Post-Recovery Running-ing

Wednesday was the second day of running after the nightmare scare of this past weekend's brush with Iliotibial Band Syndrome. At three weeks into training, this was also the first bump up in mid-week miles on the Higdon schedule. I know technically it was supposed to be a hard day, but I kept my pace steady and relaxed, fearing relapse and a potential revisit to Pain City USA (whose gubernatorial aristocracy leans too close to the flames of tea party ethics for anyone's comfort). I'm what might be considered a Zen runner. I keep no track of time, focusing only on present moment awareness (pratityasamutpada baby!) as I run. But if I had to guess, judging by what time it was when I left the house, and when I slinked back through the door, my “injured” recovery pace for the 4 miles was in the low 9's. Not too shabby. After running I stuck with the ITBS stretches I've incorporated into my routine, and then, along with a banana, I protein shook it up. 

Thursday was a mild mannered 3(.5) miles. I remained true to this weeks theme of strolling along at a leisurely pace by not pushing too hard. I actually made use of a treadmill for this one, so I had complete control over an even surface and kept a consistently comfortable pace. Thursday runs aren't meant to be hard anyway according to Hal. My goal, after all, was to simply run the miles to completion, not to break out the gazelle stride and flee the cheetah (I know this sounds potentially euphemistic, but I swear, damn-it, that it's a straight metaphor for running fast). So with a LSD mindset I covered 3.5 miles (the .5 is because I walked the first quarter mile to warm up, then walked the last quarter mile to cool down. This is a habit I usually only implement when on a treadmill. I just can't jump out of the gate in a run on those things, nor can I just simply stop; it's too disorienting, I suppose. I need these transitional buffers when using treadmills.), making this another successful run. It seems the ITBS has dissipated, but there is a soreness in the back my left leg (the same leg that sustained the injury) that feels unusually tight just above the knee. An odd feeling to say the least, especially considering the amount of stretching I've done. It's this discomfort that has finally made me decide to get a new pair of shoes. I estimated the current ones I'm using were purchased in mid-July, and I've put a lot of miles on them since, so it couldn't hurt to upgrade.