Running is a series of new beginnings.

I have a confession to make: for the 6 years leading up to 2014, I was pretty much cheating at trail running.

Don't get me wrong, I was not doping or otherwise cheating in the usual sense. Rather, I feel now like I was cheating. Living in Boulder and running on the type of trails that are so prevalent there, I could get away with running without any sort of overall training plan. I could, and did, get away without doing any outside strength training. The mere fact that I was running trails like Flagstaff, Green, and Sanitas each and every day that my legs (specifically my stabalizer muscles) and core naturally got an excellent workout whenever I went out for my daily run. Thus, when I encountered gnarly trails in my races, I was ready for them by default.

Add to that my consistent altitude training on the weekends, and you can see why I now feel like I was cheating.

Moving to Minnesota, the rugged, mountainous trails that were my default in Colorado simply do not exist outside of the northeaster corner of the state (somewhere I want go more often, never mind that I've been up there every three weeks this summer). This means that, when I raced a 50k on the aforementioned rugged, mountainous (not to mention muddy) trails, my legs lacked the requisite stability and strength to truly race the course without suffering the consequences. I had, in a sense, become lazy by running some of the most difficult trails in Boulder day in and day out.

And so here I am. After the Spring Superior 50k, as I reported before, I suffered, for the first time, from ITBS, dreaded by runners everywhere. About the same time, I picked up Eric Orton's book "The Cool Impossible." I almost left it on the shelf at Barnes and Noble, thinking that the last thing I needed was another running book.

Fortunately, I took it down, bought it, and, eventually read it cover to cover. Eric takes a different approach than many in his writing, presenting the book more like a conversation than a lecture. He takes you on a virtual trip to Jackson Hole, running a virtual, week-long running session. I appreciate this method. I found it encouraged me to think more about what he was saying than I otherwise might have.

Having met Eric once in Boulder (the same day I met Chris McDougall and reacquainted myself with "Coach" Jurek), I knew he had some valuable insights. I also knew that he struck me as a person I might accept as a coach, which is a great deal more rare than you might think. With that in mind, I gave his words a little more weight than I might have otherwise, and the more I read, the more I thought he was on to something.

Orton takes what I would call a systems approach to running: everything has to work together in order for a person to run injury-free (first and foremost) and quickly (less important). While taking a serious approach over all, he constantly reminds you that running should also be fun.

After reading the book, I decided, for the first time, to adopt a training program. I got away without one in Boulder, by virtue of living in a trail running paradise. Now, living in Minnesota, I can't do that any more, and I have decided to follow the most comprehensive yet individualized plan I have ever endeavoured to follow..

As a part of that, I had to buy some equipment. The most expensive is a GPS unit with a heart rate monitor. I chose a Suunto Ambit 2 R. Had I waited a few weeks, I could have gotten the Ambit 2 for the same price, but that's life sometimes. I also bought a fitness ball, a "slant board" (a small slanted board, raised in the middle so it wobbles), and a stability disk (about 5" in diameter with a hemisphere attached to the bottom).

A big part of Orton's training plan is strength training. Particularly dynamic stability strength training, which is where the slant board, stability disk, and fitness ball come in. I do strength training 5 days per week (2 upper body and core, 2 lower body, 1 of both). It leaves my body exhausted when I'm done, and it seems to be working reasonably well. At this point, I have run the last 5 runs completely ITB pain-free. Some residual tightness remains, but the pain seems to be gone.

The personalization comes in the running portion of the training plan, which I have not started yet. I want to be completely recovered before I start the running portion. It's no small commitment: the running portion takes a good 5 months total. It's based on customized heart rate and speed zones, based on three tests Orton has you run at the beginning of training. As soon as I feel good enough, hopefully in another two weeks or so, I'll run those tests (quite literally), and begin the program.