A New Beginning

It is time to say goodbye to 2009 once and for all. 2009 had many heartbreaks and hardships in it. That is not to say that I did not have some great victories. Through it all, I learned a lot of lessons. God has been faithful. I have had to patiently watch as He transformed me. I am not the same person I was when 2009 started. My family is not the same either. We endured hardship in job losses and in injuries. We endured biopsies and cancer scares. We fought hard against people who violated our trust. In the end we have come out victorious. 2009 is in the books and 2010 is well under way. I know that there will be challenges, but I also know that we can face them.

2010 started off with my 11 year old daughter running her first half marathon with a time of 2:46. We then took a trip to Disney where the family got to ride roller coasters in the sleet and I became a certified running coach. After that, my wife and her Remission Run committee put on one of the best 5k's I have ever been to. Finally, next week I start a new job back in the industry that I had been a part of for 19 years.

Life is good. It took patience to make it through 2009. So far 2010 was worth the wait.

End of an Era

So, it is time to start writing again. Just a quick update on my St. George Marathon. My good friend Mike and I traveled to St. George the first week of October. This was to be my “A” race for the season. It was also my last scheduled race for the season. I new going into this race that if I were going to hit my target, I was going to have to go into the race completely focused and give everything I had in me. I spent three days before the race decompressing and just relaxing in the beautiful city of St. George. The morning of the race, Mike and I arrived at the start line on top of the mountain sometime around 4:30 AM. We quickly settled around one of the many bonfires set up to keep the runners warm. Though we really hadn’t discussed it, the plan was for each of us to run our own race. We both had a target of 3:20, but since I had done a majority of my training alone, I wanted to do this alone. The race started at 6:45 AM. I quickly settled into my groove. This truly was one of the most amazing races I have ever run. The sun rise coming up over the mountains was perfect. Though the crowds were small, they were enthusiastic. The volunteers were the best I have seen. I stayed on pace feeling really great until about mile 24 or 25. It was there that the fatigue of running down hill for three hours was starting to get to me. I slowed my pace a little but was still on target to finish in under 3:20. Then at mile 25.7, I collapsed. My body would not cooperate with me any more. I could not stand up, I could not walk, all I could do was sit on the street. Medical volunteers rushed out to me. They were all very nice, but all wanted me to quit. I explained to them that I could see the finish line and was not about to quit. I sat on the ground for about three minutes and then asked them to help me up. They said the only way they would allow me to continue was if I could stand and walk on my own. I stood and then started taking steps. Soon I was moving towards the finish line again. My time, a personal best of 3:23. I did not make my target, but I left with a sense of accomplishment knowing that I had given everything in my body to the race and there was nothing left to give. Will I ever have a 3:20 marathon? I don’t know and that really is not important anymore. The more important thing is to enjoy my running and rediscover the true pleasure of giving everything I have and leaving it all on the course no matter what course it is.

Motivation

I have not posted anything since the Rochester Marathon. I had a decent race that I turned into a training run after mile 16. Starting at mile 12, I vomitted for two miles. Between miles 16 and 17, I cramped up probably from dehydration. I still finished the marathon in a respectable 3 hours and 53 minutes. Since that day, I have continued to train as I have another marathon on October 3. I have, however, lacked motivation. I feel good when I run, I just find it hard to push myself out the door. I also keep having a cramp in my left hamstring. It will hit at random times. I will push through all of this. I will reach my goal. I once had a coach tell my that pain is mostly mental. I agree. There are cases when pain represents an injury or something serious, however a lot of the time it is really mental. I have work to do on my mental game. I have to push through this block and push through the pain of this cramp. I will succeed.

"Tapered and Shaved"

Back when I was a competitive swimmer, I owned a t-shirt that had a logo that said “Tapered and Shaved” on it. I would only wear that t-shirt in the week leading up to whatever big meet I had prepared for all season, usually regionals or state. It was a sign that all the hard work had been done and now I was in a state of letting my body recover enough to perform at its peak in the meet. Well, here I am four days from the “big” race. If I had the t-shirt, I would be wearing it now. I have put in many forty and fifty mile weeks of running. I have run fast at track and slow on my long runs. I have mostly watched what I ate. I have had good runs and bad runs. It now all comes down to Sunday. I can not control the weather or the condition of the course. I can only control my attitude and how I respond to the conditions around me. All of the physical preparation is done. It is now all mental. Any workout I do now will have no benefit until a week or two after the race (although it could have a detrimental effect if I overdo it). I know I can hit my target, I also know it is going to be hard at times. I think this is what makes it all worthwhile though. Another saying I hear often is “anything worth having is worth fighting for”. I will be fighting against doubts and insecurities and mistakes of past races. I will also be fighting against fatigue. Mostly I believe that on Sunday I will be well prepared and I will be fighting for my target and winning. After all, I am “tapered and shaved.”

13 Days

13 days until the Rochester Marathon. According to all my training as a coach, I know that any training I do from now until race day will not benefit me until after the race. This means that I can not do anything now to improve my marathon, but I could hurt my marathon if I get injured. I am now in full taper mode. In the past when I entered taper made, I would usually get grumpy and become difficult to live with (Just ask Dana-Sue). This time around, I am actually looking forward to the extra rest. I know I trained hard and that I am prepared physically and mentally for this race. I am being extra careful not to injure myself. I am looking at what I eat as fuel and not food. I am starting to hydrate even more than normal. I have set lofty goals for this race and I do not want to fail. I know there will be pain involved in the race (it is a marathon after all), but I want it to be fun. I want to savor the fruits of my training. And whatever happens in the end, I will praise God for the opportunity given me to run this race. He deserves all of the glory.

Four Weeks and Counting

We are now less than four weeks from my “A” race. To be honest, I am starting to get a little nervous. I had a disastrous 18 mile run yesterday that had me “limping” in the last two miles. It was an extremely hot morning that had me losing over eight pounds of water weight on my run. This left me completely dehydrated for most of the day. There would be times that different parts of my body would just curl up in a cramp unexpectedly. By about 5:00 pm, I was mostly back to normal, just exhausted. I have a 20 miler this weekend and then I coast into the marathon. To be honest, I am looking forward to the rest. I think I may have over trained just a little as I pushed myself to get up on days that I was extremely tired. I also pushed some of the pace and mileage limits a bit the last three weeks. I have run close to 50 miles a week for the last few weeks. For the next four weeks, I will be getting more sleep and watching even more closely the fuel I put into my body. Yes, this means no Goose’s Acre for the next four weeks, but it will be well worth it when I reach my goal. And believe me there will be beer and “chips and salsa” after I accomplish my goal.

This weeks training has me resting today and Saturday. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, I do six miles each morning. On Wednesday, I have track (800’s with a short recovery). It is going to be a great week.

Rochester Marathon

Exactly one month from today, I will be running in the Rochester Marathon. This has been my planned "A" race for the last six months. All of my training and preparations have been for this race. I have one tough week of training left, and then I start a three week taper period. I am prepared physically for this race. I am mostly prepared mentally. It is the emotional side that I am still preparing. The last "A" race I prepared for was Ironman Arizona in April 2008. As I recall, I was not fully prepared emotionally until the morning of the race. It was then that I peaked in all three areas. I am really looking forward to September 13 when everything finally comes together. This is going to be fun.