The captain has a lot of purple gear.

On Saturday, we had our first official Team in Training run of the season, and my first as a captain. My IT band was griping at me, so I cut my pace back and opted to do only 2 miles (the half marathoners’ distance) as opposed to the 4 I had planned to crank out as I prep for my 10K in Boston.

As it turns out, I ended up actually walking a lot of the distance as I chatted with and cheered on two Team in Training newbies. One was a never-runner and the other described herself as someone who had successfully completed two full marathons, “then celebrated by parking on the couch for a few years and gaining 60 pounds.” Both needed a little extra encouragement, and I took it upon myself to talk them through it. Hopefully it did the trick!

After the run, we went inside Clif Bar HQ for Marathon University (side note: cool place and I’d love to work there). Not only did all of the mentors, captains and coaches get a chance to talk to the group, but we also had a shoe-and-gear clinic followed by an excellent injury prevention clinic hosted by SOL Physical Therapy from Oakland.

As I sat there, still bothered by my fussy IT band, it was like the SOL duo was talking directly to me, pointing out every single one of my weaknesses. I have no doubt that my ITBS problems stem from the loss of glute strength during my winter downtime. I’m hoping that if I’m diligent with my foam roller, anti-inflammatories, acupuncture and massage, I should have this thing under control before Boston. (Fingers crossed.)

Have you ever mentored a new runner? How do you convince someone that they’ll be able to nail 13.1 miles in five months?

Tags: Clif, Fitness, injury, injury prevention, sol physical therapy, team in training, tnt, training

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