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.

Frailty of Life

This is sort of a deep post. Last week at Goose’s Acre, as five of us sat around the table enjoying a cold beer after a hard track workout, the topic of staring death in the face came up briefly. The topic was aimed at me and Micah, the other lymphoma survivor sitting at the table. It was brought up by my coach, who had a very bad wreck almost three years ago that totaled his truck. I guess it was meant to let us reflect on how we look at life now that we have seen death face to face. I have not ever discussed this with Micah, but I remember as I heard my cancer diagnosis, I immediately went to the idea that I would not survive. I looked at cancer as a death sentence. Over the next six months, there were moments when I knew I would survive and there were moments when I knew I was just weeks from death. The hard fact is that we all die, it is just a matter of when. Do I look at life differently? Some days I do. I have a great desire to help others with cancer. I believe my survival has given me a special opportunity to help others who may be facing the same thing I faced. Life is precious and fragile. After Coach Bill’s car wreck, he said you never know what is going to happen. He is so right.

This weekend Dana-Sue and I were have lunch with a friend of ours when we received a text message. There had been an accident in Florida and two of the swimmers on The Woodlands Hurricanes swim team had been killed along with their grandmother. In an instant, these parents had lost two sons and a mother. Their lives have changed forever. Life is so frail and my prayers go out for them. You never know what is going to happen.

I write this to remind each of us that each day is a gift and we are never guaranteed another day. I close with a poem written by the late Jonathon Blais:

Live…more than your neighbors. Unleash yourself upon the world and go places. Go now. Giggle…no…laugh…no… Stay out past dark and bark at the moon like the wild dog that you are. Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it…your life. FACE YOUR FEARS AND LIVE YOUR DREAMS. Take it all in. Yes, every chance you get…come close. And, by all means, whatever you do…get it on film. Jonathan Blais, aka ALS Warrior Poet, August 30, 1971 - May 27, 2007

Tuesday Night Track

Tuesday Night Track was great. I did a two mile warm-up followed by three miles at race pace, then a one mile cool down. Everything flowed perfectly last night. For the first time in weeks, I got my stride and actually felt the run flow. My mile times were 7:02, 7:01, and 7:00. They were supposed to be between 7:15 and 7:30; however I ran as I felt and I felt good. Another factor in the fast pace was the triathletes that were doing repeats at a faster pace than me. I would start out at the prescribed pace, but when they passed me, I would get caught in their draft and end up speeding up. I left track satisfied though as I felt much better in the run than I was expecting to. It was almost too easy.

Tonight I get to help coach my TNT group. I look forward to it.

Long Awaited Update

It has been a few weeks since I last posted. That does not mean that nothing is happening in my life. It just means I have been real busy. In the last month, I have been to Dallas to see my father, I have been to San Antonio to watch my son swim in the TAAF State Swim Meet, and I have continued training for the Rochester Marathon on September 13.

My visit with my dad went very well. There were some things that had to be said between us. Even though the circumstances were not conducive for a personal conversation, those things were said. I saw a side of my dad that I have never seen. It made me very happy to see this side of him. It looks like there is healing happening in our relationship.

My son did very well at the state swim meet. He placed 6^th in the 25 yard butterfly and the 25 yard breaststroke. He placed 8^th in the 25 yard freestyle. He took time off of all of his strokes and we are very proud of him. Both of my kids are already starting to think about the winter state swim meet. We will start practicing for that in a week or two.

My daughter continues to do well in swimming and running. This past weekend she placed first in a kid’s 5k, while Dylan came in a close second. Morgan looked very strong as she ran hard and looked very good the whole way. This year has been a year of transition. I am looking forward to next year when we start looking at doing triathlons again.

As for me, training in the Houston heat and humidity for a September marathon continues to be a challenge. My two favorite training sessions of the week are track night and my long runs. I love track night because I actually get to see some of the results of the training I am doing. Tonight I am doing a six mile goal pace run on the track. I will start off with a two mile warm-up, and then go directly into three miles at a 7:15 – 7:30 pace, then a one mile cool down. The challenge will be the temperature (92 degrees) and humidity (50 %) at 6:45 tonight. It is supposed to feel like 100 degrees right in the middle of my workout.

My long runs give my mind a chance to wander. I consider these my cleansing runs. I spend a lot of the time praying and purging the previous week. These two and three hour runs allow for me some time to just clear my mind and prepare for the week ahead. To many people a 16 – 20 mile run does not sound enjoyable; to me it is one of the most enjoyable parts of my training program. This week I have a 16 mile run scheduled. The first 10 miles are to be at an 8:20 – 8:50 pace. I then pick the pace up to 7:15 – 7:30 for four miles. The final two miles are “relax and run how you feel”. After last weekends run, I am really looking forward to this run.

One final thing, I have met some truly amazing people this year through the different races that I have participated in and through the different track workouts I have done. Each one of them has contributed to making me a better person and a better runner. I really appreciate all of the help and encouragement each of them has given me at Tuesday and Wednesday night track. You guys know who you are and I look forward to seeing you again this week.