That’s More Like It
ORN: 16.3 miles, 2:39:26, 9:47/mile

Finally.

I’ve been fighting an annoying ITB since early October. And for the first time since the Portland Marathon, I had a honest, solid, long run on a Saturday. Man, I have missed this rhythm. It’s been two months since I’ve done this mainstay of my weekly rhythm.

It was probably a good preparation for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon. It was raw, windy, wet and grey, just as it could well be three weeks from today. And I decided to just run. The right ITB was there, murmuring but not shouting. The lungs worked, the quads worked, the new Adidas supernovas worked. I am finally encouraged about making the upcoming marathon itself enjoyable. I’ll be hosting Darrell as he checks Indiana off his 50 state list and that will be lots of fun. But I didn’t really know how my own running would be. I’m feeling better.

Mega kudos for this nice turn of events to fellow bloggers Sarah and Dianna. When I wrote earlier about the ITB, they urged me (strongly) to get a foam roller to treat the ITB. The roller arrived in the mail this week and with their help, I’ve started working it. Oh my. Does it ever help! Yes, it hurts. And, as Sarah told me “Find the spot where it hurts the worst and leave the roller there for about a minute.” Bingo. That’s the ticket. In just a few days, I’ve seen a lot of improvement. I wouldn’t have done 16 today without it.

I tried one other new thing today that I picked up from several sources. I pushed hard over the last mile. I did the 16th mile in 9:09 today. Not awesome, but the fastest mile of the day and it equates (exactly) to a four-hour marathon. Much of the early part of 2007 will be directed to this end, I’m currently thinking.

Enjoy your weekend.

Persevere.

PS. Links don't seem to be working today on Blogger...sorry.