On the Road Again...

I RAN! I know it is not a big deal for most of you (nor was it to me not so long ago) but going over three full weeks and not running was somewhat traumatic for me. I knew I had to do it to nurse my ailing IT Band back to health but extra biking and Wii Fit time just does not cut it.

I was able to run on my treadmill last night. Just 4.1 miles and with a very slow warm-up and a max pace of 10:00 per mile for only 2 of the miles, but I was running. I didn’t have any IT Band pain with this run, we’ll see how it holds out for longer runs. I have been doing some abductor strengthening stretches but frankly they are so odd looking that I wouldn’t do them in public. They look like some kind of demented dance moves but I think I’ll stick to my tried and tested MC Hammer moves for now!

So on with the training for Salt Lake. Lets hope I have retained enough of my fitness from the fall so that 3 months of training will get me to where I need to be for that Marathon. Unfortunately I did gain some weight over the holidays as I mentioned before. I went from 185-186 for my November marathon to actually having one day on the scale saying over 200. That was fleeting however and I am now weighing in at the 192-193 range. Still not all the way back but I think another 2-3 will come off quickly as I resume running and the 180’s is still somewhat amazing to me. The goal is to get back to 185 in time for Salt Lake, April 18th.

Oddly enough I have had some serious leg pain the last three days but not related to my IT Band issues at all. On Saturday I served as a ref for my church young adult basketball league. For three hours I ran up and down the court. The problem was that I ran backwards each time instead of turning to jog or run down with the play. My calves didn’t appreciate the workout and are still SCREAMING at me! Lesson learned I guess...