering aches in my thigh. It was a Fartlek session which I managed to complete but the next day I could barely walk and was using a cane to get around. I skipped my Wednesday run and did my regular Thursday strength session with a Friday rest day and was feeling mostly better. Today was my long run on a deload week of 8.5 miles and I only managed 5.5 miles before my body rebelled.
I know I'm no spring chicken but I'm so frustrated and I'm left wondering what I did wrong and I'm at a crossroads whether I can even do this marathon I've already put so much time and effort into.
Everything seems to point to IT Band Syndrome and I'm wondering what to do at this point. Since the marathon is so close, I'm not sure I can afford to take an extended break and at the same time I don't want to push my body to the breaking point that will cause issues in the future.
Is this something I can work past or do I just cut bait and drop out?