I cannot lose.

From the 2nd mile and with the Plantar Fasciitis gone, I
started to feel good and the 3rd was the dawn of bliss. It's
not just that I ran fast (compared with myself, of course)
but that it's effortlessly fast. Yes. Running fast for free,
I felt cool, calm, and a fighting confidence--this was a new
feeling since I ever started running.

Several things I've tried so far seemed to work. The "fire
hydrant" drill seemed to improve my glutes muscles and
alleviate the ITBS. Consistent calf-stretching seemed to
help with the PF. The core muscles I worked on held the top
and bottom halves of the torso together (which helped
leaning forward as a whole, e.g.) and gave the similar
whipping sensation as I felt when swimming. High cadence and
pulling the heels toward hips made sense, not only
brain-wise but also muscle-wise. Am I reaching the
lollapalooza state (a la Charlie Munger) of my running?

The ITBS started to make itself felt at around mile 6 but it
didn't get worse. After stopping for a drink and a quick
30-sec stretch at mile 7, I pounded on with a big silly grin
on my face--I couldn't lose today as I made it to mile 7
(compared with mile 6.5 last week) with my injury. The
last couple of miles were not very tiring at all and, looking back,
I don't remember why I had to stop other than that I came near
the end of the loop and wanted my milage to be a round
number or just wanted to be lazy.

11 miles at 8:34/mile.