41 Mile Month

Super excited that I ran 41 miles in January. This stacks up as my third highest monthly mileage, per my Daily Mile stats (and month #1, August, included 18 miles of backpacking, which coincidentally got me into this whole ITB mess in the first place).

This bring me to entertain thoughts of ... TRAINING. Hmmm. Firstly, training would be very good for me because it limits the amount of "long runs" I do. If there isn't a training plan staring me in the face telling me to go run 3 miles, I will run 6. It's just how I am. Secondly, training gets you to run distances that you previously deemed impossible (hello 13.1 miles) in a hopefully safe timeframe.

I have two upcoming back-to-back snow trips planned, both to a Sierra Club winter cabin which necessitates 5 miles of uphill hiking with a 40 pound pack and snowshoes on my feet. Awesome. Plus add to that multiple hikes straight up powdery slopes with my snowboard tied to my back (free ride down, wheeee!). I hope and pray that my little ITB holds up solidly through all this. If it does, I will start running shorter distances interspersed with my long runs, ie; training.

In other buddy-news, I may or may not have found a running buddy(ies). Two friends have been running for months on the same River trail road that I run on. The only conceivable reason why we have not yet crossed paths before is that they are AM runners. Damn. I'm considering changing my habits just to have someone to run with. Updates to follow.

And lastly, I did P90X legs&back this evening before our employee dinner. Oh the burn.

Rebuilding

Back on the wagon. And boy does it feel great!

I've logged 36+ miles so far this month, which is my third best month since I started keeping track. I'm not following any particular plan - just trying to rebuild a base of around 5 miles and to keep the pain at Zero. The hardest part is remembering to throw in shorter runs (2-3 miles) to balance out my longer slogs of 5+ miles. I've done a legs&back workout and definitely notice a difference in my step - solid legs!

A couple more workouts, and a few more weeks of building long runs back up to 8 and I'll be an amazingly happy woman. I might even start revisiting some 1/2 marathon training plans, but taking it slow slow slow.