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.