The Gentle Art of dealing with tight spots, cross training & staying focused!

It's been almost 2 months since I moved from Denver...

Since then, I've tried to continue my regular training schedule and I was feeling pretty good about it until 2 weeks ago.  My IT Band has decided not to cooperate with me, and well, if the IT band is unhappy, the rest of my body suffers... well, actually is more like, if my low back is tight, my SI Joint, hammies and IT band will not be happy.  So here I am, in a new town without my trifecta of wellness (My yoga teachers, my acupuncturist and my massage therapist), all people who knew exactly what was going on with me, and would always help me through the hump and allowing me to train and "conquer" (AKA PR in every race).
Now, without my coaches near by, and having to drastically change my training schedule after 3 years, I'm feeling cranky, I'm not going to lie... I like to follow a pattern, and have my routine, and once disrupted, well... I'm not a happy camper!
So now this... 2 weekends in a row without a long run, and only 1 run during the week up to 3 miles to check the IT Band.  It sucks! why? because I was up to 17 miles on my long runs, and because without long runs, my mood swings get a bit out of control.
What to do??
I decided to start swimming again, to cross train and keep the legs moving.  Humbling experience, because after 80 laps and 75 min of solid swimming I'm only at .95 of a mile...crazy hah? it puts everything into perspective.  I like it a lot, it's a different kind of meditative state, there's no music, no looking around checking the scenery; it really is just you, your breath, and that coordination of arms and legs to keep propelling you forward... and of course, your thoughts! and we all know what happens when the mind wonders...So I'm working on focusing on the goal, completing the SF Marathon without injury, and finish it with a better time than last year!

After taking a full week break that included a deep tissue (that killed me) massage, lots of icing and heat/cold therapy and foamrolling, fast forward to today:
I ran for 3 miles, and it was a slow one, but purposely slow to check things out... the run was ok, but I could feel the tightness creeping in after 2 miles...not good! Must foamroll even more, and keep icing and hitting the pool even more often to strengthen everything.  That's the plan for now.
we'll see what happens!
Ojai to Ocean half marathon is in 12 days and SF Marathon is 68 days away!

Looking at the big picture, I must rest, recover and heal to keep doing this... I know it!!! I just hope I can finish my next race strong!

it's been a while, and no longer at altitude

It's been a long while since my last post.
Somehow I find it easier to type 140 characters or a small paragraph on facebook that actually sit and write for a while.
I'm no longer in Colorado, and it's been over a month since my move to California.
It's been a weird transition and I didn't think it would be as hard as it is now.  I miss my friends, those who became my family, and my routines.  For someone who has been adverse to change for a long time, I have self imposed many changes in my life, and somedays it feels like a whole lot.

I'm still training (when people ask for what, I tell them I train for life!), I feel it is best to stay fit all year round so I can register to any race I want and feel ready for it.  At least that's the plan!
Of course, my baby is the The San Francisco Marathon, my 3rd year traveling to that gorgeous city (still my favorite) and run through all those beautiful places!  That race is July 29th, so I have some time in between to do other fun things.. =)

In 17 days I get to run the Ojai to Ocean Half Marathon, and I'm both excited/worried about this race, because of it's slight downhill slope, supposed to make the race fast... I'm one of those weirdos that actually like hills, and I feel like I thrive in them; there's something about conquering something that looks and feels hard to do and yet, you manage... a sort of metaphor for life if you will!

There's so many races in California, and I wish I could do them all.. but first, I must get my business venture up and running!
I will very soon be sharing my yoga teachings to the world (and Ojai and Ventura), and once I get my website running, with some excellent yoga, ayurvedic, and running content, I will be very happy to share it with this cyberspace.

In the meantime, I will continue to swim (started swimming again and boy, am I sore!) practice yoga and run =)

Salud y Buena Vibra!
(Cheers & good vibes to all!)