I try to make it a habit...

... to only discuss/share positive details about my running, as I don’t think it serves any purpose to those who read this for me to make light of negative aspects, as I strongly believe that endurance sports are 60% physical and 90% mental.  Positive thinking and sharing is the only way to go.

However, more and more people are asking me how my running is going as I seemed to have stopped updating my blog, so I guess this is due for an update.  Truth is, when I first created this blog, it wasn’t meant to be a running log, but more of what’s going on in my life, hence Just South of The Dot, and irrelevant name that really means nothing.

On June 10^th, I had a great 10 easy miles in the morning, hydrated and ate well to accompany my friend Mer on a mellow night run which was to be her final preparation to ensure that her lighting strategy was adequate, (10 days before her awesome run at Western States 100mile trail race).   We decided on a flat 5 out and 5 back at 9:30pm’ish.  I was feeling awesome, well rested, hydrated and super happy and laughing with her all the way.  Then at about 4.5 miles in, my IT band started gradually hurting more and more.   It quickly got to the point where it was almost unbearable, and I stopped every so often to either walk, or try and stretch things out to make it home.  She was in no hurry, so we ran back at whatever pace I could manage.

Tomorrow will be the start of week 12 of this issue.  It simply won’t go away.  I have had IT Band issues in the past, which have lasted maybe 3 days to 2 weeks, but this is new to me.  Different friends have told me they have had it for 2-4 months, and one guy really ruined my day when he told me he was out of commission for a year and a half battling this strange and crippling pain.

It’s a common issue amongst runners, so everyone has their remedy to fix me.  I’ve tried everything under the sun.  Ice multiple times a day, Rolling the entire IT bad from knee to hip multiple times a day, grinding a “Runner’s Stick” on it till my entire side was bruised from the repeated grinding, professional massage, combinations of the above, aqua running to try and loosen everything up.  Extra pepper on my peppercorn burger, voodoo dolls… nothing seems to be working.

I have been resigned to a 1 mile loop I usually call Karma Loop in the am’s.  I don’t ever want to be more than a 10 minute walk from my car in case the crippling gets too bad, so I run this loop, and this loop only.  My runs have varied between 1.5 miles to 3.5 miles until I feel the crippling sensation coming so I end my runs.  I did manage to get one 6 mile run in a few weeks back on a hilly greenbelt run with Mer, but it was a fluke, and half of it was uphill, which didn’t aggravate the IT Band.  Th next day, was a different story, and I didn’t even bother trying to run.   I’ve done numerous  Aqua Running sessions in the pool, at Barton Springs, and in a lake, varying from hard 60 minute workouts to sustained 2 plus hour sessions.  Nothing makes it better.

I don’t even bother to tell you readers about these, or even write any mileage in my log sheet, because honestly, to me, 1-3 miles of this crap doesn’t count as a run.  So my log has remained untouched since June 10^th.

The concept of waking up to run at 4:30am is becoming more and more foreign.  The interest in eating to fuel myself is disappearing, and it’s easier and easier to stay up till 10 or even 11pm instead of falling asleep at 8:15pm every night.  I hang out a lot more with my old friends now, they seem to think I’m not the weirdo I had become, and spend less time with the runners.  Not that the people I ran with lack anything, but I’d almost forgotten how great my old friends were.  It is what it is, and that’s ok. 

What’s weird is I sometimes get huge urges to get out there and run again, especially when I see friends out there as I’m driving by, or when friends are on race trips; but even a 5 mile run sounds really distant to me now - while on the other hand, I almost signed up for a race this morning when a pal told me about one she’s considering. 

Part of me even thinks I may never return to running, while part of me has a fire lit that wants to go run a very very long way at a race in the not so distant future.  Meeting up with my running friends for my weekly happy hour with the coach is not of interest to me anymore.  Why do I want to sit and listen to other people’s running, and answer questions about my issue?  I’ve skip all but a few friend’s blogs about their runs. If they’re longer than 5 lines, they don’t get read, unless you entertain me.

My goals for the year are vanishing one by one, Palo Duro 50km or 50mile is out, Cactus Rose 50miles(that I ran last year so well) is out, 50k or 50mile Northface endurance race in San Francisco in December is out.  Bandera 100k in January is almost out. Boston for a fast run is in jeopardy and since I didn’t get my trail fix this summer and fall, I feel like I don’t even want to go to Boston and instead go run spring runs in the mountains. But all that are far from reality.

I’m supposed to be an official pace setter for the San Antonio marathon, but even though the pace I would need to run is very slow for my standards, if I can’t run 10 miles without pain BY END of September, I’ll back out of that as well.  I have a hotel booked for Boston, but even that is in jeopardy in my mind.

At the risk of sounding like a snob, for someone that used to joke that he doesn’t get out of bed for less than 10 miles, I really can’t be bothered to get out of bed for what may end up being a 13 minute run.  As much as karma enjoys his 1 mile a few times a week, I just can’t be bothered.

So there you have it.  An honest brain dump and update on my running life!  Now run along, get on with your life… there’s nothing more to see here today!  

Next up, a recap of my road trip, if I can get myself to transfer some last few photos and type up some details.