IT Band and Other Update

My IT band feels better today, so does my quad.  I was conscious of both throughout the morning with shooting spikes of pain when I walked.  I went to the pool and swam some laps for 20 minutes at lunch.  The pool did wonder for my leg.  The pain receded quite a bit after the pool.  My IT band seem to be doing much better now.  I can slit feel like a split on the side of my quad.  But no more shooting pain thru my leg so definitely getting better.  I am going to roll my leg then take a nice warm shower, then top it off with heat pad ... Should be all ready for a long run tomorrow ...

Which bring the next subject ... Where to run?  I don't want to stress my body too much so I will run at least 12m/2 hours ... up to 16 miles but no more.  It'll depend how I feel ... I need to go back thru my schedule for the next couple of months.  I signed up for several event leading into the 50k.  I will run the events as training runs.  I have been trying to figure out how I can maintain my marathon level leading into a marathon next month, then transition to the Chuckanut 50k in March.  Previously I figured increasing my long runs basic distance to 20 - 25 miles but after how my leg felt from Saturday's run I wondered and worried so I went back to my notes, and increasing long run distance may not be necessarily healthy neither useful.  Well, rather than running 20 - 25 miles long runs, once a week it will better for me to start increasing daily mileage instead.  The marathon training programs I have followed recommend 3-6 miles weekdays peaking at 8-10 miles once a week usually one or two week at most in the two - or three months training cycles.  I am thinking of building that to 6-10 miles on Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday.  Still will have a medium run on Sunday following my Saturday long runs ... I feel my cross training has been lacking too, so I want to come up with a way to incorporate some strength training ... Oh yeah believe it or not I am getting fat lol

Also, equipement check?  Been thinking I need to gear up on a few things ... compass, rugsack, waist flashlight, hand water bottles ... At some point I need a new pair of shoes ... Heard about some hybrid trail / road shoes from Brooks, or do I go for a road pair and a trail pair?  The New Balance trail shoes I currently run with are actually great when I am on soft trails but are not so good on roads.  They provide no cushion at all, and even on compact dirt and gravel I can feel a huge strike impact.  The worst is when I transition from trail to road, such as yesterday, for about a mile along the airport trail the run is on sidewalk and compact gravel.  Pain was actually shooting thru my leg up and went away as soon as I was back of softer grounds.  So ... It's a dilemna ah ah ... I'll have to think that one thru.  The hybrid Brooks sell for $139, are road/trail hybrid and water proof.  The sales guy I talked to about them at the Brooks outlet swears by them however whenever you design something for cross-application there is a performance sacrifice in each application you are covering ... Performance-wise, for road application, my Aesics Gel-Pulse 2 have been a delight to run in.  The Nimbus 12 I got last time were a piece of crap.  My road Brooks were real good too, the model escape me right now but I recall a great cushion/stability balance, though a little more pricey.  I could get the same Brooks for $80 or the Aesics for under $60, so I could get a new pair of trail shoes for 60 - 80 dollars and come under the $140 I would spend on the single pair of hybrid.  So there isn't much a cost advantage when comparing to the hybrid ... Why sacrifice performance then?  Probably, I would need to find a store that offers them so I can try them out [the hybrids by Brooks that is ...]

Well, all that writing made me hungry, time to eat some pasta yum!