July 10th, 2009
I was going to make today 9 miles with a 3-mile tempo in the middle (because the wonderful thing about not being in marathon training is that little-biddy 3-mile tempos are perfectly “legal”) but frankly, I’m still enjoying the lack of regimentation, so I made it 9 with fartleks instead. It was so easy and non-pressured, I might just keep doing that for the next couple weeks instead of reintroducing tempos and intervals till marathon training dictates I must.
Regardless, I really do need to keep occasional fast stuff in, even when “on break” because I lose my edge pretty quickly. Perhaps it’s more mental than physical, but if I don’t remind myself what it’s like to push hard, easy paces are all I want to do.
So next week I’ll do a couple more fartlek days and that should get me right back into proper workout mode. Funny, because this is actually Hudson’s M.O. entirely by giving you fartleks before you get into quality work. Maybe I’m subconsciously getting into a 20-week marathon cycle, after all.
In other news, I wore my Pro-tec IT strap for the first time today. This strap gets great reviews as far as injury accoutrements go but I’ve been relunctant to try it because I can’t help thinking, “why am I changing everything because of this one injury?” and “what if it hurts me somehow because I’m adding yet another foreign object into my life?” but with my mileage back to the 60s and a 14-miler set for Sunday (oooh, so looong 
), I thought it worthwhile to try out – because I do foresee some IT band shadowing for that 14.
It was great, actually! Felt supporting and didn’t slide down as I thought it might. I was worried that when I took it off, the truth would out and my IT band would suddenly be hurting double, but not a peep, leg feels fab. So that’ll be a for-sure wardrobe addition on Sunday’s LR.
Another thing I’ve added (again with the “why am I changing everything?”) is I bought some Glucosamine/chondroitin/msm capsules yesterday. I don’t really know if it’ll help, I don’t have arthritis or creaky joints per se (though I do my share of occasional groaning), but I’m going to be an elderly 48 in a couple months, so maybe it’ll be insurance of sorts, plus, I’ve read that some folks get good results for tendon-related issues from using it, so what the hell? While it’s not a soft-tissue fix, I suppose that helping the surrounding areas improves everything connected, so I’m game to try it.
As you can see, I’m in that place where my previous confidence level of “I am strong, I am invincible, I am womaaaaan” has been shattered somewhat. In the back of my mind, I’m reminded how crucial it will be to run genuinely Long starting next month without any owees involved, so that’s where I’m at: a little Frankenstein, a little PT, a little wacko nut-job. Same old, same old.
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Hey, welcome to the marathon cycle! Cathi has me on glucosamine/chondroitin, doesn’t seem to do me any harm. Good idea keeping some speed in the mix. I’ll be following Hudson for the next one (CIM) so you’ll be a little ahead of me on the same plan (subject to modification). Good Luck Frankenstein!
I have the same IT band strap and to slid down during one sweaty run so I switched the the pro-chat knee brace that is pretty streamlined for a knee bace and it seemed to do the trick. I wear it when I know I’ll be on uneven terrain and it seems to keep things in check. Glad the IT band strap is working for you!
CJ
You must have a pretty mean coach is she dictates what you “must” do in marathon training. Glad there was no wardrobe malfunction with the strap.
Plenty of runners down here swear by Glucosomine – can’t do any harm if you can handle the (mild) side effects.
I love the fartleks. To me, they bring back the joy of being a little kid and just running as fast as you can, then relaxing when it gets tough. They’re a great way to get some speedwork in without it seeming like a chore. So, I say, stick with them as long as you can before you have to start the serious stuff.
I bought a big bottle of Glucosamine a few days ago too. My dad recommended it to me. I related to your “Why am I changing everything because of this one injury?” — I find myself asking the same question very often too. I went from almost never stretching to having this whole almost-hour long daily routine.
[...] I’m completely effed up”; she’s making herself take a week off. Flo is finally getting over an IT-band [...]
I’ve been taking a liquid glucosamine supplement for a few months now and have noticed a huge improvement with my creaky joints. It also helped my friend recover from knee pain (due to ITBS). Hope it brings good things for you, too! =)
I’m so glad you’re feeling like yourself again! Knock ‘em dead w/ training!
I’ve been taking Gluco/Chondroition 1500mg/1200mg for probably 10 years. Haven’t had nearly the “hello-I’m-here” nagging joint issues that I used to.
Oh, and I think you just like to say “Fart”.
Glad the ITB strap’s helped a bit! I have one that I used temporarily when I had my problems with that about a year ago, and it was great except for when I had it too tight for one run and wound up making it chafe/dig into my leg. As far as the ITB, though, it really felt good as I was getting back out there to run.