Marathon training in the austral winter in the high mountains of Chile turned out to be just as difficult as I expected, but with some creativity, and with the resources of the U.S. Ski Team at my disposal, I managed some measure of success. The stationary bikes were a godsend, allowing me to do some easy spins in the mornings after breakfast, while the athletes were stretching out for their day of skiing. The afternoons were usually warm enough for a run to La Parva, a neighboring resort—about a 6-mile adventure involving several steep switchbacks on a road that’s so narrow it is typically only open for travel in one direction at a time. Being accessible to evaluate some of the athletes in the afternoons forced me to skip the run a few times, but even the week spent at altitude was of some physiologic benefit. To further nurse along my healing IT band, I made judicious use of some of the sports therapy equipment brought along by the team’s athletic trainer: foam rollers, light therapy, ultrasound, and “the stick.”

Now that I’m back home, however, it hasn’t been much easier to stay focused on my training. There were several days of unpacking, reorganizing, building storage shelves in the garage, and then my first few days at OFC, and the many difficulties of learning a new system. But I’ve managed to continue with a progressive return to more running, starting mostly at this point with treadmill work. I’m still cycling on the road, doing 20 or 30 mile rides with moderate hills, and transitioning over to days on the treadmill, still going only about 4-5 miles at an easy pace, with minimal incline. Everything is followed by icing and stretching, and I plan this week to start pounding the pavement, with some flat runs, to try and teach my body to once again deal with the impact of longer distances.