knee pain problem or SI problem?

Question
Hi,
I am a 34 yr old female runner, \i usually run 6 days a week, 2 weekends ago my long run went a bit longer than planned (18 as opposed to 14 miles), after the run I did the cold bath thing and all seemed fine.  I rested the Monday, did a speed session ( 8x800s) on the Tue and steady 8 miles on the Wed. On Thurs morning the medial side of left leg, immediately below the knee was sore.  I took a few days off but it didnt clear up, did a couple of easy runs that week, it is fine when runnning but hurts more afterwards. Since then I have been doing a lot of icing etc.
Recently I have been feeling tight in the left glutes but massage therapist said there is nothing much tight in there, I cannot sit cross legged comfortably, my left leg wont open at a big enough angle, have been like this for a good few weeks, never had either problem before, is rotation from dodgy hip or back causing me to run in a way which has caused my knee pain?

Answer
Hi Jo
The on going high level of training your doing will create many imbalances and alignmet situations.There is never one thing that creates a problem.It is the accumulation of many workouts that slowly but surely start to surface ever so slightly,and most runners just blow off the early warnings and keep pounding  untill total interuption of schedule.It is hard to pin point your situation,but as i said earlier that it is a combination of things that causes things.Track workouts going around on your left glute all the time is also effecting hip rotating which in turn effects the si joint etc,etc.And possibly itb.and knee.Track workouts are really tough on the body because of the tremendous tork on the hole structure.I would recommend to find a place where you can do most of your speed work straight forward.You could just use the aprox time you run your intervals,since a second or two is no big deal,it is the stimulation of a specific distance interval that produces change in musculature and energy system that your looking for Jo taking the focus off those few seconds which don't matter.Now for you injury which i don't think is real serious,but would recommend taking a couple of weeks of some easy relax running,no speed,hills and focus on some rehabbing with ab work,back extentions,light streching,stationary bike for realignment and tracking of the knee and surrounding tendons,tissues,epson salt baths,500mg vit c with 3 meals a day and anything else you can create.I would not worry about losing anything in two weeks,think if you don't address your situation(not fun).Think of this Jo...With out rest and recovery there is no growth or healing and then no progress.Puting a focus on just what is neccessary to properly recover from specific workouts will greatly enhance your performance and keep you injury free.You could also be developing a little chondromalacia.The bike is the best tool for that.If you have any other questions just get in touch Jo.

All the very best to you

John