Running Makes me Happy - Lessons from 8 months of running

I missed my 7th of running month rant, so I will try to make up for it with this - my Lessons on 8 months of Running.

1. Yes, you can do too much too fast.
You read about it in books, magazines, and websites, but until you do it - and get injured, you won't really understand. Some "experts" say follow the 10% rule - don't increase your mileage more than 10% a week. I think it should be rephrased to "don't increase any one run by more than 10% a week.". I generally followed this method during my half marathon training, but I found that once I reached 8 miles, adding a mile a week to my long runs was too much.

2. IT Band Injuries STINK!
Continuing with overuse injuries, if you do too much, too fast - you will get hurt. For me, it's ITS - Iliotibial Band Syndrome. My IT bands are too tight and they rub on my femer making my knees feel like there are ice picks stabbing the outside of them! FUN! My first mistake was doing too much, too fast. My bigger mistake was not stretching enough. I did stretch, for like 5 minutes after my run, but with tight IT bands you need 20-30 minutes. H
ere is everything I've learned about IT band injuries:
- You must stretch. If you start feeling tightness on the side of your legs or your knees, buy a foam roller or a stick! - check out this article
- Check your shoes. Worn out shoes will aggravate ITS.
- Strengthen your hips and quads - I have uneven strength in my quads, so I have to work on my legs individually.

3. Running Makes me Happy
I have been a bear lately - a real bah humbug! I've been grouchy, grumpy, and generally not fun to be with!
After my run tonight (my first in 10 days,) I feel like a kid again! That's it, running makes you feel like a kid. It might be the "runners high" that they describe, but what ever it's called - it makes me HAPPY!