Table For One

The tri is finally here, almost. Two more days.My little detour into the world of triathalons reeked a little bit of havoc with my marathon training this week. Because of the race on Sunday I had to find a differnt day to do my scheduled Saturday 17 miler. There was no way I was willing to do both in the same weekend. So I opted to run my long run today that way I would have two solid days of rest before race.

I had it all figured out, but you know the saying "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry". Boy did they ever. I had my alarm set for 4:10 a.m. That would give me enough time to stumble around and get moving so that I would be done before the sun had a chance to zap me. Everything was laid out: clothes, hat, headlamp, water belt, and Garmin. Unfortunately my alarm didn't go off. I happened to glance at the clock and it read "5:30". Crap. I jumped out of bed and got dressed while I tried to swallow my breakfast almost whole. I was out of the house in 15 minutes.

I was in such a panic for about the first 3.5 miles. I kept freaking out knowing that I would pay dearly for the extra zzzz. My vampire-like fear of the sun slowly faded and I accepted that I would just be out in the not so ideal conditions. Then again its summer so ideal conditions don't  really exist in South Texas anyway.

In effort to not wreck my self for Sunday's race I took some advice to run a shorter interval of 30 seconds running and 30 seconds walking instead of my usual 3 minutes walking and 1 minute walking. In theory it should be less tiring and allow me to recover faster. I think it worked. I feel pretty good. The only downside was the constant beeping. Every 25 seconds my Garmin was either beeping at me to start running or start walking. It was driving me crazy. I'm sure as I ran through people's neighborhoods this morning they appreciated all the beeping just as much as me.

Even though this morning's run didn't go according to plan I consider it a winner. The 30/30 interval forced me to slow down and not burn myself out. The challenge today wasn't so much physical but mental. I haven't run this distance alone in almost two years. I've really gotten used to running with company and it was nice to know that I could do it on my own. That being said I sure will be glad to have the chatter of my group when we hit 20 miles in two weeks.

ITS Back...

After my Tuesday morning run I was tired, sweaty, and in pain. Needless to say I was not a happy camper. That nagging stabby knee pain was back. The culprit, illitobial band syndrome (ITS). If you're not a runner you may not know what or where your illitobial band is. The IT band is a thick fibrous band that runs from your hip down the side of your leg and meets the knee. When this band becomes irritated and inflamed it causes friction along the outer knee resulting in pain.

I spent the first third of the year in physical therapy working to get back on the road. I was fortunate to find a great physical therapist and fellow runner who was able to get me back on my feet. For weeks and weeks I did my strengthening exercises religiously and had great results. After getting back into marathon training and having no pain I was lulled into a false sense of security. It wasn't long before I convinced myself that I didn't need to keep up with them. Last week I started to get "little twinges" here and there. I immediately started my strengthening exercises again but it was too late.

Luckily I learned my lesson and have taken immediate action to address my injury. Last time around I was stubborn and tried to ignore my pain and continued to train. I was so fixated on getting my running workouts in that I jeopardized my health and made my injury worse resulting in a much longer recovery. I'm hoping with a few days rest, ice, and massage I will be back to normal soon and back on track.