Thigh compression band

Question
During the recent Mardi Gras 1/2 marathon in New Orleans, I decided to run with thigh compression bands on both of my legs (I've never done this before).I did this to avoid further trouble with my upper leg hamstring muscle that I
was experiencing in both legs. Fortunately, I did not experience any trouble with either hamstring throughout the entire race. I'm 60 yrs old and completed the half in a little over 1:40.

However, another problem occurred that has NEVER happened to me in my 8+ years of running 5K, 10K, and 1/2 marathon races. Around the 8th mile, I had to stop and walk for about 10-15 seconds. I did this about 5 or 6 more times through the remainder of the race. I did this "stop and walk" because my legs felt somewhat weak, and this helped me to recover somewhat.   This has NEVER, EVER previously happened to me. I've always run for the   entire distance.

Do you think that the tightness of the thigh compression bands constricted the blood flow, thus creating weakness in the legs?  If it will be of any further help to you, after I returned home from the race and removed   the bands, my leg skin color was completely white under both bands, but a normal color above and below where I wore the bands.

Any information you can give to me will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Pat

Answer
Hi Patrick
I do feel you lost blood flow.My recommendation is fix those hamstrings before you run any more races.You don't want to use crutches of any kind.You want to treat the cause of the problem.Any other questions just get in touch Patrick.

All the best

John