Running Evaluation

Logan Reg. Hospital hosted a free running class last week, that I went to. I have been trying for some time to train for a marathon, but always have IT Band trouble (pain in my hips and outside knees that subsides, for the most part, as soon as I stop running). So I am always looking for new solutions to get my miles up. I figured, "What could it hurt?" It turned out to be a great class and they offered a running evaluation for $25 (half the regular price). Today was the big evaluation day. It consisted of them videoing me running (with shoes on and off), a PT evaluation of muscle strength and tightness and any obvious signs of weakness or malfunction, and then they evaluated the video. They looked at my posture (it was pretty good), shoulder movement (a little too much--I need to keep them still), foot pronation (fine), stride distance (pretty average at 60-69 degrees), leg movement (like if your knees go in or out, mine don't), and hip movement (ah-hah, here is the problem!). Your hips are supposed to stay level while you run and mine don't. I have weak hips. So the theory is that because my hips are weak, these muscles are actually pulling on my IT Bands and tightening them while I run. So now I get to do hip exercises and hope that one day I will be able to actually increase my miles (again). Oh, they also evaluated my shoe type for me (checking my arch and such while I ran). Luckily, the shoes I just bought are the right ones. Lucky me.