It's just under 6 weeks to go for the SF Marathon. I haven't posted any updates since I started actively training again. I wish I could say I had all good news. My IT Band has been acting up again a little bit. I ran a 20 mile long run 3 weeks ago, and was supposed to run my 25 mile long run this past weekend. However my left leg was bothering me so much after 6 miles that I had to run around and walk back. Now I'm doing R.I.C.E. and reducing the mileage.

I'm at the point where I just have to lay off the mileage until the marathon in hopes of healing up enough to be able to run and finish it. I'm currently able to do my maintenance runs during the week which are now down to about 4 miles 3 days during the week and a run on Saturday. I've moved from the street to the treadmill this week and will most likely continue my runs on the treadmill to say my leg. I haven't decided what to do about my longer runs on the weekend. I think I am going to have no choice but to pare them down and just hope I have enough conditioning left in me to carry me through the marathon. I had hopes of finishing in under 4 hours, but I think it's more realistic at this point to just shoot for finishing...

I've also been doing a lot of stretching in hopes of loosening up my muscles, but am not sure how effective this has been. I am doing the same stretches I was taught during my physical therapy but it doesn't seem to be enough. Possibly I have a biomechanical problem which needs to be corrected.

However I have switched back to my Ascis nimbus VII shoes from the Asics Kayano X series. I'm not sure if the shoe was for me since I have had the running problem ever since I switched to the pair of shoes. I had been running in the nimbus series for the previous 5 years. But it's really had to make that correlation at this point in time.

Anyways I'll just be happy when the marathon is over at this point in time, so I can lay off the training and work in some other types of exercise for the remainder of the summer. Then pick up the running again in the late fall to get me back in shape for the Winter snowboarding season.

I still don't know if I am going to run the US Half Marathon in San Francisco this year, though I would like to do so. But I think I need to take at least a month or 2 off from running and then see if I am up to building back up for the race in November.

That's it for now.