Time

2 separate runs and 6 miles later......

Tada!!!! NO PAIN!

Was it ever worth it to back off and let my body heal? Yes, sir.

Was it torture to skip my 37 mile training week for running about 9 miles total? You betcha.

However, this just means that there's a greater chance that next week I can run 20 miles.

And the next? 30.

And two weeks after that? RAGNAR.

Our bodies are amazing. They were created to allow us to run for miles and miles, create and bear children, smile, laugh, slow us down, and to heal.

Know what I learned over the last two weeks? Sometimes we should listen to our bodies more than our heads.

There's a time to go fast. There's a time to push the limits. And there's a time to recover.

Foam roller of death.

I get to run 2.5 miles tomorrow!!!!!!!

Baby angels are smiling upon me. I live in the best area surrounded by numerous running partners, and one of them happens to have a PT husband. Seriously! Baby. Angels.

Brandon Judd, a PT and athlete himself, took some time out of his busy schedule to check out my knee tonight. He confirmed that I do indeed have ITBS, but thankfully it isn't advanced. (So glad I pulled back when I felt something going on!) He showed me some stretches, some strength training exercises, and he showed me how to use this:
Apparently "The Stick" is the weak man's way to roll out muscles. Have you ever used a foam roll? Be prepared to look like this:

Folks. I would rather give birth to another one of these:
than foam roll for 5 minutes twice a day. Did I mention that the above posted birth happened without drugs? I need an epidural for this foam roll.

This sport is torture. Oh, how I love it.

Thank you, Brandon Judd! And if anyone lives in the area, check out his bike shop in Heber City- Slim & Knobby's.

Time to get serious.

After much stress, (and by stress I mean me freaking out nearly every minute of every day), I have finally come up with a plan of action regarding healing this IT Band Syndrome.
1- Ice multiple times a day.
2- Rest. Of course I will be missing my run to Delicate Arch in Moab that I've been dreaming about for a year and a half. AGAIN. I missed it last year due to foot problems. However, the last thing in the world I want to miss is the Ragnar. Priorities. I am hoping to resume running next Wednesday.
3- Rolling with "the stick".
4- Stretching and strength training. This video was the most helpful that I found in all of my hours of scouring the internet searching for a cure. I know some people were asking what to do. I'm no expert! Here's hoping I can save myself some cash on the PT bill.
ITB Rehab Routine – Video Demonstration
5. Last but not least, zero drop shoes. I took back my Saucany's that I purchased last weekend and bought the New Balance Minimus shoe. I ran in it today and felt great! I went only 4 miles (with no knee pain when running), and I could tell my form was much better. It's too bad that after I stretched and headed up the sidewalk to my front door my knee was hurting again. I knew it was too good to be true! I'm a big time believer in form, so it's time to get it right.

Chris McDougall called me a hottie.

I was so stoked for this day!!!!! I got the kids to the sitter on time, picked up Holly, and we were set to get to the store right at the magic hour. It was perfect.

That was where the perfection ended... at least for a bit. After those moments I:

1- Learned that Chris McDougall's plane was delayed so he wasn't able to go on a run with us (MAJOR bummer!).
2- Got lost trying to find the trail. Let's be real here- the guys directions were about as clear as mud, and after calling the store and talking to not one, not even two, but three employees, we finally found the place.
3- Lost the key to my car in the bushes on the trail when I took my camera out of my spibelt.
4- Had serious IT band issues, bothering me clear up into my hip.

Me, on the left, and Holly on the right.

The trail was pretty, and if I were in proper running order, I would have loved it. Yesterday? Not so much.

The nice part is that the trouble stopped there.

Did you know that Chris McDougall is real? REAL! As in an eating, breathing, running human being! I read a lot of fiction, people, so to see a character out of a book was insane to me. Caballo Blanco, Arnulfo Quimere, Scott Jurek- they are all real too, in case you are wondering. I know because he talked about them and said they were real, and anything Chris McDougall says is the gospel truth.
The coolest part of the night?

A guy was in the audience that had literally run down a deer. Like, on his own two feet. I'm so mad that I don't remember his name, or the town in Utah that he grew up in, but he lived in this little town that had a cool tradition.

When he was a kid someone had attached a bell to a buck, and every year the locals respected the tradition of not shooting him during hunting season. The buck eventually got huge, and then he disappeared all together. As a 17 year old, he decided he wanted to let this tradition continue. What was he going to do about it? Well, catch one and attach a bell to it of course!

He told his Mom that he would be gone for about 5-6 hours, and he took off on foot. He scouted a group of deer and found a young buck and began to hunt. After 3 1/2 hours he was able to run it down. He took off his shoe laces to attach the bell to the deer (he said his Mom was so mad that he lost his shoe laces- ha), and then he tried to get the deer to run away. It wouldn't. It was flat out not going to move- no matter how much poking and prodding he did. He had exhausted the animal.

How awesome is that? Proof folks. We were born to run. It's in our will to survive.

The other cool thing?

When we were trying to get around the counter to take a picture with Chris, he said to a guy that was in our way, "Could you move so I can get a picture with these hotties?"

That's right. Chris McDougall called Holly and I hotties. It made my IT Band feel better.

IT Bands, Running Bible, and New Shoes

I've been trying to ignore it, but I can ignore it no longer: I think I have an IT Band problem.

The outside of my right knee has been bothering me since the Salt Lake Half. While the race course was great for the PR, it was not so fabulous for my knee. I wouldn't call it painful, but it's something that I've been noticing both when I'm running and resting. I'm hoping to get a grip on things with some icing, foam rolling, and strength training before it takes me out. It's also a good thing that I have a brother that just so happens to be a personal trainer that is going to be helping me out a little bit. Aren't families the best? I know mine is.

Unfortunately, I'm probably going to be taking my mileage down a bit. I HATE to do this with only 6 weeks before the Ragnar, but I don't want to miss the race entirely. I ran 11.5 on Saturday with Holly and after mile 4 I couldn't stop thinking about my dang knee. Grrrrrr!!!! Is it too much to ask to just be a healthy runner forever?!

The good news is that I get to RUN with this guy today:
Know who this is? Chris McDougall- author of Born to Run!

He's doing a running clinic and a presentation at The Runner's Corner in Provo today. I'm excited to meet the man that wrote what I think of as the running "Bible". Holly is going with me, so be prepared for lots of good info tomorrow.

Lastly, I got new shoes on Saturday! After my run, I decided that the 600+ miles I put in my Asics was enough and that it was time to get some new shoes. I'm going to be running in my first pair of Saucony's, so we'll see how I like them. They seemed alright on my run this morning, but they didn't magically heal my knee problem (which I was secretly hoping for).

I'll be honest- I kind of hate getting new shoes. I always have this stress and worry that they aren't going to be as good or that they'll cause weird injuries because they make me run differently. Am I just a wacko?

Goodbye, Asics, we've had some good times.