Now that's more like it!

After a disappointing run following my week off to let my IT Band heal, I'm happy to report that two weeks later I'm thrilled with what I've done. That first run I made it about 1.8 miles before my IT band protested. Over the past two weeks I have worked my way back up to 5.5 miles. With each run it was great to hit a distance longer than the previous run without any pain or tightness. I will admit that on today's run my IT band started to feel tight, no pain, just tight at around 5.5 miles so we stopped. I was really hoping for 6 miles but I'm not going to complain since last time my IT band flared up building back up took much longer. I think I'll hold steady at 5 miles during the weekday runs now and slowly add 0.25 miles each Sunday. Not making it to 6 miles helped me to finally make my decision on which distance to do at the Sticks-n-Stones race this coming Saturday. I'll stick to the 5k and see what kind of speed I can do.

I ran with my new running buddy, Laura, again today. I think we'll make great running partners since we match our paces pretty well. She did her very first 5k yesterday in 27:13, which isn't far off from what I was doing last year when I first started back. Now she just needs to catch up on some trail miles after she's done with her target race, Cooper River Bridge 10k, next Saturday. (I have a feeling she'll run it faster than she thinks she can.) It's not just the pace that makes her a good partner there are other reasons. One reason is that we ran together an hour, then add the walking time too, and we never once talked mom talk. Not that I don't want to talk about my kid but it is nice to not have to rely on that to make conversation. The best reason we'll make great partners though is that she's a running gear whore just like me! Nothing like having an enabler in your life!

On the barefoot front, I'm up to a whopping 0.6 miles barefoot. I'm doing my barefoot runs either on my normal days off or at the end of my shorter runs. I've also decided to eventually go full minimalist & barefoot running once I've done the 15k in May. I've ordered a pair of trail racing flats as my first minimalist shoe (Brian, they were on sale, only $50). I want some Vibram Five Finger shoes but I'm holding out on getting some until they come out with the Bikilas. http://birthdayshoes.com/five-fingers-bikila-information-resources-2010 After deciding to jump into the world of barefoot and minimalist running I also decided to purge my my closet of any shoes that are not comfy on my tootsies. The purge reduced my shoe count by half. Honestly most of them I rarely wore because they were not comfy. Now when I shop for shoes I will be looking for wider and more flexible shoes with little to no heel rise to give me more of a barefoot feel.

That's all for now. Hopefully next Saturday I'll have an awesome 5k race report to post. Until then, happy running everyone!