Turn your rut into a groove.

am--6 XC practice. I'm a little bummed. I took 5 days off, and the IT pain seemed to go away. But, it came creeping back today. Oh what to do? I'm going to take it real easy and probably do a lot of cross training instead of running. I did find some new stretches and a massage technique to help. Paz.

pm--4 Oh happy day. I ran tonight w/ the wif and felt pretty dang good. I've been stretching the crap out of the band and have been reading everything I can about it. I'm going to hit 3 miles here and there and stretch and ice and stretch, and I know things will start coming back. After the run w/ the wif, I ran w/ my daughter for a mile.  

am--5.5 XC practice. BF warm up, Core stuff, and some kind of dog pound run. The kids are doing great. So is the IT. The pain wanted to come back but it didn't. I was honestly worried about going 5, but it worked out all right. 

pm--painless 4.5. By far the best I've felt post-marathon. I've decided to be proactive w/ the IT and changed up a few things. First, I've found some stretches that really help. Second, I'm icing twice a day. Third, I took the hit in the wallet and bought an IT band wrap. Fourth, I've decided, since the opinions seem to be split how exactly to rest w/ ITBS, to keep on keeping on w/ the easy training. I mean if all I get in is a few miles, so be it. I'm not going to sweat the small miles. Last--you may want to stop here unless you're a shoe geek--I purchased some guidance--light stability--shoes. Since I, like many of you, am not bio-mechanically symetrical--I'm a mild pronator on my right side--I've decided to give my goofy foot a little TLC. So there it is. I'm cautiously happy right now. 

Side note--Brooks feel great. A little over 100 miles and a marathon in one pair. Minimal miles in the other pair. But they're awesome. The comfort and cushion are excellent. The transition is divine. I've been very pleased. I say all this because Brooks totally caught me off guard. I'm an aesthetic kinda guy, and, generally speaking, Brooks are the ugliest, clunkiest looking shoes around. Once you slip them on and run in them, however, it's like the looks follow the personality and Voila! they're the most beautiful pair of shoes that you've ever set your eyes on. Maybe the relationship will fade like it did w/ the Mizunos. Hope not. Shoe Geek out.

am--4 Slept through the alarm. Sorry, PVXC. I ran w/ you, just 10 or 12 miles away. The leg felt good. A little phantom pain. Hopefully a physiological reaction similar to tossing the hair the day or 2 after getting the summer bulldog (buzzcut). 

am--4 A nice, easy run along the lakeshore path at UW-Madison. 

pm--6 Another nice run along the lakshore path w/ a little exploration added on. The trails out here are single track paths through the woods. The dense foliage messes w/ the signal on the garmin. Oh, BTW, the weather is perfect. I'm going to cherish 2 weeks of training in the fall-like temps while it's triple digits back home. 

pm--7 I got out on the lakeshore path and took it through the forest and back. Fun run. I believe that this is the longest single run that I've done post marathon, and guess what? The IT is feeling great. But now the top of my left foot is sore, almost like I tied my shoes too tight sometime last week. I'm going to ice it tonight. I wonder if the pain could be coming from the light stability shoes that I'm wearing everyday to school. I end up putting 2-3 miles a day on those. It's fun hoofing it around Madison, the perfect college town. Don't pass up the chance to come here. As Yo Gabba Gabba says, "Try it. You'll like it."

pm--6 A brisk, windy day, even for the Madisonians, w/ a little rain. But I got out on the trails again. The legs are starting to feel good again, and 6 or 7 doesn't feel too bad. The foot's still a little sore. Nonetheless, I'm feeling good about running again. Yeah.

am--7 The last 2 days have been in the low 60s w/ some humidity. Perfect running weather. Today I branched out a little and ran down to the UW Arboretum to do some exploring and then back up Bascom Hill to the dorm. The first week I have hit 30 miles in probably a month. Feeling better everyday. 

am--4 Wanted to wake up and get the week off to a good start. I headed out w/ no preconceived notions. We'll call what resulted a predator run. Started at a moderate pace, worked up to close to a Tinman, and hit a pretty good tempo mile the last mile. The body is feeling pretty good. Maybe I'm getting my mojo back. I didn't type that last sentence out loud, I promise. 

am--6 Well I got back out again after 2 busy days w/ school. Just an easy run on the trail.

pm--8.25 I finished the residency portion of my class today. Went for a run to celebrate. It was a beautiful day today as I went stomping  through the woods. I'm definitely getting my running self back little-by-little. Also decided to run the Waunafest 5K on Saturday. I think I'll use it as a tempo run. 

am--10 Very easy. These last 2 runs have been longer than what I've been doing lately. I'm trying to build up my endurance. Today, my body gave me a little feedback. About 6 miles into the 10, I got marathon legs. Overall, I'm feeling a lot better. Now, just need to acclimate the body.

am--3.25 Ran the Waunafest 5K w/ my classmate, Shad. I thought I would use this as a tempo run and was able to hit a 7:20/mile pace. I felt pretty good. Yeah.

am--6.25 Barefoot warm up, core drills, and 6X1 min., 8X30 sec. fartleks. Felt really good. Nice hard workout. 

am--7.75 It's been a long time, but I was glad to get back to the reverse loop around Clary. The sun was up. Temps were nice. And I forgot my IT wrap. The leg felt great anyway. I'll probably wear the strap on every other run this week. I'm shooting for 40-45 miles this week. We'll see how it goes. 

pm--3.5 Ran from my parents up over the heights and back to my house. I'm loving the running this week. I'm confused though. Supposedly, it was in the 80s this morning at 8:30 and high 90s tonight at 8:30. But they didn't feel that much different. 

am--5.5 Barefoot warm-up, core exercises, and 6X1min., 8X30sec. hills. Tough workout. The girls on the team really helped me through this. They're super tough.

am--8 This was a hard run. My whole body was fatigued, and I had a little marathon mind when you have to really try to struggle through things. I'm not sure why I'm feeling like this on what used to be a pretty routine run for me. Maybe it's just building up after some down time. 

am--6.25 barefoot warm-up, core drills, and a hill workout disguised as an easy run on the trails in Coral Canyon. Then Manu and I ran a few barefoot on the grass. Felt better about life today.