cross training and spring break

I've been cross training a fair amount, trying to give my aching IT band a rest. I consulted a couple of running books (Bob Glover and Hal Higdon), both of which were fairly alarmist about cross training, even though they recommend it (they imply that you WILL lose your running fitness, even if you're doing other cardio stuff)-- but if you're trying to avoid/get rid of injury, what else can you do? In an ideal world I'd like to run three times during the week and then have a nice long ten miler on Saturday, but obviously right now that's not going to happen, so I'm just going to have to deal with it.

Last Saturday I did a little five miler with my running partner and the IT band was hurting after a few miles. This is disappointing, but I did run two half marathons, a full marathon, and a 12K since December, so it's probably time to give it a rest. I kind of like the elliptical trainer, and I discovered something odd-- the newer machines in our gym are easier to use than the old ones. On the old ones I huff and puff for twenty minutes and it barely says I've gone a mile, whereas with the newer ones I can do three miles in 25 minutes, no problem. Not quite sure why that's the case. It's still a challenging workout.

So, only one run since Saturday-- I did a little three-mile run on a treadmill yesterday and wasn't feeling any IT pain, although my hip was sort of sore afterward. While on the machine I got bored and wanted to play with the resistance and speed but I held back, kept it at 9:30 with one 8:57 minute mile in the middle thrown in, then tried to do a lot of stretching afterward, some weights, some ab work, etc. I unfortunately had to miss Power Abs with Carlos this week, which I'm hoping will become a regular part of my exercise schedule. Spring Break is coming up, starting tomorrow, and I'm off to visit friends in D.C. and family in South Carolina, hoping to get in a few gym visits and runs while I'm there. (Although the weather in the Northeast seems so dreary, I almost wish my DC friends could come down to Florida and we could go to Miami)...