Finally saw a sports doctor yesterday for the FIRST time (even after 4 years of running and getting hit by a car). Fortunately, he was a distance runner himself, and was immensely helpful.

Essentially, I jumped to quick into training after getting hit last Oct. This, combined with changing shoes and not fully recovering is likely why things have been so painful. Now that I've gone back to most stabilizing Newtons, things have been a lot better.

His prescription:
1) Increase recovery days. Don't necessarily have to decrease my mileage, but run 4 days a week instead of 6, and do longer runs those 4 days. Do either non-impact cardio (elliptical) or aerial yoga.

2) Ice. Every day if possible.

3) Milk and calcium supplements. Runners have denser bones than a lot of other athletes because of all the impact we put our bones through. Support this by making sure I'm giving my body the fuel it needs.

4) Trust my intuition when it comes to training. If a run is really hurting, stop and take a breath. No training run is worth knocking yourself out of the season.

Woo!