gun-shy about running through soreness

Good question.

You know your body way more than anyone else. Unfortunately, you also know what it feels like to push too hard ... ITB issue.

In my experience, most of my pain is referred pain ... meaning if my knee hurts, it's because of an issue elsewhere (glute, ITB, calf, hammy, back, etc...). Our bodies are so complicated, and so interconnected. I've actually solved issues in one leg by working out an issue in the other. Unconsciously, we adapt on the fly, utilizing muscles and ligaments to compensate for weaknesses and imbalances elsewhere.

No pain no gain is ridiculous.

Some pain is okay, but it's not necessary, nor is it ideal. The kind of pain you describe makes me wonder if it's a product of your ITB issue. Overuse injuries are tough because they program muscles to do things they're not supposed to (to compensate for a fatigued primary muscle). So then how you do you un-train the backup muscle? That's tough. You almost have to strip back down to zero and start fresh ... balance and proprioception exercises, isolation strengthening, and then once you're good and balanced and your muscles are working the way they should, you get back to what you love.

That's my opinion anyway. I'm too hardheaded, eager, excited, etc.. to follow my own advice at times, and have paid the price, like you, in the past.

You took a full year off. Don't jeopardize another year by ignoring your symptoms today. Pain in the same place, experienced in almost predetermined and anticipated points in your workout schedule are probably not just soreness from healthy training loads. It seems like something else is going on.

Stay healthy and listen to your body. There's no such thing as over training, only under recovering.

Actually...the foam roller is probably one of the only reasons I was finally able to get back into running again last year. I also utilize a tempo trainer, which has also really helped reduce leg stress and joint soreness, particularly once I start to get tired. Before, my form would go to he&^, and I'd start pounding on my joints. Maintaining a high cadence has formed me to utilize smaller more frequent steps...which has significantly reduced the stress on my joints.

The scary part of it all, is that when I did get the serious ITB injury a couple of years ago, there was really no warning. I was feeling good. I was sore...but it was like that throughout the summer...just fatigue. One day I went out for an 'easy' run that has one big hill in the run. Feeling good running up the hill until just about the top and I heard/felt a 'POP'. That was it. Then of course with the ITB injury came the related hip-snap syndrome. Lots of fun. I've been trying to do 5-6 runs a week... (BarryP plan)....and increasing gradually my overall weekly mileage (no more than 10% a week, but taking several weeks to actually maintain, or decrease mileage, before bumping up again). I just don't want an injury like that again. I sucked.

When you got this initial injury, what did the doctor/PT say? Are you still doing stretching/strengthening exercises given to you by them?

I have persistent ITB problems in my hip (and it is actually a consequence of a bad knee on that same leg as has been pointed out). I do regular stretching and strengthening to keep it at bay. And I do train on it even when sore. However, what I try not to do is go into heavy training with it already sore. I took last Nov as a down month then started training for a marathon. It started hurting. Given that this was still supposed to be my off season, I bailed on the marathon and beefed up the stretching / strengthening until it wasn't such an issue anymore. So if you are starting to ramp up volume you might want to try to get the soreness resolved before continuing to ramp up.