New Year, Same Tired Legs

I was hoping this wouldn't happen, but I have entered the phase of my running year where my legs are feeling beaten up and tired. It seems to happen around mid-January every year. I feel that the dead legs seem to result in injuries: 2014 = IT Band Syndrome, 2013 = PCL strain, 2012 = Toe strains, etc... So, my New Year's resolution is to get back into a cross-training, or at least weight-training regimen with a focus on the supporting muscles. I am one of those people that can['t just jump whole-hog into a routine. I usually start off with one or two exercises and add one or two more per week, which allows me to gradually build up a program that works for me. I also tend to rotate through them, so as not to stagnate. Honestly, getting started is the hardest part. This week, I added some glute work, which should help with my IT band fears (I felt a twinge at about mile 7 of a 10-miler on Tuesday night).

I eventually want to find a gym or something to do some single leg presses and some light weight work. Unfortunately, the gym at my lab space just closed. They had a great subsidized rate of $13 per month. Now, I would have to go to the UMMC campus gym, which more than triples the price. Or, I could find something reasonable in the city. It's just having a gym in your office building is so easy... I have a nautilus in small room at my apartment building, but that thing is ill-fitting for me, and doesn't necessarily have everything I want. For now, I sticking with plyometric and body-weight resistance exercises. I might pick up some black fitness bands, too.