IT Band Recovery Plan

So as I mentioned before, I'm having some IT Band trouble.  This has been a nagging problem for almost 3 years now.  It first started in 2006 after my first half marathon, then again whenever I would run more than 4 miles.  I took a LONG time off from running (almost a year) and now since I'm signed up for another half, I'm trying to get back into the swing of it.  This time around the problem is that I increased my mileage too quickly and tried to increase my pace way too quickly.  In my mind I knew I was doing more harm than good, but it felt so good to run that I thought I could just push through.  Right now I can comfortably run 5.5 miles, which is great, but not anywhere near the 13.1 miles that I am scheduled to run in April.

I have always known that my outer thighs are really weak because any time I would have to do leg raises or something similar in a class I would burn out after 2 seconds.  I never thought it was a big deal or really cared that much, until I realized that this was the root of my IT Band problem. 

I put together these 6 exercises to help strengthen my hip/glute area and I'm hoping that it will work!  If not, I might just have to stick to 6 mile runs after this half.

X-Band Walks

3x20

Squat

3x20

Dead Lift

 3x15

Hamstring Pull-Ins

3x15Lateral Leg Lift

3x20Rear Leg Lift

3x20

I'm going to do this at least 3 time each week (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday) and they're all things I can do at home, so I have no excuse!  I'm also going to stretch like crazy and live on my foam roller for the next 7 weeks.