Ouch

My left IT band is still causing soreness after only a mile or so of running, so I will be taking the next several days off. This changes my goals for next month’s Delaware Marathon. I was never anticipating running a personal record at Delaware, but I was planning to run strong and run faster during the second half of the race. How strong I am able to run remains to be seen and my biggest goal is now to complete the race so that I can again donate my finisher’s medal to Medals4Mettle.

Aside from the mental blues, one of the challenges of adjusting to less running is to recognize when I should be full. My eyes and stomach are telling me to eat as if I were still running thirty-five miles a week, while actually running less than ten miles the past couple of weeks means I’m gaining weight. Not too much, but a little. I guess I’m just storing up some extra energy for when I’m really able to run a long, long way.

Not running over the weekend has given me more time to pay attention (or cross-train) to the needed yard work. I mowed the lawn yesterday for the first time this year. We also enjoyed a visit from a Red-bellied Woodpecker.