Was going to do my 20 miler yesterday after my longest run of 15 last week but wasn't able to get out. Got out this morning and felt very good. I ran the first 4 at 8:10 pace then the next 8 averaged 7:52. With 8 miles to go I dropped the pace into the mid 7:20s and was surprised how good it felt. I held this pace for the next 4 miles then ran 7:09 for the 17th mile. I had been expecting to feel horrible by this point because of my lack of long runs, but felt like I could keep this pace the rest of the way. However toward the end of the 17th mile I started feeling my IT band just a bit and within another half mile it was getting worse. I have had IT Band issues before but not for the past 4 years. It was tough to quit while my run was going so well but with about 2 1/2 miles to go I decided I'd better walk the rest of the way home and not risk a full blown flair up that could take weeks to get over. After walking a mile and a half, a neighbor picked me up and gave me a ride the rest of the way. This run was giving me a lot more confidence for the marathon in 2 weeks until the ITB problem. If that comes on during the marathon as bad as I've had it before, it can stop me in my tracks. I guess it's no surprise that this would hit when I'm making huge jumps in the length of my long runs. It's a recipe for injuries. Especially as I get older. | 