IT Band update and first run in 3 weeks

In a recent post I stated that I was ok with my IT band tightness. I lied. I'm not ok with it. Three weeks ago, I headed out for a three mile run that became a one mile run, 1 mile run/walk, and 1 mile hobble-and-pray-I-make-it-to-the-car.

For three weeks, I haven't run. A couple of times I tried to run on the treadmill and would last less than a minute before the pain in my left leg was excruciating. I have spent more time on the arc trainer and in spinning class in the last three weeks than I have in the last three years, probably.

Today, I got to run again. I took Kona with me, because when I run with her I'm always sure to stop and walk so I don't push her too hard. I figured if I was worried about pushing her too hard, I would keep myself from overdoing it, too. Mission accomplished. My left leg was hurting by the end, but it wasn't awful. Three weeks ago I wasn't sure I could make it the mile back to my car - today there were no such fears (thank GOD). We did four miles. When we were running, it was clear that I've kept up my cardiovascular fitness well, but my legs aren't up for much yet. At this point I feel like my heart and lungs can do a half marathon, but my legs might only make half that...

So, we headed out to my favorite trails, but started at a different spot behind the middle school, rather than my usual dirt parking lot at the other end. We had A LOT of rain on Friday, and I wasn't sure if I'd ever get my car out of that mud. Behind the middle school there's .25 miles or less of pavement, and then you hit dirt. The main jeep trail is really low-lying and runs along Bolin Creek, so it's relatively flat. A good portion of the trail was covered in water, and what wasn't covered was definitely muddy. Some of the higher and rocky areas were pretty dry, but most of it was nasty. My shoes were tight, but even so I almost lost my left shoe to the mud. We ran along the jeep trail for about 1.5-1.75 miles and then turned off on the "burnt-out car trail" that I always make sure to run when I'm out there. Yeah...that trail's too hilly for me these days. We walked that whole .75 or so. One of the hills on that trail rivals Becky's Bluff - it isn't as long, but it is just as steep. If my leg was healthy I'd go out there for hill repeats..but that probably isn't the best idea these days.

There's an old burnt out car at that trail head, and every time we go by Kona puts on the brakes and starts to whine. Well today she actually ran right by it! I was so proud. We got back out on the jeep trail and headed back to the car. I tripped a couple times and slipped a couple times, but nothing too exciting happened until we passed a large group of people with 4 or 5 dogs. The dogs were all leashed, so I thought we were fine. Kona and I stepped off the trail a little bit (and this is a wide trail) and kept on running. Until one of the dogs lunged at and pinned Kona. NOT COOL. How is a dog that is on a leash allowed to behave like that?? We got out of that mess and continued on down the trail at a quicker pace. Maybe a quarter mile or less after that, we came upon a couple with a puppy off-leash. When they saw us they put a leash on the puppy, and I warned them about the mean dog.

Things were uneventful after that, and considering the walking and occasional sniff-stops, we finished our 4 miles in over an hour. Definitely slow, but I think it was probably best all things considered.

Pictures Here

My little running partner

Kona and I had a great run together today. Just a short one, about two miles around the trails between campus and the community center. She was such a trooper and stayed right by my left leg the whole way. Well...except when one couple on the trail scared the living daylights out of her. It's interested to have a dog tethered around one's waist when the dog just stops dead. No idea what scared her so much, but that was our only incident! Good little Konagirl...

Found time!

Every Monday morning, I supervise exercise sessions at work from 8-9 and 10-12. Today on my way to the 8:00 class, I realized that no one would be attending the class. Bah - I could have slept in! My original plan was to run one lap of the XC trail during my free hour at 9. That would give me plenty of time to change into my running clothes, run, and get myself cleaned up before the 10:00 class.

Well, with the found time I decided to run two laps of the trail instead - six miles instead of three. It was damn cold. It took two miles for my muscles to really feel warmed up, and even then I was still cold. The first lap was pretty good, after five miles my left IT band quit. Half the time it seems like no matter what I do, that IT band issue is always going to be around. Sometimes I'm cool with that, other times not so much. Today I'm cool with it, even though it meant taking the elevator all day because going downstairs hurt too much.

Running like that, before work, feels good. It's good to go supervise that exercise class, knowing I've already done my exercise for the day.

The last few months...

Here's an update, since it has been forever since I last wrote anything.

First - the stress fracture that wasn't. That's right, it wasn't. After five weeks on crutches, I finally got in for a MRI. A MRI that came back completely clean. Imagine the frustration! Eventually I rationalized that, had I continued running, I might have wound up with a fracture anyway...but wow, five weeks. During that time off I missed the Nittany Valley Half Marathon, which I've since heard is an excellent race. As sad as I am to have missed it, I think I'm going to mark it off the list for this year, too. No more road races for me. At least, no more long road races.

Second - new job! I don't want to post too much about work on here, but I just have to say that I'm a million times happier now than I was two months ago. The new job started at the beginning of January, and one month into it, I'm sure I made the right decision. This job allows me a great deal more autonomy and I don't have a boss constantly looking over my shoulder. Despite my previous supervisor's attempts to convince me that I would absolutely fail in this type of position, things are going great. I do my work, and if a problem comes up I go to either a study coordinator or the big boss and take care of it. No problem. Sorry, former boss lady, looks like I can survive without you.

Third - Kona girl. For some reason I haven't posted about my darling little girl before this! The horror! Kona is a 9 month old border collie/pointer mix who joined our little family back in July, at a mere 10 weeks of age. She has grown like a weed from approximately 10-15lbs when she joined us to right around 50lbs now. Her socialization has gone really well as we have really made an effort to expose her to people, and now that she is old enough, other dogs at the dog park. We make a trip to the dog park at least 4 times per week allowing her to run and play to her heart's content; and when we get home, she passes out on the couch, all played out. There are so many other things I could say about the girl, but I'll leave it at this for now.