The End to The Beginning

Day 25 and Full Circle...

2010-09-29T10:13:00.003-04:00

Log: Alarm was not set correctly this morning. Woke at 5:30AM, missed the swim. Got up and ran a tempo run for 30 minutes increasing to a 1 mile 10K pace. Not pretty. Stretched and iced.

Full circle. 365 days since the beginning of the end.

I started this journey on September 29th, 2009 with the intent of fulfilling my own personal objective of documenting as much as my life that I was willing to share in cyberspace.

My adventure began after a disappointing race at the 70.3 Augusta Half Ironman last year. Since this time another Augusta Half Ironman has taken placed and a number of friends and athletes I know have completed this course in personal best. Throughout this year, I have witnessed a number of athletes triumph in personal accomplishments.

On September 30th, 2009, I promised myself after a few years of training for Ironman and Marathon’s that it was going to be Sarah’s turn to shine. Well, she did. Not only did she meet her goal on the Rocket City Marathon in December, but she qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2011! This was a major achievement with her and I am proud of my wife for her accomplishment.

Over the last year, it did not end for Sarah. She went on 5 month later to qualify for the National Championships in the long distance triathlon. This is a half ironman, which we are technically not supposed to say since it is a trademark infringement. Though this did not pan out for Sarah, I am proud of her and her ability to tackle a challenge head on.

The last 365 days have proven to be good for many people I know. Bob and Jay made it to Boston. My sister, Tracey is also Boston bound on her first full marathon. I have seen Carmen and her husband Sami hit the podium on almost every triathlon they participated in over the last year. I have seen Stacy continually become stronger as an athlete, while Amy gets better and better as time goes on. Seth, Brian and Chris have become stronger triathletes in the Half to Full Ironman category with Chris approaching his first IM in less than two months. Calvin pushes out the miles in his ultra marathon attempt the same weekend as Chicago. Courtney has also become a “ultra” runner hitting the trails day after day in her goal to accomplish a 31 mile trail run in November with her training partner Sue. Wren has a specific goal in mind, which takes place in 11 days. That is all I am saying about her. No bad karma. Jeff will be with us in Chicago on his first marathon even though he has accomplished six Ironman’s. Hokan knocked out his sixth Ironman at Lake Placid this summer as Michelle, the 24 year old, who has more dedication that most people I know is on her final journey heading for Ironman Florida. I know there are ones I am missing, but they know who they are and even if I have not written about our accomplishment, I blame old age for forgetting. Susan, Randy, Rebecca, Tatyana, Steven, Darin, Frank, Melissa, Chris H, etc… Finally yet importantly, because I would never leave her out is Ann Marie. Over the last year, our friendship has grown as strong as her athletic abilities. She qualified for Boston along with Sarah, Jay, Bob and Tracey. Ann Marie has been a constant push for me as an athlete as well. She strives for the best and only the best, no exceptions. Her ability to generate the amount of energy she has for the sport of triathlons and for life is amazing. We have become good friends while I have gotten to know her husband, Dan and son Kyler. Ann Marie, has befriended my family as well by training with Sarah on rides along with our families having “pizza night’s” on occasion when our busy lives can take a break. Her friendship to me and to my family is a gift I am thankful for.

Without the support of family, new friends and old along with the constant support of my strong and determined wife, Sarah the past year would have been a long one. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for this year. My family is healthy, we are doing fine in this economic marsh pit, but to at all of “what we do” as athletes along, it would have been a long and deserted road.
My only regret over the last year was what I stated in my first entry on September 29th, 2009. To hit a sub 3 hour marathon. For me it has not been the age thing. 44 is not old in my book. The drawbacks have been injuries. Not injuries that have sidelined me, but things that have slowed me down. As I write these chronic pains emanate throughout. I have been able to adapt and conquer with hitting the podium, setting personal records and pushing my body faster and further every day.

I am thankful for everything. If you are reading this and know me personally, I thank you. Each one of you has touched my life and will continue to be a part of it for the long haul. If you know me, I am not a “flash in the pan”, friend to all kind of person. If you know me, then you will always know me.

This ends the journey at the beginning. I have more adventures that are ahead of me. The Chicago Marathon is only a few days from now. This will be a physical challenge with what has transpired in the last couple of weeks. I must adjust my goals and look forward to April. April brings the Boston Marathon and to see Sarah and my friends who have not experienced this event before will be an honor for me to participate in with them.

After April will bring many more new adventures and I hope to cross many more paths with all of you have spent the last year reading parts of my life.

Signing off…"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

Day 24

2010-09-28T11:13:00.001-04:00

Log: Taper week allows for flexibility in training. After the 13 miles yesterday the body needed rest. I slept in. I will use some of the flexibility in the schedule to be more flexible. Stretching at lunch.

Day 23

2010-09-27T15:40:00.002-04:00

Log: 13 long days and counting. I would not be telling the truth if I said I am ready. Mind and body is beat up. There are days I have thought of bagging the marathon and taking sometime off. 1 marathon a year is enough for me. I have had good races, but these final weeks have been painful and long. I put myself through more pain today. With the weekend full of activities and responsibilities in recruiting runners for the "World's Hoppiest 5K Road Race" the running has suffered. I decided to run at lunch today afte some much needed sleep. Everyday is a struggle in motivation to get out of bed. I ran 13 miles on of all things the treadmill. I did not have the time to plot a course and run. I wanted to beat my mind up a little for the 26.2 miles of pain that I am about to endure. The 13 miles on the treadmill were excruciating and laborious. Every step the pain manifested and radiated through out my mind and body, but I pushed on. Finished the 13 miles in 1:35:00, 45 seconds too slow from race pace. Granted the first mile was at a 8:15...

Day 18

2010-09-24T11:01:00.001-04:00

Log: A number of friends are on the road currently heading to either Huntsville, AL for the Olympic distance triathlon National Championships or Augusta, GA for the Half Ironman 70.3 Event. I wish all athletes the best in their endeavors to be their best.

Day 17

2010-09-23T09:18:00.002-04:00

Log: I have heard from a number of people that I sound tired and sluggish. I must admit that motivation is lacking these days. I go to bed early and just get through the day. I woke this morning at 4:30AM and went to swim. I guess the Group Swim at Johns Creek has disbanded. Second week in a row I have swam solo outside. During the last 10 minutes a two swimmers got in the outdoor pool as I was cooling down. Meeting after work to discuss the World's Hoppiest 5K Road Race. Need to go over budget numbers and make sure things are not falling through the cracks.

Day 16

2010-09-22T08:15:00.001-04:00

Log: Slept in. No reason, just felt tired this morning. Will get out at lunch to complete workouts.

Day 15

2010-09-21T09:18:00.001-04:00

Log: Taper weeks are ahead of me. Swam this morning at 5AM. 2700M in the outdoor pool, solo. No Master's Swim which I thought was odd. Had to improvise since there wasn't a swim workout. Did 15 minutes on the Elliptical and stretched for 30 minutes after that.

Day 14

2010-09-20T11:01:00.002-04:00

Log: Massage this morning at 7:30AM. I went to the gym prior, spun on the bike and stretched. Hip flexors are tight. I have been stretching them everyday for the last 30 days but still can't work out the tightness. Today offically starts taper for Chicago. I have to admit that I am loosing my desire to run this marathon at this point. Though I ran in the half marathon yesterday and was at ease with race conditions, the Chicago Marathon seems like it has been looming for a long time and now that I am in the final weeks, I can't wait to get it over with.

Day 13

2010-09-19T14:05:00.002-04:00

Runners log: Saturday was spent in the pool for 2500M. Helped the girls with projects for school. Went to dinner and movie last night with Sarah. Ran in Half Marathon as part of the training Sunday morning. The top 20 runners (including me) took a wrong turn. The race ended up being 13.35 miles. Patriots are on at 4PM. Planning the rest of the day around this game.

Day 11

2010-09-17T09:36:00.001-04:00

Runner's Log: Rest Day. Heavy mileage over the next couple days then I go into taper. The 5K Event is coming along. The website is up with a few minor tweaks that need to be adjusted, but Lou is on it. He has done a great job in the design and Bob has been the workhorse around this whole event. The website: www.worldshoppiest5k.com

Day 10

2010-09-16T14:28:00.001-04:00

Runner's Log: Swam this morning. Light workout. 2200 meters. Rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes and stretched. Lunchtime was spent on upper strength conditioning. Had to purchase lunch today. We have been eating all the food in the fridge to purge it.

Day 9

2010-09-15T14:26:00.001-04:00

Runner's Log: Needed extra sleep. Woke at 6AM, hung out with Ellie. Strength conditioning at lunch. Worked on The World's Hoppiest 5K Road Race. Lou got the link set up: http://site.worldshoppiest5k.com/

Day 8

2010-09-14T08:42:00.003-04:00

Runner's log: Tuesday was a swim day. I headed over to John Creek for a 5AM swim. The outside pool was very cold. I noticed a hose in the water along with the level tipping over into the splash gutter. Decided to swim inside. First inside swim since May. Swam 1 hour, then stretched upstairs. This afternoon will be upper strength conditoning along with more stretching.

Day 7 and the start of Week 4

2010-09-13T13:27:00.002-04:00

Runner's Log: Slept in this morning until 6AM. Sleep has been a good way for me to rejuvenate the muscles. Constant perpetual motion of getting up early and going until it is time for bed is wearing on the body. Strength training and stretching at lunch. Saw Michelle on the treadmill and talked to her for a few minutes. She is looking strong and confident. Saw Jay also. He ran the tempo run on the Alpha-GW. This is the time to maintain and not too go crazy with speed. Too many fellow runners have bowed out of Chicago to injuries. Narrow focus on my surroundings while I run is key to getting me over the hump the next 4 weeks.

Day 5 & 6

2010-09-12T07:54:00.002-04:00

Runner' Log: The weekend. Saturday was a to be a 10 mile tempo run at marathon pace. I had decided to run the Atlanta Track Club Singleton 10 Mile Race. The road race was in Tucker. I got there about 6:45AM. Signed in and paid the normal fee of $10.00. Runners started to gather after 7AM for the 7:30AM start. The race was a 5 mile and a 10 mile race.

My goal for this 10 mile training run was to hit marathon race pace.

I did a mile warm-up 10 minutes before the race. Grabbed a drink of water hit the start line and we were off.

The race was very technical with a lot of rollers and turns. There was limited water out on the course so I had to make sure I drank as much as I could at each water stop.

I ended the race 2 minutes ahead of plan. I actually was not feeling the run during the race. Felt sluggish, GI issues and some leg pain.

At the finish I grabbed a bagel and some water. They had just finished up the awards for the 5 mile race. Decided to hang around for the awards. While I was waiting the race director asked that "Corral Petty" come to the awards table. After a few minutes, I decided to go up. I said to the race director that my name gets butchered a lot and asked her is she looking for me. I gave my name and she said, "oh. You are not a woman!" I said, no. She advised me I was the Women's Master Winner. I told her she would not mind, but I am not going to accept that award. She laughed. They changed the standings and put me back in the Male category.

In the end, I was the Male Age Group Winner for the 10 mile race. I accepted the award, a beer mug and headed home.

Runners Log-Sunday: Rest Day.

Day 5

2010-09-10T08:39:00.003-04:00

Runner's Log: Non-running day today. Trouble getting out of bed this morning. Very tired. Starting at 4:45AM I keep looking at the clock every couple of minutes as I faded in and out. By 5:18AM, it was futile that I was going to get anymore sleep. Got up and headed for the gym.

Swam a mere 2,400 meters. Only one in the pool from the start to the finish. This makes even a short workout in the water long. Stretched the foot out in the hot tub and headed to work.

Picking up a pair of running shorts this weekend that I will use for the next month and then on race day. Looking at a new pair of running shoes as well. Decided to go for last year's model of Nimbus again. The Nimbus 12's are not rated well. Have had my eye on the Brooks Ghost 3, but the price is a little steep.

Running the Singleton 10 mile event put on by the Atlanta Track Club in the morning. Race simulation and a good way to test my patience for maintaining the recommended pace on this training run.

Day 4

2010-09-09T08:26:00.003-04:00

Runner's log. The last month going into an endurance race I find to be the most challenging. You are starting to peak which means you feel really good and you also feel really bad. Your energy levels fluctuate from highs and lows at any given time. Any endurance athlete can attest to these challenges during training.

Over the next couple weeks I will be logging my training.

Thursday morning: Was feeling very tired upon arriving home last night. Struggled to stay awake through dinner. I was in bed by 8:30PM and lights out by 9pm.

I woke at 5AM. Felt 100% better than 8 hours prior. Got ready to run track and headed over to the gym.

I was the only runner on the track at 6:10AM. The humidity has returned and the football stadium was solemnly quiet in the dark morning.

Workout was 3 X 1600M. Legs were still stiff from Monday and I knew the pace was going to be off. Felt that it is better to run off pace then not to run at all. I was 9-10 seconds off pace for each 1600M. Even with the legs tight and tired, aerobically I felt good.

Headed back to the gym to stretch. Will continue to focus on stretching as I have seen a few friends become injured over the last couple weeks. Lunchtime will consist on stretching and core.

Week 5

2010-09-08T10:09:00.002-04:00

The start of this training week I pushed the envelop, just a tad. I had won an entry to the U.S. 10K Classic for September 6th. I had decided to run this race to make up for my poor showing on the course last year. Not to make excuses, but 3 days prior to the race, I gave blood. I had no idea that it would effect me a few days later like it did. So, this year I needed a little payback to myself.

The race was to start at 7:45AM for the runners/walkers. I arrived at the Cobb Galleria about 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to the race. At that point I felt good, so I decided to make this 10K race into my 15 mile training run.

I started a 3 mile pre-run 25 minutes prior to the start of the race. I ran out 13 minutes and back for a little less than 12. Arriving at the start line there was less than 1 minute to go before they began the race.

I jocked myself about a quarter the way in from the front. I did not want to be in the front because if I was the pace out would be fast.

I hung back a little in the pack, but noticed a huge group of similar white shirts taking up most of the road holding hands. By the size of the participants I knew they were walkers, so I quickly got in front of them right as the gun went off.

My goal was to push a 7:10 pace out and then grab a drink and turnaround and head back in the opposite direction. 12.4 miles was the goal.

The first mile was fast at 6:44. I slowed the pace and had to continue to think about the return journey. Runners of all shapes and sizes passed me while I was cruising along at a 7+ pace. I kept thinking in my head, "how can this dude that is overweight be passing me"? But, I had to remember that he might only be training for this race, or he is a short distance runner. I had to think about this a lot as women, men and kids passed by. Now, don't get me wrong, I passed more runners than passed me, but it does mess with the brain, especially when you know you could take them any day of the week. Stick to the plan.

The hills on this course are brutal. They go, up, up, up, then a sharp steep drop down then right back up. The inclines are not short. Each one is 1/4 to 3/4 of a mile long upwards. I held pace on most of the hills except for the monster on mile 4. It is long and steep. I dropped pace a little to conserve energy. A few runners passed, but I said to myself that they are not running back to the start so let them go!

At about 4.5 miles into the race, a female runner in her late 20's came up on my left. We had just started a decline and she floated down the hill as I felt heavy and awkward.

Right after the decline the road rose upwards again. This time it was I that floated up while she labored. Back and forth this went, she took the downs and I took the ups. On the very brief flats I was a little faster but only by a step. I decided to dial in behind her to mimic her pace for the last mile.

The uphill I moved ahead. The downhill she took the lead. Once we passed the KFC Chicken on the right, I noticed her pace increase. With the finish (for her) in sight I increased my pace and took the uphill fast. A downhill followed as she was right on the left side of me. With around 600 meters to go, the track instincts took over and I bolted ahead. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another runner gaining ground on me from the right. I was at a sub 6 pace at this time and had to hold back as I let him go. When I hit the line I said, 6.2 more to go.

I grabbed a few drinks, downed one Gatorade, got my shirt and hat and headed back towards the finish. I secured all my prizes from the 6.2 mile race and headed back out on the course on the opposite side to complete my 15 mile run.

About a 1/4 mile from the finish I heard a familiar voice, Ann Marie was barreling down the hill behind all things a stroller. She said, "Hey Corey" as I waved and chuckled, thinking this is going to be a good story about the kid in the stroller.

Making my way back to the start, I was amazed at the amount of runners I saw running the race. As far as the eye could see up and down the hills were bodies in motion heading towards their final destination. I ended up seeing the last runner/walker at the 2 Mile marker heading out (Mile 4.2 for me) at about 1 hour and 20 minutes. All I could think of was that this is going to be a long day. 1.25 hours to travel 2 miles puts their race north of 3.75 hours for a 10K.

It made my trip back not so painful as I made my way over the very steep hills that were my downhills just an hour earlier.

I was glad that I am able to adjust my patterns in a moments notice when I decided to make this a 15 mile run. It also gave me the ability to fatigue the legs and grind through the last 6 miles just like in a marathon. The race doesn't start until mile 20 on a marathon and I felt that on Monday.

Taste of Fall

2010-09-01T08:10:00.002-04:00

The air was cool and crisp. The runners gathered in the lobby to make the weekly trek to the Oval. Small talk was heard as the feet of the runners glided along the concrete to the destination.

The crisp air was accompanied by the ever longer night skies. Silhouettes moved in between the lights on the sidewalk around the back end of the track field. Darkness engulfed the track and the runners reaching the gates to the Oval.

We all gathered at the start to drop our bottles, remove shirts and take the scouting run around the track. The darkness was so dominate that I thought runners were following me around for the 400 meters to clear the track, but no one was there.

Arriving back from once I came, the area was abandon. No runners. They had started the workouts.

I set my watch and headed out on the first session of a 1K, 2K, 1K, 1K workout.

During the sets I passed runners and the shorter distance workout runners passed me. Nearing the end of the session, the sky turned from midnight blue to an amber horizon as the sun started its daily routine of buring off the night.

In the end, the runners headed back to go our seperate ways in the life of a runner.

Week 6

2010-08-30T13:59:00.002-04:00

Another week of training has ended while another begins. Time continues to slip away from me in my writings. Work, family, friends, travel and training have all taken priority of my thoughts lately.

This is not a bad thing. The reason for the blog was to establish a place for me to put my thoughts down. Recently, my thoughts have not had to be placed in cyber space. I have been able to share them face-to-face with the people in my life and that by far is more important and interesting than this avenue.

Lately, I have been thinking about the way we communicate with other human beings. It seems "The Art" of conversation has changed over the last couple of years. First there was cell phones. I will skip the whole LAN telephone era since it was not a means for people to escape from face-to-face communications. But cell phones, email, communicators and even Facebook seem to have taken a form of society and placed in a microchip.

When our cell phones ring and we see it is someone we know, we can easily avoid them by not answering. This happens even on our house phones as well. I will call someone and get their voicemail. Then 1 minute later they are calling me back after they listen to the message. Now, I know they may have been busy but I see a pattern in a number of people. I find it rude that they do not want to talk with you until they listen to what you have to say first. For this reason I don't have call waiting and answer my cell phone when able.

As for emails and now Facebook. The further technology progresses it seems our social skills are digressing at the same or even faster rate. When we don't want to talk to someone, we text them. When we don't want to tell someone bad news or that we cannot meet them when we said we would we email them. This stream of communication has eliminated the confrontation of disappointment and repercussions or our actions. I am guilty of this as well, but I am making an effort to either call or tell some face-to-face either bad or dissappointing news.

Now we have Facebook. This vehicle of communication is leading us down a path of social destruction. We no longer have to talk to anyone! We can plaster anything and everything on a "Wall", "Having a cup of coffee", "Going to walk the dog", "I am now in a relationship". FB is also being used to be upset at someone, "Blank, stood me up for our date last night" or even to be mean at someone. (You get the point).

I understand Facebook is also used to celebrate accomplishments, birthday's, someone running 10 miles or biking 100 miles. I get it. But, why? Why do we need to know every little thing that goes on in every "Friends" life all the time? Where is the interest then? Where is the mystery in finding out about a person over a beer after work? The way we are heading, the social interaction of humanity is slowly being typed away on Facebook.

I imagine there are plenty of articles out there pushing Facebook and degrading Facebook. Personaly, I have decided to limit my exposure to Facebook. It maybe good for some and I will not talk down about their decisions to be apart of the Facebook society, but for me, it is not a vehicle I particularly would like to use anymore.

I see my daughters drifting towards this vehicle of communication and I do not want to see talking with another human face-to-face to be a lost art form.

With that, if you by chance receive a letter from me or even a birthday card in the mail, don't think that I have been castaway to some "internet void". I am making the time to put a personal touch on our relationship instead of telling 500,000 million Facebook users, "your status".

A Week's Past

2010-08-18T11:07:00.002-04:00

A week has flown by. I went on to write about the day so far and could not believe that the last entry was last Wednesday.

With work, training, kid's heading back to school, home projects there has been little to no time for a report.

To summarize the last 7 days:

Anniversary was last Friday. Sarah and I went to the Vortex in Five Points. It was a given. Friday the 13th, were else do you spend your anniversary. We pigged out on winds, fries, burgers and beers. It was an awesome time with my lovely wife. I felt no guilt eating this tye of food. Ran 18 mile that morning and lost 6 pounds on one run!
The weekend. Finishing up home projects and did grocery and the Wal-Mart run. Spent way too much cash on junk. Sarah and I took the girls on Sunday after the 42 mile LTF bike ride to Amicalola Falls. We hiked up all the way to the top. It was good to get out of the house.
Monday was a tempo run. 1 EZ, 4 @ 6:41's, 1 EZ.
Tuesday: Swam for an hour. I got a lot of crap from other swimmers. Near the end I was the only one in the lane. "Too Fast" they said. All I could think was, "Suck it up". I kept the trap shut and just swam. Ran 5+ miles with Hokan and Ann Marie after the hour swim. Ann Marie kept looking at her Garmin which told her the pace and she would say, "too fast!". After a couple of times I decided that every time Ann Marie looked at the Garmin and said, "too fast" I would increase the pace. I think I did that 6 times on that run. I was just messing with her, it was good to run with her and Hokan though there was a lot of huffing and puffing going on?
Wednesday: This brings me to today. Track again. 1 Mile, 2 Miles, 2 X 800M's. Jay, Ann Marie, Darin, Stacy, Amy, Shane & Rebbecca made it out this morning. We met Ken at the track. The mile and 2 mile were tough, but got through them. I trailed Ann Marie and Ken around for their last 1200 and one 400 on my 800 meters. I was glad they were over when they were. The humidity was intense!

Planning a trip for next week. I am running the 20 mile run on Saturday with Jay. I need to plot the course.

Wednesday

2010-08-11T09:06:00.005-04:00

A few days ago I wrote about friendship. My opinion has not changed as to what I wrote, it has just been more solidified. I am finding out that a few people in my life are moving deeper to the true friend status. People I know care for me as I do for them. I have also laid witness to people who have been malicious to others who call them their friends. Their words have been less than kind not only hurting another, but driving others, including myself away from them.

Life is too short to waste time on certain types of people. That is why I don't.

This morning was track. We had a good group of runners out there this morning. Amy (coming back from vacation and looking for some punishment), Ann Marie, Stacy, Bob, Darin, Phil and of course Mr. Speed, Ken. All I can say about Ken is, "when I grow up I want to run as fast as him".

The main group of these runners mesh well together. Every Wednesday we each have our own workout, but we respect the other runners on the track and rarely do we get into each others way. There is constant encouragement and of course friendly banter. When you get a bunch of hyped up middle age athletes on the track we need that extra, smack talking to motivate us.

It is all in fun.

With everyone doing "their thing" one thing I kept my sights on was Bob & my track workout. This morning brought, 2 X (6 X 400's) with an RI of 1:30. Bob's goal was 1:28 (which he never saw, fast, fast, fast...X 4) and I got to run 1:24's. Not to be a hypocrite in this case I was fast on 11 out of 12 400's.

Ann Marie has 8 X 400's and her and Phil settled in between Bob and I at each start. Ann Marie was easily hitting the mark and then some on her 400's. I kept taunting her that I was going to tell Ken (her tri-coach) that he needs to up her workouts. All I get is the "grin", meaning, "you keep your mouth shut". All in fun, all in fun.

During the workout the 400's felt controlled and even the whole time. Phil comment that we were fast. I chuckle at this because in running circles Bob and I hover in, we are by far not fast, but middle of the road. I said, thanks thinking in 5 years will someone say that too me?

At the end of the 400's with 1 to go, of course Bob and I had to light it up a little at the 200 meter mark, as Bob cruised in at 1:16 and I finished at 1:14. It may not sound fast to some, but for the 12th-400 for two 45 year old dudes, we'll take it.

On the way back Bob mentioned he wants to test himself to see it he can hit a 1:07 on a 400M. He did this 5 years ago and wants to attempt it again. Re-living his glory days. Before this training is over, we will go knock 1 and only 1, 400 meter out for time.

We all hit the upstairs stretching area, talked for a bit and went our separate ways. I have said this in the past, but Track with company even if you are not hitting your times is a whole heck of a lot nicer than running this workout in the middle of February in the sleet. Been there and will probably be there again.

Thanks runners for being there for me, even if you did not even know it. I enjoyed sprending time with you this morning.

Week 9

2010-08-09T13:14:00.002-04:00

I have been lax in writing about my training for the reason that it has been hum-drum. Nothing exciting, nothing interesting. A number of athletes are training for various races coming up and at this point is seems everyone is in their own "zone" to get through the last couple of months before the season is over.

I do have to report though that I believe I am breaking out of the funk. The workouts are getting easier and I feel as if I am getting stronger. Last week, I eased off the tempo run and ran at a lighter pace and then picked up another 5 miler the next day at a very easy pace. This seem to keep my muscles groomed for track as I hit every 800 at pace or a little better.

The momentum carried me into Friday's 13 mile run. I met Bob and Wren at the Big Creek Greenway. Though Wren was on a different run, I think she felt safe running at dawn with Bob in front of her and me trailing behind a couple minutes later.

I had given Bob a 3 minute head start on the 13 mile run on Friday. Since the paces were different I was to catch him about mile 10. Bob took off at 6:15AM, Wren about 20 seconds later. I waited until 6:18:30 then proceeded in the dark down the Greenway.

I caught Wren about Mile 3, but by this time the sun was over the horizon and we both felt comfortable she would be alright for the rest of the run.

About a half a mile later I saw Bob! I was not supposed to see him until the turn and catch him about mile 10, but I had realized from faults of my own that I was way ahead of pace. I dialed back as we hit the mile 4 marker. I looked back and saw Wren about a quarter mile behind. She was turning at mile 4 to head back. I waved, she waved and I knew that she would be fine heading back on the trail.

I forged ahead trying to slow the pace down to 7:41's but my breathing was labored, the legs were tired and I did not want to come up on Bob this early.

I kept him in my sights but did not pass. When he hit the 6.5 mile marker and the turn I was 20 seconds behind. I knew at the turn I planned on negative splitting this run. I increased pace and as I came up on Bob I told him his pace was fine. I advised him that I was the one that was off. I said, "maintain your goal" as I went by him.

The increase in pace actually leveled out my breathing and the legs just turned over with no fatigue. I kept clicking the miles off, drinking, taking gels and focusing on my form the whole way back.

At the last mile I increased the speed even more to finish strong. Bob was a few minutes behind me with the same thoughts as he motored to the end to complete the same 13.1 miles as I. We hit the tenth of mile at the end just for the sake to knock out a Half Marathon for training.

The pace for Bob was 7:43's while my pace ended the half marathon distance at 7:20's.

Both were too fast, but for both of us we needed it.

This brings us to Week 9. Monday is the tempo run. I decided to run this at lunch. The girls started school today and I wanted to be there for them to help make breakfast, make their lunches and see them off.

Another school year is upon us and I know this is going to be a good year. We sailed into the first day with positive attitudes. This is a goal of mine to continue to remain positive and supportive of my children in their endeavors over this next school year.

After they set off on their first day I headed to work. About 10AM I received an email from Bob about the tempo run. Both the Wonder Twins were running their runs at 11:30AM and asked if I wanted to join.

That is a slam dunk in my book. To run a fast, grueling, hot, pounding run to nowhere and suffer with others? I was in.

I met them at 11:30AM, we climbed aboard the mills and started into the run. 2 miles, easy. Easy would not be a word to describe the start of the run. The legs were tight, maybe from the ride yesterday or just sitting at my desk for 4 hours before. Whatever the case, they hurt.

When I neared the end of the 2 mile warm up I was to crank the mill up to 9.1 miles per hour or 6:35's for 3 miles. After the first mile I noticed the time and miles did not add up right. I did some quick calculating in my head and up the speed to 9.2 miles/hour. Again, at the end of the second tempo mile, it was still a little off (by a tenth of a mile), so I increased the speed one more time to 9.3 miles/hour or 6:21 pace. This evened out my time and distance as I huff and puffed while mumbling my "special word" to get me through the last portion of the run.

A few runners that came in behind the three of us as we cruised along at fast speeds during the run to see how fast we were going. I could see them out of the corner of my eye while this pushed me to finish with their curiosity.

In the end we all hit our individual goals for the training session.

61 days, 18 hours and 39 minutes to go.

Block

2010-08-05T15:47:00.002-04:00

It must be the heat. Over the last couple of weeks, I have not had one decent thought cross my mind to put into words. With work, projects, training and just stuff, I have been in a dead zone in creativity.

One thing recently has made me think. Relationships. We all in one way or another have some kind of bond or desire to be a part of something. When I speak of relationships, I don’t mean finding a soul mate or a spouse or even a significant other. When I think of relationships, family and friends come to mind.

The family relationship is quite simplistic. You cannot pick your blood relatives, so there is no reason to waste energy on thinking anything else. You deal with their ups and downs. You are part of that dichotomy and as the old saying goes, “you can pick your nose and you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family”. They are as much a part of you as you are a part of them. If you think otherwise, you’re kidding yourself.

Picking your friends though is one thing you can do. We all have different reasons for gravitating towards someone. Common interest, their energy they give off, how they make you feel, selfish motivation or even to make another jealous are just a few. These reasons are all over the place and there are hundreds more reasons, which only you know why you are friends with certain individuals who share this round ball we call Earth with.

The definition of “friend” is:

friend

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?
4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.
5. ( initial capital letter ) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Excluding Number 5 for most of us, I believe we can look at our circle and categorize each one of our friends into these definitions. I know throughout my life I have had people that fit into 1 through 4. There are people who that are in my life that have been in my life for quite some time fall into #1. There are people who have recently moved into this category and will stay there. There are people who have come and gone when I have supported a cause as they have and that relationship is based off the “act” than the affection for that such person. There are people who continually weave in and out of my life currently for years that are not my enemy and I wish them no harm, but my wife or another friend may have a relationship that fits into their #1 category but never mine. Moreover, the last one, we all should share a bound with is the people who share our ideologies, religious beliefs or political affiliation. That is why most politicians or preachers start their speeches with, “My Friends…”

Let’s talk about #1 & #2. I believe throughout our adolescents and adulthood these are the “friends” we come in contact most often. We have good times with them and we have bad times with them. We sometimes confuse the two definitions and try to pull one into the other. Which is a natural progression of life, to want friends, to want to be wanted and liked. Nevertheless, once one friend moves into another category we find out that they are not exactly the person who we knew.

The “friend” is not as friendly or in some cases too friendly or “needy” for our tastes. There are times when the friends that are in one category, #1, change or we realize after sometime that they are not the type of person we want in #1 or should never have been there. They belong more in #3. You find out that they are not a true friend. A friend who likes you, sticks up for you, doesn’t hurt you, is there for you and is not there for you when you need them most. Friends who don’t judge you, or continually break their word to you. They are not “hostile” towards you and you like them as a friend, but a true friend? It is hard to move them because in their mind you are their category 1 friend. There are even friends who are in category 3 who try to wedge themselves in between you and your category 1 friends. It may be because they want everyone to be happy or they do not. Category 1 friends have strong bounds and even “the Wedge” cannot split the connection you have or are developing.

A true friend does not “want” your friendship and does not take for granted your friendship. A true friend wants nothing from you, except for you to be you. That is why you are their friend.

As I age and become wiser with this age, I know a true friend when I see it. I do not believe you measure the amount of friends by your status number of friends on Facebook. I do not see the reason to have “tons of friends” in your #1 category. You don’t have tons of dogs or cats either, do you? Well..? If you think about it a person with tons of anything, cats for instance, what do you call them? Are having that many friends like having a hoard of cats any different? It seems like we gather “tons” of stuff in our lives if they are friends, pets, clothes, shoes, whatever, to what? Make us happy? If that is true then why do we only have one spouse? Why not tons of spouses? In this theory it would make us all happier, right?

I may be off and I am not trying to offend anyone, especially my friends. However, for me, having a few select individuals that I can continuously count on through the good times and more importantly the bad times is all I need. What is this number? There is not one, but when I cannot be there for my friend who needs me because I am stretched thin, then I have too many.

I enjoy the company of all people who fit into Webster definition of “friend”. This is how as a human we thrive and makes us better people. A better person breeds better people. When there are, better people in this World we live in then one of them may just become a friend who fits into category #1 in your life.

Going out for # 2. Run that is…

2010-07-30T12:38:00.001-04:00

Friday started for me on Wednesday morning. While I struggled on an 800 meter sprint around the track, my body and soul decided to bring me to a screeching haul. The workout was 2 X 1200’s and then 4 X 800’s. The 1200’s were on the mark, but on the first 800, the week had caught up with me and I pooped out. I had nothing in me. So, I stopped. I grabbed my bottle and shirt and advised Amy who was drinking between her intervals that I was done and I was heading back.

There are days you have it and there are days you don’t. Wednesday was a don’t day. The run on Saturday of 18, though it was completed took a lot out of me. I ran a tempo tread mill run with Ann Marie on Monday which was hard, but not a problem. Then Monday arriving at work until 6:15AM on Wednesday morning while I stood out on the track with no mojo in me, it was a whirlwind trip.

Work stress, home project stress, hard swim on Tuesday and though it was not stress, my parents came in for a visit. Just adding everything together put me in a funk.

It happens, the funk that is. You cannot control everything in your life, but manage it the best you can. My parents visit was nice. They are excited about their next journey in purchasing a new home. It was good to see the excitement on them about the area, the home and what they are going to do once they buy. Work, is work. You have good days and not so good days. This week, not so good, but next week is another week. The home project that I thought would take a week will not be finished in time for when the girls get home from Boston. Two weeks of stripping tiles, Wonder Board, paint and applying all new tiles, Wonder Board and paint. The tile design I wanted to match the Mud Room was discontinued. This meant searching for almost a week for new tile. Painting bathroom vanities sounds like a good and cheap job, but man, is it time consuming. Layer after layer of paint to insure curing is correct. Next time, I buy a new vanity. Tiling a small floor seems easy. I have tiled 5 rooms in our home so far, but this one is tough. A small space to work in which means only a few rows of tiles can be laid down and cured before you can start again. The room is uneven, so the calculations of the tile cutting has to be precise or the lines will slant. The tub is angled from back to front adding more calculations.
It will get done, but not as fast as I wanted.

Work, the home project and actually taking care of a full house even when no one is home is a full-time job as well. I drive home at lunch to let the dog out, eat lunch, drive back to work. At the end of the day, I am back home working on the project, cleaning, cooking and managing the house. With my family gone I can appreciate how much it takes to run a home. Not as I don’t do my fair share, but things run smoother with 4 than with 1.

Wednesday at 8:15AM, I made a conscious effort to start to prepare for Friday. Friday is the long run of 20 miles. I needed to wrap my head around this run so I would not have a dud of a run like the one I had out on the track.

The rest of Wednesday was dedicated to eating and drinking. I usually do right on these two accounts, but I focused more on it for Friday. Wednesday night, I was in bed by 9PM. I wanted to ride the Reality Ride on Wednesday night, but work prohibited for it. Right now, I can say, I am glad I was stuck at work.

Thursday brought on an easy 3 mile run and a half and hour of stretching. More fluids, I ate lightly every 2-3 hours and by the time dinner came, I was not starving. I ate dinner after working on the project for 2.5 hours and then headed up to bed. 8PM.

On a 20 mile run, you need to treat it as race day. You prepare for it 36-48 hours before with fluids and nutrition and set out all your gear the night before.

Friday at 3:50AM. I am standing in the kitchen eating a PBJ sandwich, sipping Gatorade and plotting what I need to do on this run. 4:15AM, out the door. I headed over to the McFarland Parking lot of the Big Creek Greenway to drop a gallon of Gatorade before heading to LTF. This gallon was at mile 11. With the humidity and heat even this early in the morning, the Gatorade at this point was needed.

I met Bob, Jay, Todd and Evan in the parking lot at 4:50AM. The goal was to run the 15 mile loop I had designed. Bob, Jay and Evan were running at 8:23’s and Todd and I at 8:11’s. The 3 8:23’s left 3 minutes before Todd and I with the perceived notion that we would meet up with them at the end. Then Bob and I would refuel after the 15 and finish up the 5 through the streets of Alpharetta.

Time is a constraint today, so the rest I will give the Cliff Notes to you:

Todd and I for some reason caught the Bob, Jay and Evan 2 miles into the run. Too fast. We eased off and let them stay ahead of us. The run was good. Todd and I kept a nice pace throughout the hills and flats. Bob was having my track day so he peeled off early. Jay and Evan motored on with Todd and I 20 clicks behind.

We hit the refueling station, filled up and needed to take off to keep the time. Ronald Regan was easy out and on the way back up hill was an ease again. This is where Todd and I moved ahead of Jay & Evan to hold our pace.

All the way back was trying to hit the marks in time. The mind plays games and for a couple miles I thought we were off pace even when the pace was faster? Figured out that the course on the way back was shorter. We hit the lot at 2:00:19 for a little less than 15 miles.

I refueled and took off at 2:00:48, 12 seconds ahead of plan. I cruised down Morris, no dogs in sight, onto North Point, then onto Windward. I heard a “cat call” and honking from a car merging onto 400 North. Ann Marie was giving me a little motivation, which helped. Thanks.
I cruised up Windward, left on HWY 9. Little tougher on that corner to hold pace, but I eased off and regrouped knowing that Henderson and Westside were places to make up time. I hit Henderson, took a gel and drank while I sped down the first portion. The rollers were no issues as my only thought at this point was to finish! Cumming street, then Westside straight down. When I hit Westside, the pain was there, the sweat was pouring, the heart was pounding and the breathing was erratic. Little more than 1 mile. I took off and made the turn onto Webb Bridge over 400 then onto Morris.

I had plotted that I needed to hit the fire hydrant on Morris right before the hill for 20. When I hit the hydrant the watch read 2:40:33 for the full 20 miles. I pushed a negative pace on the last 5 miles.

I was done. I cooled down by jogging up Morris to the entrance of LTF. I met Jay and Todd, talked to them for a minute and then saw Bob. I gave Bob some encouragement well knowing he is in a funk on the long runs like I am on the track. Bob can do this training and the long runs, he just needs to prepare.

Heading in I saw Evan. That run was the longest run he had ever done. Coming in on Todd and my heals, the boy is going to be a dangerous runner.

Number 2 is in the books. This ends another week of training and the last day my family will be away. Friday has turned out to be a good day.

Busy

2010-07-27T09:47:00.002-04:00

With the family being out of town in Boston for 2 weeks I thought the weeks would drag on.

The first couple of days I lived like a hermit in a cave. Did my own thing, hardly went out except to train and repeated the same process. As the first week was ending, the days continually got busier. I had decided after 10 years of hating the White Tile in the main floor bathroom to rip it out and replace it. The process has been time consuming with tearing out the old tile, removing the Wonder Board, replacing the Wonder Board and prepping it for a layer of tile. I went to Home Depot to find out that they discontinued the style of tile I wanted to lay down. The tile was to be consistent with the tile in the Mud Room. Plans changed. Now, I had to search for a tile similar to the discontinued tile.

I made the decision as well to paint the bathroom vanity instead of replacing the sink. The sole purpose for this endeavor was to save money. The sink, though a cream color works fine, so why get rid of it? But the process of painting a vanity is again time consuming. Sanding, priming and painting layer after layer of paint after a sanding to even out the paint is hard. The project has begun and now there is no turning back.

In addition to tiling and painting the vanity, the walls are being painted. Who knew a 7 X 6 foot bathroom would take 5 hours to trim and paint? I guess, not me.

In between this renovation I have worked every day, trained every day and maintained the house in working order. Yes, a single human in a home does make a mess. Cooking, washing dishes, washing clothes, feeding animals, doing yard work and getting ready for the next day east up a lot of time.

The training has not suffered through all of the household items being completed, except for strength training. I usually hit the weights at lunch but I have had to head home to let the dog out after being couped up for 6-7 hours. No biggie, I will resume weight next week.

I have hit all my runs even the 18 mile heat fest on Saturday. To summarize since I don't have a lot of time, it was hot, it was hard and I got heat stroke. Magic potion of an Ice Cold Coke and a dip in the cold Chattahoochee gave me the ability to drive home. Well, to Home Depot in Sandy Springs. I found some tile there and picked up 3 boxes. After the hot 18 mile run, each of those boxes felt as if they weighed a ton.

The family will be home on Saturday.

This does not give me a lot of time to complete the bathroom. Painting, tiling, switching out facets and hardware and clean-up. I am going to attempt to get it done by Friday night come heck or high water.

Busy is an understatement, but since it has been started, it must be completed.

Busy Wednesday, No Hermit Day

2010-07-22T11:13:00.002-04:00

My head hit the pillow at 11:20PM last night. 1 hour 20 minutes later than normal for me.
The day I had was lined with activities, meeting and food. Wednesday was one of the days, though I am groggy and a little out of step was all-in-all a good day.

It all started with the typical schedule for a Wednesday, track. Bob was in Florida, Jay is in Utah on this day, but the rest of the running clan were waiting in the lobby to jog down to the track. It has been known that during this training session the track is my least favorite workout. I despise it actually. I have no desire or motivation for it. I continue to motivate myself for the tempo runs and long runs but if it were not for the following runners out there, I would bag it: Rebecca, Stacey, Ann Marie, Amy, Shane, Ken, Darin, Ken B, Jay and Bob. Wren and Ed decided to show up for a speed session as well. It was good to see Wren and “check out” her running form. Strong as always.

The track was a little congested with all of these runners, which is not a complaint at all. The environment that was set on the Oval was good for me. Fast runners, motivated runners and me.

My workout was 3 X 1600 meters at 6:12’s. The first 1600 was timed at 6:10. The second at 6:12 and the third…6:12. I could say it was easy, but from above you get the jest.

After each 1600 the R.I. was 1 minute. During that one minute the air was thick, stale and heavy. No coolness, no wind, nothing, just humidity and dampness. I took 2 minutes just to catch my breath.

After I was done, Rebecca finished her set which mirrored mine. We watched as the rest of the group ran and ran and ran. When they hit the line everyone had the same look of pain and anguish on their faces. Rebecca and I chuckled and comment on why do we do this to our bodies…Do I need to answer? One runner that is very impressive on the track is Amy. Amy continues to show consistency in her pace, her form and being as efficient as possible. Modeling after her anyone would become a better runner.

Rebecca and I also discussed her training, though it is going well for Chicago, she is treating the long runs in a negative way. She wants them over with. To accomplish this Rebecca is increaing her pace to finish quicker. We discussed that this process is counterproductive. We can run the 20 miles, but it pacing yourself over the last 6.2 of a marathon where it counts. More runners fail within that last 10K of the race I think than anywhere else on a course.

I will follow up with her on Friday to make sure she remembers, pace.

After the track, we all headed our separate ways by car or by foot back to LTF. I hope Wren and Ed decide to hit the track with us more. It is good for the psyche to run with other runners who are faster and even slower than yourself. 6 days, 19.5 hours until I have to torture myself again.

The day was busy. With the family out of town, I have the responsibility of caring for the dog. This means daily treks home at around lunch to let her out and then head back. I eat lunch while she is doing her stuff in the yard and then I head back to the office.

In the late afternoon, I had a conference call that was to last 1.5 hours from 1:00PM to 2:30PM. I thought this was aggressive after reviewing the schedule and items up for discussion. Needless to say at 4:34PM, I had to cut the meeting off and suggest we pick up the rest at another time. 3.5 hours was enough for any human to endure a conference call. However, I have to say I would rather do that then run around a Oval leading nowhere 4 times!

The next portion of my day was the Reality Ride. This is where I had some real tangible motivation. Not only was I riding with a group of “super fast” riders, but after the ride Reality was sponsoring an Italian Dinner for everyone hosted by Pinarello, an Italian bike manufacturer that Reality has teamed up with. The first thing that motivated me getting back to the “super fast riders” was the group I rode with. I left Reality at 5:30PM on the wheels of Ann Marie, Amy, Ken, Randy, Susan and Yenke’. Thought out the ride I kept hearing, “this is a recovery ride” as the group continued to pull ahead of me until they were out of sight. Now, it is not that I could not crank up the speed and jack my heart rate up to hang with them. I wanted this to be an EZ ride. The temperature was 96 degrees. I ran track this morning and have an 18 mile run on Saturday and a 63 mile bike on Sunday. The last thing I was looking for was a crank fest.
I let them go and soon enough caught up with them. This group of riders (especially the women) set that blinding pace. During the back end of the ride heading down a long slight grade I hit something in the road going almost 30 miles and hour and blew out my tire. I was thankful that the group waited for me as I would have waited for anyone of them any day and on any ride.
We completed another sweat pouring ride and headed to Reality’s bike shop for some food. A lot of riders and their families showed up for the dinner. The food awesome. The beer was ice cold and the conversation was continuous. I hung out with a number of friends and riders I have rode with on the B rides. We talked and laughed until I realized the time had slipped away as Todd, the owner, returned after a beer run. 9:10PM. Late for me. I started to say my good-byes to a number of people ending with Ann Marie. We chatted for a few minutes. Got our schedule together set for Friday’s swim and I took off for home.

I have been training a lot with Ann Marie lately in the swim, bike and ride. She continues to amaze me and the rest of us with her dedication and speed. Strong biker (I can’t keep up with her. Yes, I know I need a more aggressive cassette!) and a super fast runner. I feed off her energy to keep me motivated and also it allows me to keep my eye on her so I know exactly how fast she is becoming! I do the same with my Sarah on her rides. Sarah continues to progress forward on the bike sticking to her “plan”. I am learning on Sarah’s plan from Ken that a workout on the bike does not mean a ”crank fest”. Under the controlled plan, you build speed and strength without going all out all the time. I applied this on the ride last night as well. The heat was a factor, but I was not spent.

I left Reality and call Sarah from the road up in Boston. She had called the house and got no answer assuming that I was already asleep. She knows me too well. Therefore, it was a surprise when I told her that I was on my way home at 9:40PM from Reality. I told her about the ride, the dinner, who I talked to and I also told her I wish she was there with me.

Turning into the driveway, we said out goodnights as I headed into the house to prep for the next day. I had burned off the dinner from the ride so I grabbed a snack, made my lunch, coffee, fed the dog and then headed up to do my stuff for Thursday.

The head hit the pillow after coming down from the day as I set the alarm for 6AM. Rest day after a good day was the order of business for tomorrow.

The Hermit

2010-07-20T07:59:00.002-04:00

“Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature.”
Albert Einstein

Einstein does have a point and he also solidified that I am not mature yet. Thanks Albert.

My wife and two daughters left for Boston on Saturday evening. Since then they have traveled to New Hampshire, dropped Grace and her cousin, Jen off at a weeklong camp. Then Sarah, Ellie and 5 other relatives cruised across the “Live Free or Die” state to “Story Land”. They have been swimming, hitting the amusement park, eating and just having fun.

Me on the other hand, life has not changed. I get up, workout, go to work, come home, make dinner, get ready for the next day, repeat. Actually, there has been a slight change in my schedule. I am traveling home at lunch to let the dog out and with no one being in the house to deter me from my regiment, I am done and ready for bed by 8PM.

I have always enjoyed the comforts of solitude on occasion. With no one in the house I am able to get some “projects” done. Painting trim, working on bathrooms, fixing odds and ends. These things do get accomplished with my family in the house, it just takes longer. After a day of work you usually want to hang with the family and have dinner and talk about the day.

Alone, this time is decreased 5 fold with no conversation and dinner has become a vehicle for just refueling your body.

I had some social interaction this morning in the pool. When I reach the home front for the next 11 hours the only one, I see and talk to has been the dog and she is not too receptive.

Coach Mike has had us knocking out 100’s this morning.

150M EZ
200M Side Kick
10 X 25 Power Kicks underwater
4 X 50M reducing stroke every 50
3 X 100M’s on the 1:50
3 X’s 4 X 100M’s
3 on the 1:50’s
1 on the 2:10
200M for time
10 X 25 Up and Out’s
100M EZ

I think I am missing a set in this workout, but it is close.

I swam with Melissa and Jerry this morning. Both of these strong swimmers keep my honest in the lane. When I lose concentration I am getting a slap on the feet from Jerry. Having Jerry in the lane has helped him as well. He stated he has not hit these times on the 100’s or even the 200 ever. He is getting faster.

Next week, Michelle is taking over the swim workouts while Mike is on vacation. I told Mike that I would be transferring to Johns Creek for the week. He got the roundabout compliment and made it known to me that he got it. Just keep the workouts interesting Mike by mixing up short interval and long stuff and we will all be happy.

Negative Guys and Man Deemed a Runner

2010-07-16T19:02:00.002-04:00

The title is misleading and not “negative” at all. It is a statement. It is what happened to Bob & I and what we were after our first 20-mile training run.

We met Calvin and Evan at 5:00AM in front of LTF. We headed out down Morris and up Westside Parkway. Conversation was light. We talked about races and rivals. We discussed other training partners and their training regiments. And we found out by the slip of the tongue Evan’s nickname in college, Joe Pesci. This is because in college Evan who is 5 foot 6??? was over 185 pounds. There was some more stuff he said, but as soon as he told the 3 old dudes he was running with that are relentless, it was over. He is forever deem, “Little Joey P” in our book.

The mile clicked by. At mile 5 we saw a familiar runner heading towards us. Amy was on her 12 mile run and was using the 10 mile (opposite) as part of the 12. She cruised by as we hooted and said hello as we all made our way back into the dark of the morning. We stayed on pace for the almost 9 miles then at the end we kicked it up North Point from Old Milton to give a little cushion to refuel at the LTF parking lot.

I made a snafu by saying that if the second 10 were like the first, this was going to be an easy run. This was after we easily made it up North Point.

Little Joey P had peeled off after 10. Calvin was in for 15 miles and standing waiting our arrival was or next running stud, Hokan. He saw Bob and I come in shirtless and immediately ripped his shirt off and ditched it. His wife, Andrea had said that “real runners” run shirtless. Well, My friend, “you are a real runner”.

The next 10 miles was the exact opposite of the first 10 mile loop. I designed it this way for the mental aspect of running 20 miles. The endurance part on the body is not the issue, it is who the mind screws with you and tells you things that are not true. The mind wants you to stop. It hurts, but you need to be strong and focused to be able to overcome this and push through, as you will see.

The 4 runners, yes Hokan, runners, headed down North Point towards Old Milton. The conversation was lively with a fresh runner in the mix. Hokan told us a story of a frog, his wife and two wasp. Let’s just say it was humorous (the frog part, not the wasp) and would help me about mile 17. The pace was right on, not fast, not slow and not sporadic. We rounded onto Old Milton headed towards Alpharetta center. Bob was on my right shoulder (nice Bob) as Calvin and Hokan took up the rear. The conversation died at this point because ahead we could see the long gradual hill of Old Milton that lay before us. I believe we all saw what lie ahead and as any runner (Hokan you are included) would do we assessed the hills to find where we could attack to hold pace and where the natural forces of gravity would pull us forward with less effort. We became silent.

Hitting mile 12 at the front corner of the abandon mall on the right of Old Milton the long climb to Wills Road 2.1 miles in front of us began.

I shortened my stride and increased cadence as I leaned into the hill with Bob on my right shoulder. The climb was more mental than physical pulling up towards a crest that was nowhere in sight. At the corner of Westside Parkway, Calvin, said his goodbyes as he hooked right onto the blocked off road back to LTF to complete his 15 miles.

The three runners continued on, upward hitting mile 13, the funeral parlor (ironic) the sound of heavy breathing was heard almost drowning out the daily car commuters. Fatigue was setting in. Bob grabbed a Gatorade bottle stashed in the brush at Haynes Bridge as Hokan and I slowed the pace to allow him to drink and regain the pace we had established.

Nearing mile 14, Bob announced that he was done…Done? What? I told him to hang on and get through another mile that would level out and head downhill. I increased the pace to push Bob a bit and to also give him some cushion since we were on the decline near Wills Road.

Wills Road was a gradual incline again, but Bob hung 10 steps behind the whole way rounding onto Milton. Milton started downhill to give a little reprieve but then sharply turned to an incline towards the intersection of Milton and Canton. Bob said needed to run into “The Corner Deli” to grab a Coke to help him make it. Hokan and I decreased pace as Bob was in and out in 15 seconds??? Fast! He drank as he made some ground to get back to us. I looked at my watch as we hit mile 16 and we were 20 seconds off pace! I said to Hokan we will give Bob a few more steps to catch up. Bob, never did. He seemed to fade just slightly. I knew he was struggling, but I also knew that he would had felt bad if we slowed further for him losing our pace.

With Bob knowing the course, the sun being up…The sun was up?! I had not even noticed…Bob would want us to continue. I told Hokan to pick it up as he did at a hard, fast pace as we turned onto Vaughn heading right for HWY 9. Vaughn was my demise as well. Until that point the legs were strong, the mind was sound, but within 3 minutes heading up Vaughn it all went down the toilet.

I focused on Hokan’s shoes and his repetitive stride. He crested Vaughn almost turning left on HWY 9 when like a true, good guy he asked what he could do for me. Talk? Shut up? Increase pace? What? I told him whatever in a less than cordial voice. The demons had set in at that point. We hit mile 17 and all I wanted to do was to stop. My mind said, “let him go, this is a bunch of junk!” But, as Hokan hit mile 17 and made his way up, yes up again, HWY 9 I figured I only have less than 3 miles. 3 freaking mile left! After cresting this one hill I knew it was downhill and flats for over a mile. I knew I could recoup and get my mojo back. Then the mind said, “no way! You are mine!” I pushed through as we turned right onto Windward Parkway passing another runner looking more confused than me. I knew that I had until the turn to get my facilities back for the last 2 miles to make up…23 seconds! Crap!

I dug deep pushing the pain and the thoughts my mind was telling me to do aside and just cranked it up. Hokan still was ahead of me by a step as we hit Westside Parkway with a little up then a huge, long downhill. I leaned into the decline and turned it up. Sensing a surge from behind, Hokan kicked it as well. At the end of mile 18 we hit a 7:40 pace. That made up the deficit and then some. I attempted to calculate how much time left and rounded to 9. 9 minutes for the last mile of 20. I eased up, gathered myself and prepared for the .85 mile hill to the finish. Running Morris, I took the inside corner to make ground on Hokan and to stay even with him. We rounded the corner of Morris and went straight up. The first part was a hill then plateau’d for brief second as it winded up to our final destination.

With less than a quarter mile to go, my track experience kicked in and I was off. I passed Hokan and tore up the hill and rounded the 25 meters to the end.

A few minutes after Hokan and I finished Bob came in looking strong. HE stopped and collapsed on the sidewalk. He told us of his adventures of getting water at the BP and stopping at Holiday Inn Express for some mango/orange juice before meeting up with us.

Now, I don’t know how long he was in these two establishments, but to come in a few minutes behind, if he had carried a bottle with him, we would have been trailing Bob.

The run ended for Bob and I, though at different times at a negative split. The first half was slower (by design) that the second half. A true runner wants this and rarely can accomplish it.
Ending this 20 mile run, I mentioned about a frog, Hokan’s wife and two wasps. The story is funny and painful, but at certain points on the edge of the abyss from mile 17 to 19.7, the story, though funny in some areas clouded my mind over the doubts.

I am grateful for Hokan's companionship on the last 10 miles. I wish him strength and enjoyment as he and his family venture to Lake Placid, New York as he participates in my favorite Ironman Race.

I am finding that readjusting my goals for Chicago so far it is turning out to be a good decision. As for the number of injuries that are plaguing me? No change. Pain Management…

And Bob, good job.

Realizing Defeat and Moving On

2010-07-13T13:55:00.005-04:00

After posting yesterday my father sent me this qoute:

"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."

In order for me to triumph I must get past my defeat....

Done.

Thanks Dad.

I have decided to backdown on the Chicago Marathon in my training. I hate to use this, but "one man's misfortune is another man's gain."

With one of the Wonder Twins being out for the past week with an illness, I have picked up a running partner for the interm. I am planning runs with Bob. I will be running the 20 miler with him based off the 3:15:00 plan. If that is too aggressive for both, we will scale back to the 3:20:00. If this is the case and Todd decideds to run Chicago, I may be able to run with him to get him across the Finish Line in 3:20:00.

It is not fun being injured, but I have accepted that I am so that is how I will be until I can rid my body of this plague.

Internal Crossroads

2010-07-12T10:08:00.005-04:00

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.”
Frank A. Clark

After a good bike ride on Saturday with Sarah I started to really think about the Chicago Marathon. I continue to struggle with my desire to be my best and achieve goals that I set out for myself. I push my body and mind to places I never thought were possible to be faster and stronger. I stick to my plans (most of the time) and as Sarah points out, I am regimented in my life. I wake up at a certain time (mostly without the alarm), I at certain times eat, I drink when I am supposed to drink, I workout at the same times, I get to work at the same time, I get home on time, get ready for the next day and start it all over again with very little deviation. Note: this is Monday through Friday.

When deviations to my schedule do happen, I adapt make changes and move on, even though I may not like it. I have a goal and must achieve that which makes me who I am as a human. Human…that is what I am. Not immortal, not a machine and not a super hero. Just a human, with doubts, feelings, guilt and failure.

I have this quote above on my board in my office. I placed it above my phone on June 21, 20102 so every day I reminded that life is a journey and no journey is easy.

Over the weekend, I will tell you that I was not in the best of moods. No external factor put me in a cauldron of despair of a bad attitude. It has been the last 21 days of internalizing my failures and doubts. My failures of being able to achieve a realistic goal I set out for myself. I have failed myself in the ability to train for the Chicago Marathon and achieve the training schedule that I have set for myself over the last 16 weeks.

I have internalized my failure of myself and have doubts that I will be able to complete my own objective of a PR time at Chicago.

The continued presence of my own injuries has left me beaten. Icing, stretching, weights, rest, ibuprofen, repeat twice a day sometimes three times a day are wearing on me. Nevertheless, I am stubborn and do not like defeat. So I continue on.

Running had become fluid for me over the last couple of years. I need no music to push me up a hill, no GPS system to tell what my pace is or how far I have gone and no heart rate monitor to warn me that I am out of my Zone. I eagerly plot a course and run with hitting my times and distance with only the help of a $30 Timex watch. It felt good.

Lately this fluidness is a struggle. Warm ups are like fingers on a chalk board, the serenity of the sound of my shoes clicking along are overwhelmed with negative thoughts of doubts if I am even going to finish the run.

Burned out? No! I have taken time off, I still do. I am only on the roads 3 times a week and have my off time. There are glimpses of the feeling that are smoldering in my core and I have ignited bursts of “the feeling” and in an instant I am Zen running again, but then the reminders of injury creep back to me.

Well, “you should stop, take some time off”, I have been told. I don’t reply or comment, because it comes from my friends that are forged from the same mold as I. They are stubborn, determined, strong willed individuals that if I told them the same thing they would react in the same manner.

This is my burden that I carry and will continue to internalize. I confide in Sarah, because she is the one person in my life that truly understands what I go through. I am not weak. I don’t complain. I don’t say poor me. I push through it. I refuse to believe I am defeated. I have not reached my potential yet, even at my age of what I can do. Sarah understands this because she’ forged from the same cast and I appreciate her understanding while I deal with these demons.

The quote above places me at a crossroads. Do I back down the pace for Chicago that leads me where? Alternatively, do I keep pushing through my internal obstacles towards my goals?

I know the answer, I just cannot accept it.

Getting on the Track

2010-07-09T10:59:00.003-04:00

I recently read an article on efficiency. Not for business, but for pleasure. The reason for the interest is that I have picked up a few runs with a running group and the see how a “true” runner runs. They are aerodynamic, fluid and efficient in their stride and paces. I have also run with my friends over the last month as well. The traits I see in the running group versus my friends are not egalitarian. My friends compared to the others are equal in athletic abilities and desires, but the “way they run” are not.

The example I am about to discuss is one that you need to open your mind to and think about what is being said instead of the object being discussed.

"Today, we can move a ton of freight an average of 410 miles on just one gallon of diesel fuel."

The article brings into light a number of different variables into the situation for a modern locomotive to haul a 1 ton load with only 1 gallon of diesel fuel: Aerodynamics, friction, perpetual motion, maintenance…

An average modern diesel freight train weighs 180 tons. It takes 180 gallons of diesel fuel to just to move itself 410 miles. Add cars and supplies being transported the weight has increased to 25,000 tons or even more, but it still only uses 1 gallon of diesel??? In 1996, the heaviest transport by train was 79,900 tons, but each of the 10 locomotives attached averaged still 1 gallon of diesel per 400 miles.

Now, how can a massive piece of machinery average 1 gallon per 410 miles when a Tractor Trailer truck can only aver 7 to 8 miles per gallon? Aerodynamics, friction, perpetual motion, maintenance play a key role in the transportation by rail.

Trains are designed to be aerodynamic to slice the wind resistance and be streamline. The locomotive slices the wind causing a draft behind for the pull cars which decreases total drag. Trains from point A to point B are using perpetual motion. Starting and stopping uses the most energy, but once they are at a constant, the efficiency increases and is less strain on the components to move the mass forward. Friction comes from the rails and parts, but is constant also and varies slightly. Maintenance of the locomotive is important was well in order to maintain the high efficiency rate of diesel use, the train must be working effortlessly by constant upkeep and repair.

We all see trucks on the road of even cars. None of the principals of efficiencies applies due to a number of factors. You drive, you know. Some of us are guilty as well of the "lead foot" which decreases our fuel economy to get from Point A to Point B.

So what does all this mean? Why the education in physics and motion? Read the first paragraph again and tie it all in.

I run with a runner in the running group name, Chris. He is 6’5” over 200+ lbs. He ran a 2:54:00 at the last ING ATL Marathon. He has only been running for 4 years and is 43. I am 149 pounds, 5' 10" and have been running for 30 years and ran a 3:11:00? Natural born runner? Maybe, but I do notice his stride, his pace, his form. All efficient, nothing varies. If Chris has all these principals of aerodynamics, friction, perpetual motion, maintenance down when he runs, does it not make sense that he uses less energy and can travel further and faster than another runner who may only have 3 out of 4 principals going on?

The biggest thing I see in my friends when they run is that they want to run to beat a time. They have 400 meter intervals in 0:01:28 they need to run and they push it to run them in 0:01:23 as an example. Alternatively, when they are running around the track instead of maintaining the constant velocity pace they increase it when another runner is on their heels. The increases in pace uses energy, more energy exerted fatigue kicks in, the more fatigue, form (aerodynamics) suffers, etc. Yeah, you “blow” away for set times, but for what? Injury? Soreness the next day? Not being able to hit the “training” paces on the next run?

I see the same in long runs or even races. Be fast, shave the time and finish before “that person” is all that clouds the mind. During training runs, If a pick up happens (even when the "pick-up’er” is on another pace schedule) the runner who is training at a certain pace will pick it up as well. Why? Do they not want to be last? Do they think they other runners will think they are weak? What drives us to compete even in training when training by definition is:

"the education, instruction, or discipline of a person or thing that is being trained: He's in training for the Olympics."

Do you see the words, race the other person or beat the other person in a race in this definition? I see education, instruction, discipline. All wording that is a part of every one of our training plans. But, do we apply them???

So why do we do this? I am as guilty as any one of my friends for doing this foolish act as well. A training run is a training run, not a race. But with age and experience, I believe I am becoming a better "runner" instead being good at running.

I believe we as humans are capable of more speed and endurance that our grey matter can comprehend.

Just think, if each of us took into consideration: aerodynamics, friction, perpetual motion, maintenance and remained constant with these four principals would we be faster, stronger and more efficient on the run? On the bike? In the water?

I believe it is human nature to be part of a group. No one likes to be alone, but in order for you to be you and for you to tap into your potential, you need to get to know yourself to find out if you are “runner” or one who runs.

Here is an email conversation I had with a running friend of mine. The potential is there, but the use of principals is lacking in all four.

To set it up. Runner B had a 17 mile "training" run at an 8:20 pace.

Runner A: Uh, you went a lot faster. Your pace was 8:12 for 17. Time to step up to 3:15:00 Marathon or even the 3:10:00 my friend.
Runner B: You are out of your mind.
Runner A: What, that you had an 8:12 pace or stepping up on the marathon time?
Runner B: Marathon time. I'm still trying to wrap my head around a sub 3:20
Runner A: Piece of cake, Mr. 8:12’s on the 17 miler.
Runner B: Race pace is 7:37. What is it for 3:15 (Can you see that Runner B is interested in a faster time?)
Runner A: 7:26.
Runner B: Hmmmm. I know I could do it for 15 miles. The last 11 would be tough!
Runner A: Not if you are consistent in your pacing. I would stay consistent for ½ mile every so often and you would continue to drudge forward faster and faster while I stayed at an even pace. Fast then slow, fast then slow, eats up a lot of your energy. Just like a car. Step on the pedal, ease off, etc…eats up gas, thus less efficient.

You have the mentality and athlete ability to break 3:15, just not the structure. Training is not a race. It is training. You train your body for the distance, not to get from one point to the next “faster” than you are supposed to do. Just like what you do on the track.
I am not beating you up, I just believe you have a lot more potential and if done right you could break 3:15 no problem.

My personal opinion is that I suggest you run some of the long runs solo. The reason being is that you are running against the runners you train with. I use the word “against” because that is what goes on.

Run to become your own better runner and not to run to beat someone or the time. Find your mojo, find your groove and not worry about anyone else. It is not as fun to run solo, but I believe it is necessary in order for you to find out what kind of runner you are. I found this out with all my solo runs and I was able hit my times and not have to take a nap after wards.
You can do whatever you set your mind too and I am here to help.

The 10 miles this morning though it was a good run was filled with paces that were up and down. It zapped energy because of where Runner B wanted to be in the pack and was too fixed on being faster than the training time and not feeling the pace for the training run.

Every motion for another runner to lead would result in increases in pace and Runner B in the front. Aerodynamics was not used to settle in to the draft to conserve energy behind other runners. Friction was increased because of fatigue and foot strikes longer on the pavement. Perpetual motion was void from the increases and sudden decreases in pace and maintenance was okay, but for 2+ hours out on the roads more fuel and fluids should have been taken in to continue a constant velocity in pace.

This entry is by no means bashing on my friend or any of my friends. Like Runner B, they are all excellent athletes and each one pushes me to strive for greatness every time I am around them. I just want to open minds to the potential of what is achievable. You say, "I can't" and guess what?

I witness Runner B’s untapped potential when I run with him and if he became his “own runner” instead of the lead runner in a training run (aka race run), his potential to succeed is unlimited.

"Fast Women and The Old Dude"

2010-07-06T15:54:00.004-04:00

When you think of fast women this is the type of image most men and yes, women think of:

However, after the last two weekends my interpretation of the phase, “Fast Women” has taken on a completely different meaning.

The weekend before the Fourth of July, I witnessed 9 females that I know participate in the Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon up at Lake Lanier. I watched in amazement as Sarah, Carmen, Ann Marie, Stacy, Raquel, Jennifer, Susan, Josephina and Amy tore up the tri course bettering their times from the last time they attacked this course and for some even a podium spot. All 9 made qualified for the National Championship for Sprint Triathlons as well.

Now, I say, “amazement” not that I doubt their abilities, but how far a number of these women- athletes have come. Each one of them continues to become more efficient, stronger and of course faster in all 3 disciplines. The development of these 30 & 40 something athletes in swimming, biking and running is nothing more than amazing.

As we stand watching the runners come in during the final stages Carmen (I have to say Carmen took an overall win position at Iron Girl…) she asked me, “why don’t you do triathlons anymore?” My answer was easy and honest, “Because of you, my wife, Sarah, Ann Marie, Stacy and down the line, everyone is getting stronger and each one of you can blow the doors off this aging athlete”.

I told Carmen, “I stick to running. At least I know I have you there.” Well, for now.

Jump forward one week. After a week of vacationing with my family of 15 in Ocean Isle and a 7.5 hour car ride home on Saturday, I got up at 4:45AM to run the Peachtree Road Race on the Fourth of July. I usually do not run this race because we are out of town, but this year with us being home, I snagged a number from Chris (thanks again buddy) and decided to run it.

Now, for the now. I was running the 10K or 6.2 mile run with Ann Marie and 60,000 other runners.

Ann Marie since February has been under the guidance and control of her triathlon coach, Ken. Ken for your information has deemed her “The SD”.

The both of us had decided to run the 10K together to see if Ann Marie could break her PR of 44:37 set in 2008.

We set out along with Amy, Scott, Ken and our loyal supporter, Susan on Sunday morning from the Old Milton Waffle House down to Buckhead and the start of the Peachtree 10K.

Doubts continued to fill Ann Marie’s head as after a number of potty breaks for all and a warm up we nestled into Corral 1A for the start. We saw, Wren and Seth while we waited. I talked to Dave and a few other people I know as we hung out on the road to await the announcement of the start.

Ann Marie, was nervous about even hitting a 44:00 on this course. But her training and the conditions that day made it ideal for her to shatter that 44:37 set two years ago.
We sat and waited and waited with Seth and Amy before the start. After the “Star Spangle Banner” it was time. Ann Marie said she is staying “left” on the road and will not deviate from this set course. Since this was a training tempo run for me I was happy to just have someone to run with and who better than “The SD” and a friend.

When the gun went off and Corral 1A made its way across the mats to clock our chip time, Ann Marie took off like a rabbit out of a hole. She stayed true to her word and hugged the left side of the road making sharp but efficient darts in between the slower runners. For the first mile, I shadowed her moves with Seth on my heels. After the first mile the runners started to thin out and there was more room for me to lock onto Ann Marie’s right shoulder. I decided to hang her and let her set her own pace.

By mile 2, Seth had peeled off (he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro just two weeks ago) I had settled in to a rhythm and was comfortably running a 6:20 pace less than ½ of a step behind Ann Marie. We continued downhill picking up speed and by the mile 3 marker I looked at my watch and the split time was 18:57.

I knew the next 2 miles were going to eat up the split time due to the hills. We grabbed water, drank and soaked ourselves to cool down as the hills grew in front of us. The next mile came and the runners thinned out more. I moved along side of Ann Marie so she could she me and pace herself against my stride and cadence as we journeyed upwards. Mile 4 was complete with a little reprieve of a down grade in the road. We swung over to douse and drink in preparation for the next series of hills. This is where I saw Ann Marie let up just a little as the pace declined. She looked fine, but her form was a little off indicating some fatigue. I moved in front of her and allowed her to focus on me and help pull her through the gravity induced inclines that came.
The further we progressed the pace fell off. (Keep in mind, that when I say the pace declined I am talking seconds not minutes.) As we hit the mile 5 mark a water station waited. I moved to the left in front of her and picked up 2 water cups as I saw her grabbing cups as well. (We were running through most of the stations at a sub 7 pace) I drank then dumped on my head with one and dumped then drank with the other. For good measure, I took one more and splashed it on me as I saw my running partner taper off just a hair more.

I moved to the right and saw Ann Marie drop back again. I slowed but did not want to slow too much and loose the momentum that I had built up. As we passed the mile 5 marker and water, I kept looking back spotting her and hoping that she would catch up. My pace was constant and with a little kick, she would be there. Her paced did not waiver and the gap stayed consistent. Again, remember we are cooking at a 6:50 pace at mile 5.

I decided to make a move and increase my cadence and speed over the last little incline before hitting the downhill portion. I gradually progressed forward as Ann Marie kept her pace and followed behind at a good pace.

Passing 12th street, I took a glance back and saw my friend cruising along as I kicked it up the last small incline heading towards 10th street. This is where the guilt started to overwhelm me. I felt like I had abandoned her on the side of the road to fend for herself. What would she think of me? Leaving her behind? Then I thought, “I know exactly what she would think!” If I had not tested myself and gave a good effort to the finish, she would think I had left too much on the road that day. Ann Marie is a competitor. She is a good friend as well and I think that is why we get along so well. She knows that I am a competitor as well and if for any reason if I thought she was in trouble I would have stopped. But, the fire in her eyes said something else and if I had “eased” up I think she would have been disappointed in my effort.

Besides, I know with me trudging ahead sparked the competitive juices in her and she stepped it up even if I could not bear witness to it.

Rounding 10th Street I increased the pace maybe a few 100 meters too soon. The fatigue hit me at that point and to add to the fatigue my right shoe lace came completely undone with a half mile to go. I heard a spectator calling my name as I glanced to my left and saw Susan taking a sanp shot as I went by.

I changed up my stride and hit on the tips of my toes to keep the shoe from flying off. I found an area on the road with no runners so no one could step on my laces. I kept my head down so I would not trip myself as I gradually increased my speed. I saw the finish ahead and looked at my watch. 41:53. With the shoe lace undone, I knew the sub 42 was not going to happen.

I crossed the line at 42:03.

I waited around (being yelled at to “keep moving”) and told a volunteer I felt sick as I wobbled a few steps. I told this fib because I wanted to wait for my running partner, Ann Marie to cross. 31 seconds later here she came, darting across the line.

Ann Marie got her personal best at the Peachtree that day by almost a full 2 minutes. 42:34 was the official time. A time I know, she is proud of and a time, I am proud of for being a part of.

The pace for me was 49 seconds faster per mile than was scheduled. I felt good, so I kept going, not at 100% effort for after all, it was just a “training run”.

Fast women and the old dude does sound appropriate for this entry. At least for now, I know I don’t need a fast car to beat them on foot.

"Elementary My Dear Watson"

2010-06-25T10:54:00.009-04:00

“Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they”
Leonardo da Vinci

Now I know you are thinking, “What? It is 100 degrees in Georgia and you put a quote up on dressing for the cold!”

Read it again…

da Vinci is talking about how to take your time and think things through and you can do no wrong. Thinking before you leap into the cold will save you from the power of the elements that can harm you.

Cold or heat, they are both equally powerful against you if do not prepare to take them on.

Wednesday evening my daughter arrived home from camp. She had spent 9 hours in the blazing Georgia sun that tipped 100 degrees. She was hot, tired and beating by the elements, but in the same context, she had a ton of fun.

She wanted to cool down so, this being a shower night she headed upstairs to rinse the day off and cool herself. About 5 minutes later from heading upstairs, she called down to me, “Dad!” “Dad”, she said. “I must be really hot because the more time I spend up here the hotter I am getting”.

I thought, “the more time upstairs she is getting hotter?” “Oh-oh…” First thing I though as I approached the stairs heading up was the air conditioner had stopped. Before I reached the middle section of the stairs, the air temperature changed 5 degrees and when I crested to the landing, it was almost 10 degrees hotter.

I made a bee-line to the thermostat and it read, 87. The a/c was set at 78. I pulled the thermostat off, changed the batteries and put it back on, no change. Nothing, no power, no sound of the furnace circulating air, no cool noise coming from the vents and no change in the temperature.

Great…

The next thing I did was to check the circuit breakers. The basement breakers were not “tripped” and the outside air conditioning breakers were fine as well. The a/c unit “looked” in decent shape, but on the outside looking in with no tools or equipment, of course it would.

At 8:30PM and with the sun hitting the horizon there was little I could do tonight. I headed in and opened all the windows upstairs, turned the fans on high. I turned the a/c on the main floor down a few degrees and reversed the fans to pull the air down in order to pull some of the coolness from the night from outside inside.

By 9:30AM, the air temperature upstairs was 83 degrees. I told the girls, think about it as camping, but only in your own bed tonight. There were a few groans, but in my head I thought, “no big deal”. Besides, I grew up without a/c in my home and I survived, they will survive as well.

As I lay in bed ready for sleep, I thought that we as a society have become weak. We complain when it is cold, we complain when it is hot, we complain it is cloudy and we complain when it is sunny. We go from our a/c houses, to our a/c cars, to our a/c offices, shopping malls, restaurants and back. When one of these cycles are broken, it is like our whole world is falling apart.

As I drifted to sleep the old fashion way, fan and an open window, I said to myself, “I will take care of it in the morning”.

The morning came and you know what? I slept great! Maybe it was the night air, maybe it was the heat, maybe it was both? I was mostly undisturbed the whole 7 hours, which rarely happens.

Thursday, I had already first thing I advised my group via email that I was working from home. Second, I headed off to LTF to swim. Half way to LTF it dawned on me that I forgot my swim suit! There goes swim. No time to go home and get back. I decided to turn around and grab my suit and then swim at the Johns Creek LTF, no biggie.

The outside pool was very warm. I was going to swim inside but the lap pool was a cloudy, milky green color. The same look as the Alpharetta pool had in the winter. Then I realized the Aquatics Director, Dave had moved over to Johns Creek. I guess he brought his “experience” in turning, crystal, clear blue water, murky.

The pool temperature outside was at least 80. I did not complain or think, poor me. I sucked it up and did the workout. It was tough with my heart rate jacked through the roof, but there are worst things in life than a warm lap pool. Besides the pool is outside in 100-degree weather for the last 5 days, it is going to be warm.

After a leg strength-conditioning workout and stretching I headed home to call a service tech to come fix the a/c.

My neighbor had given me the name of his service company and I was about to call them, but I stopped. Do I really want to be raked over the coals for a repair? Heck no!

Let’s use deductive reasoning. Another trait of human society that has almost become extinct. We want instant gratification and if we need to try hard to do something, we put it in our minds to fail.

I am going to tackle this a/c issue on my own. I started at the source, the thermostat. I pulled it off and connected the wires together to see if the unit would turn on. If it did, the thermostat was bad and I would replace it. When I tried to get a spark from the wires and hear the furnace blowers kick on, there was silence. No power.

Okay, no power means that the furnace or the a/c unit will kick on. Circuit breakers? I went to the basement. None of the breakers were kicked off. I had a power meter and there was power in all the breakers. So this is not the issue of lack of energy. I headed for the attic. I opened the furnace cover and found the black and white power wires leading to the circuit panel that regulates the power to the blowers and ignition. I hooked the power meter up, no power? Power was coming from the breaker but not going into the circuit panel???

I found the shut off switch to the furnace. All gas furnaces have a shut off switch just in gas the ignition light goes out. Stops all power just in case gas is present. There was power to the switch? So, power to the switch but no power to the furnace? What about the power after the switch to the furnace? I hooked the power meter up, no power! With power in but no power out of the switch, the switch must be bad.

I took the switch off and headed to Home Depot. I picked up an industrial heavy-duty switch and installed it. As soon as I put the cover back on the furnace there was a humming sound from the blowers kicking on. A minute later the cool air started to flow.

1 hour of deductive reasoning and a $4.98 switch from Home Depot, saved me over $500 for a service call and probably unnecessary parts. "Cha-ching!"

Needless to say, with a little patience I was able to protect my bank account from any unwanted wrongs. Thanks Leonardo.

Friday is a semi off day. I get to run 15 miles tomorrow as part of my training plan. I had not run since Wednesday so today was a light, short run. I was fortunate have the opportunity to run with Michelle this morning. Michelle “got” to run a short 3.6 miles at an 8:15 pace. Perfect. It was a nice run with a nice youngster. While most 24 years old were probably on their way to bed at the time she was getting up, she is very dedicated in her training regiment for Ironman Florida, in November.

Thanks for the short run, great conversation and companionship. I enjoy the company on the run when our running schedules allow it.

Test Thyself

2010-06-23T14:50:00.008-04:00

“He who would leap far must first take a long run”

Danish Proverb

In all our lives, we are tested and when the test is not given to us, we go to out to test ourselves.

My life is no different from anyone else who inhabits this World. I breath, I eat, I laugh, cry, sleep and (you fill in the blank).

The slight difference I have noticed over the years is that when a challenge is not offered, I go out and seek one out. My thing is physical challenges. Ironman, marathons, Century rides, 10k’s, Half Marathon’s, 5K’s anything to get the heart pumping, push myself and see what I can do. Lately though, my challenging nature is subdued next to the circle of friends I encompass.

If it is from, qualifying for Ironman Kona, running a sub 3 marathon, biking 150 miles, achieving a Age Group podium win in a major triathlon, cracking a sub 18 minute 5k and even qualifying for the Half Iron Distance Nationals. These people I am proud to say, “that is my friend” or “that is my wife”. For every undertaking I attempt, I am outdone by one’s friend.

This only does one thing to me; it tests me and my abilities even further.

The test of one’s character or abilities is the greatest gift of oneself who is forged from the same mold as the people who surround me.

Tuesday night, after a long, challenging swim developed by Coach Mike which Chris and I pushed ourselves with:

150M Warm Up
150M Kick
100M Catch-up
100M Fist
100M Swim
5 X 200M on the 4’s
8 X 25M with RI of :10
100M Swim
8 X 25M with RI of :10
3 X 600M on the 11’s

then a full day of work and strength training Sarah, Grace, Ellie and I headed down to Emory University to watch one of our friends test his physical ability in a 200 meter track event.

The Atlanta Track Club was hosting an “open meet” for anyone who wanted to participate. Our friend, from no idea from me, decided to run the 200 meter event. He has run track many times but he has never “ran track” before. In his mid-40’s this was a first.

I was able to procure a set of track spikes from a Master’s track national ranked runner and gave them to him to us during the heat. I thought Asics Nimbus 11’s, though good for long runs would not cut it on the track.

Last night was a hot and humid night while 100’s of “used to be” track & field athletes gathered to rekindle the past glory days of the oval.

We witnessed the men’s 800 meters with a finishing time of 0:01:58, women’s 400 meters at times of :0:58:09 and the main event of the 200 meters which our friend was going to run.

During his time on the track, he befriended a number of sprinters to get tips and suggestions on how to tear it up on 200 meters of track. Sprinters helped him with his stance, his take off, navigating the curve, hitting the last stretch and most of all form and technique.

While I listened to all of this, my head started to spin. I was having a hard time keeping it all in and I was not even running. Our friend soaked it all in and practiced everything he had learned.

The nerves started to show as the time approached. He was sprinting and jumping all over the track as the other 200 meter competitors just stood around and did a few stretches.

The 200 meter men’s event was popular. They ran 5 heats with almost 8 in each. His heat was third as the first two winners of their heats ripped off a 28.9 and a 26.7 for the “Over 50” sprinters!

In the 3rd heat we heard his name being called to line up in Lane 7. The next thing we know the gun goes off and we see him hugging the first curve of the track in good position. A few seconds later he is crowning the oval and then heading for the end of the turn. He was in excellent position out of the curve as he pushed hard with the other 7 sprinters down the straight away to the finish. The group broke up on the final 60 meters as we cheered and screamed as he cruised by while the winner came in at 23.9 and Lane 7 finished in 25.9.

Not a place finish but for the first time against a heat of college track and field athletes, it was a great time.

Our friend had tested his abilities at an event that he had no experience in and came out a winner.

Testing oneself can push you further than your mind thought it was possible. And who, knows during that journey you may inspire another to challenge themselves.

Wednesday was earmarked for the tempo run that was scheduled. Getting out of bed and recapping last night I was ready to go to knock this workout out. I was scheduled to run: 2 miles EZ, 2 miles at Short Tempo and 2 miles EZ. The test for me on the run was not the endurance but what my injuries could sustain as I increased the pace by 1 1/2 minutes per mile. Ankles, Achilles and shoulder shouted back but in time they subsided and I cruised the run in.

I took the test and I would say I “Aced it”. What is your next test of thyself?

Blast Off!

2010-06-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well, actually the lift off started on Saturday. I had an opportunity to run with the Totally Running Group on Saturday morning. The scheduled run on the docket was 13 miles.

This group was running 11 at 7AM. I decided to head over the big Creek Greenway as Sarah headed to Lake Lanier to ride with Stacey, Josephina, Raquel and Susan. They wanted to get familiar with the bike course in preparation for next Sunday’s Iron Girl race.

I made my way over to the Greenway early to get in 2 miles prior to the 11-mile start.
The parking lot had only 6 cars at 6:30AM. The sun was breaking through the trees and each minute that went by you could feel the temperature increasing.

I headed down the trail, which is marked every tenth of a mile. The first 2 tenths both Achilles’ were tight. I kept the pace at a crawl knowing that it would take a few minutes to loosen up.

Almost instantly from the get go the sweat started to pour and I could feel the legs warming up. I maintained an 8:20 pace for the first mile and on the way back picked it up a few a 8 minute pace.

Arriving back at the parking lot the amount of cars had doubled with a few more pulling in every couple of minutes.

I noticed a small group of runners gathering about 20 feet from the entrance to the trail. I went over to the Jeep to retrieve my water bottle and made my way to the group.
The group was a mix of women and men totaling 9 runners. Collin was the organizer of the run and told everyone that this weeks run was 11 miles. I asked the pace and he said we will see how many run and then decide.

Ironically, the women broke off into one pack as I heard a few state that Collin is going to be running fast, as the men of 4 moved off towards Collin.

We headed out about 7:04AM at a quick but manageable pace. As we hit the first mile mark the pace increased fast and one of the runners started to fade as we made our way down the path. About mile 3.5 I asked what pace we were trying to hold, that is when Collin looked at his watch and stated we are averaging 7:05’s currently.

I rolled my eyes as I heard the voices of all my cohorts in crime say, “Too fast Corey!” as I had done many times in the past to them.

The legs felt okay, not great, the breathing was fine, I did not feel overworked so I settled in behind Collin’s left shoulder and held pace while I mimicked his stride. By mile 4 another runner had dropped off and it was Collin, Brandon and myself as we hit the hill (not really a hill as it is an incline) up to the intersection of HWY 9.

This is where Collin stated we would be dialing it back to a sub 8 pace for the remainder. Sub 8? Good that will even my average out to the pace I needed to accomplish today.

The rest of the run out and heading back was me just focusing on my form, gait and breathing. We talked about races and Boston. Both runners thought I was in my mid 30’s on the posting time for Boston in April. I had to correct them that I was 10 years older than them as they both jerked their necks to get another look at grampa keeping stride with them.

As we neared the 1 mile marker and the end of the run I looked at my stopwatch and had over 9 minutes left on my total goal time. I told Collin that I was easing off and taking the last mile as a warm down even though we were all soaked to the bone with sweat from the amount of humidity.

When arrived at the end of the trail I hit the watch and was 53 seconds faster than the goal time. In a sense, I was even faster because the run ended up being 13.3 miles. The average pace for the 13.3 miles was…Uh, I think I better not say so I don’t get yelled at.
At the end, we chatted for a few more and I made a tentative commitment to run the length of the trail 13+ miles next Saturday.

The rest of the weekend was great. I mowed the lawn on Saturday, made Buffalo Wraps for dinner and we watched Sherlock Holmes. Sarah and Ellie went to Alpine Bakery and picked up a plate full of Italian pastries. We ended up gorging ourselves on awesome pastries that night.

Sunday was a relaxing day. I started the construction on a Piñata` Dragon from scratch. A lot of paper ripping and Paper Mache` mixing. I finally finished the last of the application of Paper Mache` 7 hours later, but not all the time was spent on the Dragon.
Ellie and I went to the pool to swim while Sarah went grocery shopping and Grace hung out with a friend. Sarah met up at the pool around 4:30PM as we hung out for another hour.

Father’s Day dinner was a Rib-Eye as big as your face, potatoes, salad and a bottle of wine. Now that is a good end to a great weekend.

This morning was the start of speed again. It has been 68 days from the last speed workout I had accomplished. I knew this was not going to be pretty but had to do my best.

All I am going to say about the speed workout is that I made the distance I had to run. The pace? I need some work on that.

Countdown...4...

2010-06-17T12:00:00.012-04:00

Fun is good
Dr. Seuss

With 4 days, left in the countdown there will be a readjustment to my training for Chicago. Fun. Go out and run and enjoy running. Fun. Think of each run as not that I have to do it, but think about it as I “get” to do it.

We do the things we do outside the normal structure of our lives to survive because we like to do it. No one is telling us to train for an event. If we do not train we will not be out on the streets homeless. If we do not push ourselves to our greatest potentials because we “have” to, we do it because we “want” to.

Fun. We all say, “when it is not fun anymore, I will stop”. But do you say, "man, that ride in 95 degree heat was fun?" Maybe you should…

The last couple of days I have been trying to get my running mojo back. It is still dormant at this stage. But, you know what? Who cares? I will manage the pain as I always have since I picked up endurance sports. Pain is part of it and if I cannot handle the pain, then it is time to be miserable.

Miserable to me is being sedimentary. Eating, going to work, eating, going home, eating, watching T.V., going to bed, start the same day over the next day. Now that is real pain.

I saw a colleague in the hall yesterday. He was on crutches. Of course, I had to ask, “What the heck happened?” A little background on him first. He played running back in college, was a Nationally ranked Track & Field Sprinter, is currently on the Atlanta Track & Field Team and places top 5 in the country in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. He is fast.

His reply to me was, “Softball”. He was rounding first heading to second and twisted his ankle in a hole! The interesting thing is he has chronic ankle problems and arthritis. Now, if he did not have these issues and was not wearing his brace that day he would of snapped his ankle in two. Sounds like someone else I know that had a “Softball” mishap…

We started talking about all of our injuries: bum ankle, Achilles’ issues, Sciatica, pulled hamstring. When we were done, I asked him, “Are you going to give Track and Field up now?” His quick response back (which I knew what it was going to be) was, “Never”. “The day I stop is the day they carry me off the field in a body bag”. “If it was not for what I do, life would not be as fun”, He quoted to me.

We were bred from the same mold. As are most: my wife, friends and family were forged from.

His lost due to the injury is my gain. He gave me two Peachtree Numbers for the 10K on the 4th. Not seeded well (he is a sprinter not a runner), but I invited Todd to run with me, so we are going out and run it and have...

Fun. Fun was riding last night on the Reality Ride last night while the temperatures hit 95+ degrees. I rode with Sarah and Lou, along with 30+ other riders here and there. It was hot, humid, buggy, huge lightening strikes in the background and it poured on us the last quarter mile of the ride. I had equipped Sarah's road bike with aero bars and a new seat post. As usual she left me in the dust as every week she gets stronger and stronger. Would I have rather stayed home and watched re-runs than to spend time with the oppressive weather with Sarah and Lou?

Do I need to answer that?

This morning at 4:30AM was a run date. I woke at 4AM after getting home at 8PM with Sarah. We ate a late dinner, I made my bag of food for breakfast, lunch and snacks for today, showered, got my work clothes ironed and packed the gym bag before climbing into bed at 10PM.

I met Ann Marie at LTF for a, so-called, recovery run. 45 minutes at 8:30 pace. I was tired, sore from the ride and stiff in the ankles. The run started out slow with us both shuffling along from the ride last night (AM rode at 5PM with Amy and Ken). After the first couple minutes the pace smoothed out or should I say, “picked up”.

During the run we talked about stuff in our lives, training, people, AM’s vacation, etc…which made the time go by a lot quicker. Running alone does have its upsides and downsides, but this morning at 4:30AM getting to run with a friend who you respect as an athlete and a person, was fun.

As I write, the emails are flying between Bob, Lou, Jeff and me. We are planning a 5K Race in October based on our two passions: Running and Beer. Yes, October. The same month as Chicago, but not on the same day. Why you asked? “Why when you are training for a marathon, have jobs, family and other responsibilities?” Why? Well, because we can…More to come on the race.

Countdown...6...

2010-06-15T12:04:00.001-04:00

“The road to success is always under construction”
Lily Tomlin

As I continue down the path to the final countdown before another Marathon season, the quote above has a lot of meaning to me.

I do not know nay individuals within my circle that accomplish what they set out to do without first designing and building their infrastructure to achieve success.

Working long hours to build a career, putting time and energy into a relationship to make it a solid foundation or even setting goals and honing the body through countless hours of training to achieve a personal goal.

We are always under construction and when we are not, we break down and fail. To take for granted the very fabric of our being will almost always lead to our destruction.
I have seen the circle of friends in my life achieve sports greatness over the last year. From my wife, Sarah, Ann Marie, Bob, Jay and my sister, Tracey, focus and build their endurance to capture the ultimate goal of qualifying for Boston. Then to see Sarah 5 months later guarantee herself a spot in the Half Iron Distance National Championships. I have witnessed a husband and wife team in Sami and Carmen reach the podium on almost every triathlon race they participated in this year.

The list is endless of personal achievements among great people in the circles I travel in.
In order for me to wallow in the mist of these great people I must too always think that I am under construction. Building, strengthening, developing and pursuing the best that I can be not only in my athlete abilities but also as a human being on this Earth.

We all can construct ourselves for greatness in a specific sport, but the true great ones do it in life.

Monday evening I played email tag with Ann Marie. She was looking to establish a time to run in the morning before swim. Facebook was acting up and not sending messages and by the time, I got her responses I was sound asleep. Next time we “talk” on the phone then we both would not have ran solo this morning.

4:40AM Ann Marie was knocking out her run while I was still asleep. By 5AM I was up and heading out the door. A 5-mile run was on the bill for this morning. I hit the gym, got ready and made a bee line for the door. The humidity was high. I was sweating driving over to the gym (yes, no A/C). I wanted to get out and back before the sun added more heat and stickiness to the day.

The run was again a struggle. The first couple steps were as if I had ski boots tightened up. The ankles were stiff, the Achilles’ screamed a little for being disturbed and the legs felt wobbly from a strength conditioning workout yesterday.

I have to start somewhere, I thought, and what better place then right here and now.
The first mile was awkward. I was swaying all over the road to warm up the muscles and tendons. By the time I hit WW I was feeling better. I set myself in “cruise” mode and set the sights on HWY 9 around 2 miles up the road.

The traffic was light this morning, as I was not beamed in the eyes by early morning commuters on their way to brave 400.

Turning left on HWY 9 and heading to Henderson PKWY I felt good. I held back thinking at Henderson I would open it up a little and push myself. Henderson came; I turned left and increased the pace. The rollers felt good as I was able to increase and decrease cadence as I made my way down to Cumming St. Still pushing the envelope I turned onto Cumming kicked it bit more and cruised onto Westside PKWY. Westside was easy since it is downhill. I focused on form, gait and pace while I made it to Academy. Turned left on Academy and pushing just a bit more until I hit the traffic light at Morris. From Morris back to LTF I slowed and again focused on form.

The pace was unknown, the time was unknown. The only thing that was known was it was humid and it was a 5 mile run.

When you build or construct there is always a plan, but sometimes you need to use your instincts and just go with what is right. This morning it was just about the run and nothing else. I will always be under construction.

Countdown...7

2010-06-14T08:25:00.002-04:00

7 days before the start of Chicago Training. I wish I could say that I am ready. But in honesty I am far from it.

This week will be spent on focusing on the run. EZ runs, a short tempo run, drills, more EZ runs and then end the week with a 11 miler. A lot of stretching and another killer massage during the week to get me prepared for the the start of FURMAN again.

The weekend was great. Now, we did not do a lot of "stuff", or go out of town, but just hung around the homestead.

Saturday started with a 41 mile ride with the group. Sarah, Stacey, Melissa, Raquel, Lou, Troy, Jay, Jeff and I had a good ride. Sarah was to hit 2 hours on her training program. We broke off into two groups while Jay (of course) lead out the first group. I stayed back and hung with the second group. Since I am not training for a triathlon this year riding for me has changed. I am enjoying the pure pleasure of just riding. Hitting it hard when I want and easing off when I want.

The ride ended around 9:30AM and Sarah and I headed home, but first we stopped at Starbucks for a celebratory cup of Joe.

The rest of the day was of course, chores. Lawn cutting, home cleaning and just straighting up the house. After 2 weeks of being out of town and having guest the house needed a good cleaning.

Later in the day I spent some time changing up Sarah's bike. Profile Aero bars and a new Profile Carbon Seat post to pull her closer to the bars. We adjusted the settings on the trainer and she was good to go.

Saturday night we broke up into two groups again. Ellie wanted to see Shrek so I decided to take her. Sarah and Grace did not want to see Shrek so they went to see "Letters to Julia".

We both headed in different directions down Rt 141. Ellie and I headed north to The Avenue, while Sarah and Grace went south to Regal Cinemas at Medlock.

We both got home about the same time, but Ellie and I took a detour. We headed over to VS to buy Sarah a set of new summer PJ's which she was in need of. Ellie and I picked out a nice matching pair and Ellie gave the PJ's to Sarah when we got home.

Sunday was a lazy day for some and a workout for others. I took the lazy day, while Sarah ran 5 miles in the morning and biked 1.5 hours on the trainer in the evening. Sarah had some good TV to watch during the trainer ride. The Ironman 70.3 Championships were on so she had a good viewing to take her mind off of the ride to nowhere.

During the middle of the day, Sarah, Ellie and I headed to the pool to do something that very rarely happens in our household, relax. Grace decided to stay back at home, while the three of us packed a lunch and snacks and headed to the pool. Ellie and I swam and played while Sarah read. We ended up staying at the pool for about three hours. Nice to just hang without having an agenda.

Dinner was Mexican and for dessert we had Lime and Pineapple Sherbet which ended the weekend on a high note.

Monday morning came hard. Sleep for me was erratic. I drifted in and out for 7 hours with not getting more than an hour at a time. This has become the norm lately and it continues to wear on the body and mind. I am thinking that once training starts and I am in a regular routine, the sleep with become more consistent.

I ran 3.2 miles this morning at a EZ pace. No stop watch, did not see when I left or when I finished. No music either. I just ran. I am trying to find my Zen of running I once had. Being able to run fluid and not be concerned with my surroundings. Needless to say, I am not there.

It was tough and hot. I know I have not been consistent in running over the last 2 months and with time and patients it will return.

But, in seven days, reality is going to happen and I need to prepare myself for the hurt.

Day 10 -"The Test"

2010-06-11T15:41:00.002-04:00

With starting the Chicago Training in just 10 days I needed to test the body. I have started a mini plan to get some mileage in (not speed, not yet) to see how the Achilles' can handle the increase in running.

So far this week I have logged 20.5 miles of running. The Achilles' though not back to their normal state are not in the tremendous pain they were in over the last month. I have not "hit" running hard, but have been easing into it with a few pick up here and there just to see...

This morning I had 8 miles pegged. I wanted to run a mixture of uphills, downhills, rollers and flats. I picked the LTF to Webb Bridge Park route. This would show me where I am as a runner and to see if the FURMAN program is going to work for me this go around.

After the run, I am still not sure what direction to head in.

The run took me out behind the gym which was downhill. I like warming up on downhills so not to increase the heart rate through the roof in the first 10 minutes. I crossed North Point and headed down the hill on Webb Bridge. By the time I passed the school the road was blocked & closed for construction. I decided to venture in and see if I could navigate the road if it was tore up. By the time I hit the construction sight it was very manageable to get around as I headed up Webb Bridge.

The next 2 miles are uphill. Not steep, but not easy. I focused on form and stride to insure I was striking evenly on both sides as I ascended up Webb towards the park.

I noticed as I progressed forward that my breathing and heart rate felt labored. The legs started to bark hitting the hill in front of me. I adjusted my strided and shortened the steps to save energy, but the breathing continued as the valves were opened and the sweat poured off of me.

Arriving at the park I took my running shirt off (which I threw away after the run, the smell was not human) as I entered the park. I thought I would cool down a little and my breathing would regulate. After about 5 minutes and 3 miles into the run, the engine started to run smooth.

I ran the first loop of the park with little effort and rounded the second time in the same fashion. I stopped at the fountain to get a drink of water before heading back out of the park towards the gym.

On my way out I heard the Twins talking as the rounded a bend off a trail. Bob stopped and turned direction to run with me, but I politely told Bob that I did not them running with me as I picked it up and headed into the darkness.

I wanted to run alone for a reason. This was a long run for me and I advised them yesterday that I needed to iron out the issues. I have always enjoyed the company of other runners but this was an exception.

I exited the park and picked the pace up a little on the flats. The rest of the run in the opposite direction was fast and effortless as I descended down Webb Bridge.

Hitting the bottom before the biggest hill of the run, I took a deep breath, focused on my form and slowly eased my way up to the end of the run. The uphills are the killer on the Achilles' but as this point with only 1 mile to go the pain was minimal.

The whole 8.2 miles felt labored. I was breathing hard, sweating, legs felt sluggish and I felt like a jerk for rejecting my friends. I just happened to glance at my watch (When I left it was 5:13AM and I returned at 6:15AM) to see what time it was. Doing a quick calculation, I thought the pace was wrong. I felt as if I was at a snail's pace of 9's but it ended being 7:40's on average.

Too fast and I know that I have not only lost endurance fitness but I have lost the feeling of pacing.

Back to plotting and timing...

12 Days

2010-06-09T13:23:00.001-04:00

“You can't tell how deep a puddle is until you step into it”

I took the plunge this morning. I am determined to test my boundaries of running after sitting on the side lines. With Achilles’ issues the three things, they (meaning the experts) say: Reduce Mileage, No Hills and No Speed. I have done all three for over 50 days.

Today was the day I get back into the saddle and forge ahead. I had run 4 miles on Saturday, 3 miles on Monday, swam and focused on strength conditioning yesterday, it was time to step up the mileage, just a hair, of course outside. I have done all my “small”, pedestrian pace runs on the dreadmill at a 0% grade so far.

To coin a phrase, “I am done”. I needed to get out on the open road, feel the heaviness of the humidity on me, car headlights piercing my retina’s and negotiating the curb to asphalt to feel free of cheesy gym music and CBS This Morning overhead.

I arrived at the gym 20 past the hour of 5 in the morning. The first sight I saw was Michelle with a serious face knocking out nowhere miles on the treadmill above. I tried to get her attention but the concentration was so focused that there was no attempt to break it.

Upon leaving the dungeon of the gym for the freedom of the open sky, I had decided to, “just run this one”. No watch, no set course, nobody to run with and no music. I wanted to feel the run and work on form and execution of my stride.

My preconceived goal was to run around 5 miles. I headed for the side of the LTF and around the back end of the building. The first 4/10ths of a mile are downhill. A good warm up to loosen the rigimortus that has settled in both Achilles.

The first mile was hard. It felt like I was running in ski boots as my ankle turnover did not kick in. When I hit an intersection I had to decide, Left? Right? Straight? I made the choice to turn right. With this decision I could easily loop around back to the gym if the legs were not feeling it.
The right took me up a long, low grade hill. My pace after the rigimortus broke apart increased as I controlled my breathing, focused on pace and stride up the hill. I felt good nearing the top and decided to hang a left on the road named after a town.

The grade of the hill double instantly as I leaned into the hill (a little flat footed to take pressure of the Achilles’) and glided up to my next decision. Right or Straight? Straight takes me into the bowels of Alpharetta where I could run a long downhill, but I decided to wade further into the run and took the first right.

The windy, curvy road was filled with rollers. It gave me an opportunity to test the legs some more and see how my endurance was after 50 days of basically doing nothing.

The road was forgiving to me, but after cresting the top and the end of the road, the Achilles on the left leg was just a little tender. I could feel the heat being generated from the heal up about 3 inches. I adjusted my gait again to strike further back towards the heal to relieve the uncomfortable feeling. I know now, most of it was my mind worrying but better to play on the side of caution early in the game.

At the crest the only decision to make since I wanted to be around 5 miles was right. I headed down the street towards the empty local watering hole where a few weeks ago I attended a friends graduation. Passing the establishment the ominous dark of the windows made his accomplishment seem from another life.

At a cross roads, the 4-way stop, again the choice was made, right. The road flattens out for 2 miles as I made the conscious decision to “open er’ up” to see what she’s got. I increased speed and cadence as I cruised down the road towards the highway. The increase in speed was laboring to me, but I focused more on form and the goal of reaching the next intersection where I needed to turn.

The 2 miles of increased pace felt, okay. Not great, not good, not bad, just okay. As I hit the intersection and turned right, another drill was ready to take action. As I ran the next mile I ran on the solid double yellow line. Since I was tired and form is effected, I ran the line to maintain my gait and stride in a forward motion. I focused on foot strike and not “leaning” left or right increasing pressure to either side of my body.

I ended the longest run in 50 days at the entrance of the gym. All-in-all, it was not a bad run.
Entering the lobby, I looked up and saw Michelle forging ahead to “Nowheresville” as this time her concentration was not as focused and she saw me? I gave her a body gesture, as to say, “Why aren’t you outside?” as I made my through the lobby. I am glad I went outside.

I am also glad that I decided to jump in for a little longer run, with hills and asphalt to take the step to recovery and to be back on track.

13 Days

2010-06-08T09:36:00.002-04:00

“Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
Marcus Aurelius

Over the last 50 days this type of thought process eluded me. When and injury plagues you constantly doubts creep in to mind and overtake your sense of logic.

The feeling of not being able to perform at the level you just were at haunts you. I can understand how age can affect you because that is a given that all of us have to come to grips with. The older you get, the more changes you need to make in order to sustain what you enjoy to do.

With an injury it is just, unfair. You do everything by the book to prevent such a catastrophe from happening, but it still happens.

I will be honest, I have my doubts on where I am heading. I have adjusted my training to give myself two additional weeks of recovery. I am stretching, icing, wearing “the boot” at night, massages and while I type away, I am rolling a golf ball along the bottom of my foot to loosen up the tightness.

Though the cloud of doubt is over me, I am starting to see a ray of sunshine attempting to slice the cover. The Achilles’, though stiff are not in chronic 24-7 mind numbing pain this week, like they have been a constant 45 days.

With a continual diligence on my part and another massage next week, I may just be a ready to take this training session on.

Swim this morning:
150 Warm up
100 side kick
100 single arm
100 fist
50 Smooth
5 X 100M on the 2:05 (too EZ, but the group I swam with was on this mark)
4 X 100M on the 2's. (same too EZ)
100M at a sub 1:45.

My lunchtime routine has adapted into more flex and polymeric strength training. I am focusing on strength exercises that deal with standing up and core, just like when you run. Sitting or laying down are not part of running so all leg and upper body routines will be done on the feet. I am banking that this will continually increase my core and stability for the long haul during training. In addition, I need to find the time to fit in at least 3 of these sessions a week on top of riding with Sarah.

I will be stronger for it or die trying…

Countdown

2010-06-07T10:33:00.002-04:00

2 weeks, 14 days, 336 hours until the start of Marathon training, again.

I had every intension of knocking out another PR at the Chicago Marathon in October, but with the slow recovery from the Achilles' injury I have had to readjust my training and goals.

On a positive note, my readjustment to the training will give me the opportunity to help Sarah out with her Half Ironman National Championship training that starts today. With going back to the FURMAN program I will be able to bike along with her on the weekends when she does her long rides.

We had decided that I would not be her coach for this training and she has hired Ken Brown to be her coach. We both think this was a smart move so now all I need to do is support her, which is something I do not mind at all.

Trading one goal and helping my wife with her goal is a good thing for both of us.

Run? I Will Get to It.

2010-06-04T14:16:00.001-04:00

“Neglect will sooner kill an injury than revenge”

We are back into the groove after coming back from NYC. It was Grace’s 13th birthday on Saturday, May 29th and we jetted off to NYC to hit the town.

After 5 days hitting the sites, eating the town and visiting friends it is good to be back.
The Achilles’ on both legs are still plaguing me. I have neglected the run for the last 30 days.

The pain was intense 24-7 for 3 weeks. Very little sleep and a lot of pain at home and at work. But, after being on my feet for the last 5 days in NYC the Achilles’ are about 30% better…

Visited the foot doctor yesterday afternoon. Pebbles stated he cannot find anything wrong with the feet except for the injury, which is just a “slow healer”. I was fitted with a boot to ease the pain from sleeping. I wore it for the last time during the night for only 5 hours then I could not stand it anymore. Tonight will be longer.

I have 2 more weeks to get back to normal before training starts.

A few more weeks of neglect should put me back on the straight and narrow.

I miss the run…

Time Marches

2010-05-27T13:40:00.003-04:00

Not much information to put in the blog lately. This week has been one of those weeks of just trudging through to the next day...Get up, go to work, eat lunch, work some more, go home, eat dinner, every one scatters to their own little part of the house, go to bed.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. NYC. This is where we are heading as a family this weekend. It is my oldest daughter's 13th birthday and we are heading to NYC to see the sights.

Now, it is just getting through the rest of the week and I will be golden.

A Weekend Warrior

2010-05-24T11:23:00.031-04:00

The past couple of days have been a hurl wind of activity. When life is busy things seem to hum along just fine. But sometimes you need to ease off and enjoy the simple things that surround you on a daily basis. This was not one of these weekends, but I have truncated my writings into a short description of the events that took place.

Thursday: Ellie's Recital:

Sharon String Quartet

Ellie waiting for their turn

"Old McDonald Had a Farm"...

The ending of "Star Bright, Star Light"

Some of the girls getting down to Jazz!

Cumming Christan Jazz Band

The girls had a great time

Friday was a recovery day. With the injury still plaguing me I slept in and took it easy.

Saturday was a day for yardwork. The lawn was cut, power washed the driveway, sidewalk and porch. Mulched and stained more of the shoe box. Ended the day with burgers and beers on the grill. A meal fit for a Warrior...

Sunday: The Day for Warrior's

The mist came over the mountains as the two Warriors made their way to the battlefield in Mountain City, GA

Along the way we stopped to pay homage to the Goats.

Goats on the Roof!

We are close to Warrior Land!

Upon unloaded our chariot we boarded the ships to Warrior Land.

We had to register for the Warrior Events

Warrior mill around before the battles begin.

Clans from all over the area came to participate.

The Man Dress Clan

The Grinch Clan

Clans from near and far came to take the challenge in the Mud Pit of Doom.

Nacho Libre' took on the challenge.

Warriors drudged through the mud

More obstacles on their way...

Warriors making out of the Mud Pit of Doom towards the Logs of Terrior

Another wave of Warriors pushing towards victory!

A Warrior Wench from the Hauf Brau' House Clan

D'An from the Feather Tribe

A Mud Warrior barreling through the Wall of Fire

A Broadway Warrior coming to the end of his journey

Caveman Tribe Warrior afraid of F-I-R-E!

Mud Pit of Doom taken it toll on Warrior Bob.

Warrior Bob with his Vest of Man Hair with Warriors from a neighboring tribe.

Warriors celebrating a good day of pillaging.

More celebration

Awards to the Top Warriors...BOB! First Place in his Age Group Tribe!!!

Bob's prize...prizes.

Good day for all

Battle wounds from 3 times the challenge.

Victory times Three!

Tuesday's Down, Wednesday's Up

2010-05-20T10:21:00.000-04:00

Wednesday started out quite slow. After the massage I had on Monday that literally tore me apart, my body was fatigued Tuesday night.

I decided in the middle of the day as I sat at my desk in agony that track was out of the question. Running was not going to happen, spin was off the docket and swimming was already completed that morning.

I notified Stacey that I was going to skip the track and at that moment, all I knew I needed was a good night sleep.

This became increasing apparent as the day wore on. At one point, my legs and back were in such a place of contention with the rest of my body that I decided to read some emails standing up. After a few minutes, I actually fell asleep standing at the desk. Not good. Sleep was needed but it was too early in the day and too much work to be done.

After work, my eldest daughter had a choir event at the school. Due to the time of the event we decided to eat before heading over to watch. Upon arriving, the gymnasium was packed. Not a seat in the house which forced Sarah, Ellie and I to stand against the wall.

Since the back was acting up this did not sound as bad as it was. Sitting in the bleachers for over an hour was not too inviting to me so the leaning up against the wall had its advantages. Now, the choir sang a number of top 40 songs and then dove into Mrs. Reynold’s favorite show tunes. This was about the time I started to fade. By the middle of the first show tune, I was again, sleep standing. My eyes were closed, my head went limp and I leaned back against the padded wall and felt as if I was in REM sleep.

The only thing that woke me was the clapping of the crowd after the song. But, as soon as the next song started I drifted back to slumber town. This happened 4 more times until the choir was done and it was time to go. We, well Sarah, chatted with a few neighbors as I stood there like a Zombie just waiting to get home.

The choir was not the thing that put me to sleep, I believe it was the hour massage I had on Monday. I have so many issues that Michelle spent the full hour grinding and grinding away at tight muscles and scar tissue. This hour of flushing years of beating my body up took its toll on me.

Slept until 6:30AM on Tuesday. Waking up I felt great. Got 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, had a good breakfast and was ready to face Wednesday.

I had three things planned for Wednesday outside of work. The first was weights. I headed to the gym at 11:45AM did my upper body circuit, stretched the hip flexors and did a 150 sit ups. Done.

Wednesday evening Sarah and I planned to ride Reality. The bike crowd was huge. There were more A riders and B riders than I had ever seen before. The nice weather had pulled everyone to these group rides. The ride was good. I can still tell that my legs are not back to normal nor is my fitness level from running Boston. I was running at threshold just pedaling through Cumming town center and I thought to myself that this is going to be a tough ride. It was tough but not unobtainable. I peeled off with a group of riders that I could hang with. The group I rode with made it back safely to the parking lot which is the sign of a good ride.

For one rider, Mike it was not so good. This leads to the third event. Susan L & Mike’s 20th wedding anniversary. A small group was invited to have pizza and beers with the celebratory couple after the rides. Mike had had an accident jockeying for position and went down. A few bumps, gashes and scraps but he will be able to ride again.

We all headed for the local pizza joint right next to Reality after the ride to celebrate. It was very low key which the happy couple wanted and with all of us caked with sweat and road grit, this pizza joint was perfect.

The time seemed to go by in a flash which is always a good sign that everyone enjoyed themselves. By 9:30PM Sarah and I and most of the party (we all get up way too early) were ready to head home.

Tuesday’s fatigue and soreness turned Wednesday into a great day and an awesome evening. This group of friends are all just a great group of people that both Sarah and I are fortunate to know.

One thing I did leave out and have to mention in passing. Thanks Ann Marie for not giving me too much grief on the ride. You are a true friend.

Thursday is here which means swim. As I laid in bed trying to sleep on Wednesday night, I said to myself that I was not going to swim in the morning. All the activity left me drained. Ironically, with the massage, the ride, weights and being out late, no sleep was allowed. I was awake all night tossing and turning. By 5AM, totally exhausted I thought I could stay in bed for another hour and try to sleep or get my behind up and grind through a swim workout.

I chose the latter.

Coach Mike’s Workout for Thursday:
150 WU
4 X 100M I.M.
Substitute a drill for fly
2 X 450M on the 9’s
Descending every 100M
Last 50M push it.
22 X 100M
1-2 & 3 on the 1:55’s
4 on the 2:10’s
200M Cool down

We were supposed to do in and outs in the zero entry pool as well but the time got away and it was 7AM while we finished the 100’s.

As I left the gym I saw Carmen coming in from her track workout. She was looking mean and lean as she approached. Carmen has started back to her training and just like all of us that first initial week is brutal. The body does not want to move and the mind can’t make it. In a week or so she will be moving faster and faster as she progresses towards her next event.

The last couple of days have been busy. It wears on the body just like a race tears the body down. Injuries keep plaguing my progression and soon decisions will need to be made on my next steps towards Chicago training. I have two weeks to decide, but in the meantime, I need to stay active and kept my mind off of it. I am not one to sit idle and feel sorry for myself. I attack the problem with tenacity and continue to stretch, ice, stretch and rest the area until it is 100%.

No Time Like Now

2010-05-18T10:25:00.000-04:00

“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it.

Establish your priorities and go to work.”
H.L. Hunt

We all make decisions on a daily basis that have an effect on ourselves, our families, our friends, our work, etc… The decisions we make either propel us forward in life or trip us up, but without decisions, we would be nowhere.

My wife, Sarah has a large decision to make. She has a very special invite to an event that will take her the next 137 days of total commitment from her and our family to get her to a place where she could triumph. This maybe a one in a lifetime opportunity but the decision has to be 100 percent hers. I cannot tell her she should, “do it”. All I can do for her is support her in her endeavor if her decision is to commit to it.

I made my own decision a few weeks back on an event that I believe that will propel me to another level, but there is no reason with the commitment we have for each other that she cannot attempt what has been laid out in front of her.

We are not getting any younger and you never know what tomorrow will bring, so grab the gusto when you can and run with it.

Graduation and Friends

2010-05-14T10:52:00.003-04:00

“24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."

H.L. Mencken

Yesterday was a momentous occasion. A few friends actually got together to share a few pints of liquid gold at a local watering hole.

Now, you are thinking, “what’s the big deal?” So, you went out and a beer with some friends. Well, I have to say that when I say, “momentous”, I do mean momentous.

You see, this group of friends and so called, gentlemen are elusive. To get all of us in the same room around the same table after work takes planning. It is not just a quick email or call saying, “Meet me for a drink.” This type of activity takes weeks of planning and re-planning to find one day out of the whole year where we can actually have a beer together.

On this particular date that was set, I counted over 25 emails from 7 individuals. The date changed 2 to 3 times and the time fluctuated until we settled on, May 13, 2010 at 5:45PM at Taco Mac. This date was set and put into our planners 2 weeks ago. Jeff, Jay, Bob, Lou, Todd and myself were, “go to go” while Tim could not make it due to travel.

However, as the weeks ended the 6 friends that were to meet at 5:45PM at Taco Mac became, four. Two friends could not make it leaving Bob, Jay, Todd and me to share in a few suds and catch up.

I have found it is best to over invite to a gathering with the anticipation that 20-30% of the invites will drop off for one reason or another.

So, the four of us met at Taco Mac. Bob had been working on his Brewinversity diploma from Taco Mac and was 3 suds away from graduation. When completed Bob would have drunk 125 beers in almost a 4-year period just at Taco Mac. Running some rough numbers that is: 32 beers a year for a total of $960.00 in hard earned money to accomplish this feat.

During our time Bob, since he was the beer aficionado of Taco Mac order beers for us. Kona Fire Run Pale Ale, Hop Devil, Albeit and Hercules. We all drank and saluted Bob in his 125th beer which was the Hercules at 8.5% alcohol. We also raised one to Lou and Jeff in their absence.
We had a great time talking about the normal stuff guys talk about. Marathon’s, training, the next race, convincing Todd to run Chicago, our kids. Just the normal stuff.

After a quick bite to eat and finishing our beers we took off for home. Age does creep up on you especially when you arrive at a bar and leave a bar and the sun is still shining.

This is one event that we need to schedule more often. It is good to hang with good friends for a while with no worries of work or family life.

This morning was rough. Though the beers were limited the alcohol level left me a little foggy waking up. I had an appointment with Ann Marie to swim and do a short run. Tomorrow is AM’s first tri of the season down at the Peachtree City International.

We swam only 1000 meters and ran for 20 minutes. Though it was short, I did not mind it. The structure of only running 20 minutes kept me in check to build back slowly.

We finished the short burst workouts and stretched and talked for a while about almost the same things the men discussed last night. A little more about kids and family, but that is expected when you have a friend that has certain things in common.

Sarah and I are grateful to have friends that share the same common bounds of family, friends and competitiveness.

Down Time

2010-05-13T08:14:00.003-04:00

During a training season things are always being put on the back burner. Household projects, events, vehicle maintenance and giving.

Due to my blood type and red blood cell count I am a much needed donor for the Red Cross. I give blood every opportunity I can to save lives.

Last year I made a mistake. I gave blood right in the middle of a peak week for Half Ironman training. I did not feel the effect of the donation until the U.S. 10K Challenge.

I went into the race with a prescribed time. Starting out I felt fresh but within 1.25 miles I feel apart. Legs gave out, heart rate was through the roof, I cramped and became delirious. I made it through the race but paid the price. It took me two weeks of being anemic to get back into the game.

Giving blood to a cause that may save a life and possibly the life of someone I know is important to me. But, during training, I reluctantly abstain from my civic duty.

After Boston, I received an email from the American Red Cross asking for a donation. The scheduled event was at our church so without hesitation I volunteered to be drained.

Yesterday was my day to give. When I arrived at the church Tonnet, the nurse asked me if I wanted to give a pint or the "Double Red". Of course, I had to ask about the Double Red. Tonnet advised me that they hook you up to a centrifuge the separates your red blood cells from your plasma. It is called the "Double Red" because the process takes two pints of red blood cells. You are replenished with your plasma and IV back into your body. This technique allows them to produce more high quality of blood for trauma patients. The process takes 40 minutes.

I asked Tonnet which one does the Red Cross need more? "Double Red", she said. I said to her, "I am in".

When it was my turn I was sent over to Shirley, another nurse, who was going to set me up for the drain. The process was painless except for a few things. The needle, of course. Shirley also advised me that my lips may tingle due to a depletion of calcium from the double drain and IV. During the drain, my lips tingled and it was hard to speak. Shirley gave me a hand full of Tums and within 1 minute I was back to normal. The last thing was that you start to shiver. The IV bag is room temperature or about 75-80 degrees. The cool liquid from the IV being pumped into your veins feels like someone has the air condition pointed right at you full blast.

Now, this may sound terrible, but in actuality it was painless. Besides, the way I look at it is I would rather be inconvenienced for 40 minutes to save a life and I prefer having my blood drained from me than being in a situation where I need it pumped into me.

The Verdict

2010-05-12T09:45:00.001-04:00

After a long consultation with a specialist yesterday, everything is going to be fine.

When you are passionate about events, issues, life, family and then things take a turn all you can do is obsess. This is what I have been doing over the last 2 weeks. My schedule, process and rebuilding has been halted due to the issues that have plagued me.

Yesterday I went through series of questions, X-rays and diagnosis with the specialist. The specialist had me walk down the hall to examine my posture, gait and stride. Everything looked fine in this area. We discussed my training regimen. We talked about mileage and speed. He wanted to make sure that I did not ramp up the distance too fast. Check, everything was good there. Then came the shoes, for my arch and foot the Asics Nimbus is the best running shoe for me. Double check. I have been wearing Nimbus for the last 6 years. Stretching was next on the list. I showed him what I do and again, everything was fine. Stretch training was mentioned, I told him 3-4 times a week alternating legs and upper body. The program I designed for strength building was inline as well. The X-rays came back fine. Not spurs, fractures or tumors visible.

Conclusion, I am a tippy toe walker, which I knew. The specialist had to chalk this one up to bad genes. It is just one of those things that happen. All I can do is repair my issues and move on.

I mentioned that I am not a person to jump to the doctor when I get any kind of ache and pain. But, since I have not experienced this type of injury I wanted to make sure that I was doing the “right things” to insure a healthy recovery and to prevent this from happening again.

Over the next 3 weeks, I need to continue to ice, stretch, build up running slow and get deep tissue massages. I have never had a massage before, nor in my mind, I never needed one, until now. After 3 weeks, I have a follow-up visit to make sure I am progressing forward.
Looks like the bass boat is on hold for now. Time to get busy in repairing and rebuilding.

The Anxious Aqua Man

2010-05-11T10:58:00.002-04:00

Lazy people are always anxious to be doing something.

Marquis De Vauvenargues

I never considered myself, ever a lazy person, but since I am anxious, I guess I fit the bill.
In life, my life and my family’s life “idle” does not compute. We are constantly on the move. Events, commitments, chores, projects and athletics use up our time. For me to be idle is for me to be dead. Even sitting on the chesterfield for a brief moment to rest from one activity to the next my rest is disturbed by thoughts of things that need to be accomplished. Within seconds of settling in to be idle I am up and moving again.

My time and my family’s time to sit and relax is Friday nights with pizza, beer and a movie, other than that I am on the move.

This goes for my training life as well. I like structure in training. Knowing when, where and how I am going to attack my next training session pumps me up and gets me stoked for the challenge.

With “Post”, training in the air not only with me but also with Sarah there is a sense of anxiety that has crept into my psyche that has a temporary hold on me. Sarah has just finished her challenge of a 70.3 event. She is thrilled with her accomplishment as I share in her enjoyment of conquering her quest. Through all Sarah has been through, she has persevered. This is a trait of hers that I adore. She is not a quitter, but a fighter. The differences between us are that she is contempt and enjoys the downtime after her victory. Me, I cannot stand it. I am ready for the next challenge and want to start it right now. Her ability to “relax” after a grueling challenge is another part of her I love. This I cannot understand. In her own way, she helps me “try” to control the constant movement I need.

Right now, after my goal of running the Boston Marathon and the downtime I am to take, I see my friends getting stronger on the bike and run. There is no jealously or resentment protruding. All I want is the ability to be a part of their progress and seeing them move forward.

With the sideline issues experienced right now, that cannot happen.
The body has spoken and curbed me from perpetual motion with my feet. I can still move forward at a snail’s pace, which is out of my element.

So to say I am anxious, is a true statement. To say since I am anxious that I am lazy is other true statement.

I try to put training and moving forward out of my mind, but the grey matter between my ears does not comprehend this type of thinking. There needs to be a constant balance in the tiny universe I exist in and without the Ying and the Yang, I am lost.

Are my goals fading away? Will I ever be able to pursue the goal that I have set for myself for 2010? Should I buy a bass boat, fishing supplies and a beer cooler and forget this whole training and pushing the body to the brink stuff? Fresh fish and Budweiser in the can is appealing...?
This afternoon will help me clarify it. This afternoon will allow me to focus on the next chapter of my athletic life. The “afternoon” will determine my path of my perpetual existence.

I need the challenge in my life of pushing myself to the edge of the envelope. To see what I am capable physically and mentally. I have been down this path before when the body told me what I was destined for. I did not believe it then and I will not believe it now.

But, I need clarification and assistance to put myself back on the train tracks which I have been derailed from over the last 45 days.

Idle and lazy are not in my vocabulary. The “afternoon” will have an impact on me but it will not set me in anyone of these two categories.

If anything, I will start to search for a good deal on a slightly used Ranger Bass Boat.
One last thing.

I returned to Master’s Swimming this morning. I have to say it was nice to be back. Coach Mike welcomed me along with all my fellow swimmers since I am forced to swim only.
I was knocked down a peg by Brian this morning telling me I had to start from scratch in the far lanes. Jokingly of course. I knew that I had to start lower in the ranks since I have not swum over 3000M’s since April 1st.

Coach Mike’s Workout:

100M Free
100M I.M.
100M Drill
Repeat 3 times
18 X 50 Descending ever 3.
:55, :51, :47
8 X 150M with the last 25M race pace
Interval 2:55
3 X 350M with every 4th length race pace
On the 7’s.
200M Cool Down

I swam with Jeff, Chris and Rebecca. I enjoyed swimming with my friends and enjoyed the workout.

Aqua Man

2010-05-10T11:48:00.002-04:00

When things are going your way and you feel good about your progress this is when you hit a bump in the road.

This weekend was B-U-S-Y. Sarah left for her first Half Iron Distance triathlon on Friday with Wren and Courtney. My sister, my niece and my parents are came into town. My sister, Nicole was the featured artist at the Dunwoody Art Festival. My parents came to help out where needed at the festival.

The girls and their cousin folded right into each other and hung out most of the weekend. With Sarah gone and a household of guest it was my job to cook, clean and make sure the homestead continued to function.

The blur of weekend was over before I knew it but during this time since Friday night a lot went on:

Grace had cheerleading try-outs until 10:30PM on Friday.
My buddy, Bob had an art show in Roswell.
My sister, Nicole was at her art show all weekend.
My wife, Sarah completed her very first 70.3 distance triathlon along with her close friends, Courtney and Wren. We are very proud of her and Courtney & Wren for their accomplishment!
My friends, Michelle, Carmen and Sami participated in 70.3 events in Panama City & Knoxville.
My daughter Grace was confirmed in the Methodist Church on Sunday.
Ellie and Camille opened a lemonade stand and raked in over $13!

And me? Well, no running, no swimming and no biking. I held the home together, did yard work, went to my sister's art show, Grace's confirmation and was there for Sarah on her arrival back home on Saturday night.

This week will be focusing on healing, strengthing and trying to maintain my fitness level. I have a appointment on Tuesday with a specialist to get me on the right road to recovery. I know this detour is not permenant and it was the effect of miles of running, but it does wear on your mind to think you may not be able to do what you enjoy eventhough it is not true.

This is why I am taking aggressive moves to combat this on get back on the main highway back to my top form.

In the meantime, the pool is my oasis. I may even come back to Master's this week just to swim with my old swimming buddies. Hope they will have me back.

Detour

2010-05-07T20:08:00.002-04:00

When things do not go as planned then a detour transpires.

The nagging issues with the tendons have spoke up and told me to slow down. Miles of running have taken their toll.

I could, but won't, sit on my behind and feel sorry for myself. That is not in my nature. I am a "suck it up and deal with it" type of individual.

When I get knocked down I figure away out to not get knocked down again. We all get up, that is what we do, but to say, "I am not getting knocked down again" is what a few would say. One of them is me.

I have revamped the training and what I have substituted for running over the next 10 days is, swimming, swimming, swimming and a few moderate bikes.

This will allow the fitness to be maintained and allow the injuries to heal.

Today, I was up at 4:25AM. I was to meet my friend, Ann Marie at the pool for her scheduled workout. I told Ann Marie last week that I would be her "Friday Beech" and swim and then run her tempo run with her. I had to break that promise which irritated me to no end. I don't like backing off of a promise, but with run, the thing I enjoy most, out of the picture I had to be a "Friday Half Beech" to her.

The workout was very cut and dry: 10 X 300M descending. Ann Marie was in lane 4 while I took lane 3. There were plenty of swimmers in the pool this morning but we were on a mission.

The workout went good. We descended at our own paces, AM descending from 6:17 to 5:59 while I went from 4:49 to 4:31. After the swim AM headed out to run her 60 minute tempo run which again pained to not to run.

I headed off to the homestead. My wife, Sarah was leaving for her very first Half Ironman at White Lake, NC today. Her race is tomorrow and she was trekking the 7 hour trip to the race sight with good friends and training partners, Courtney and Wren. This is a maiden voyage for the trio and I wanted to be there to see them off on their journey.

My wife, her friends and a few of my other friends, Michelle, Richard, Donna, Carmen and Sami are all venturing out to participate in Half Ironman Distances this weekend at White Lake, REV3 and Gulf Coast.

With the number of triathlons I have participated in I do miss the action of competing but I am more excited for Sarah and my friends in living their dreams over the next 72 hours.

Post Recovery

2010-05-04T10:25:00.002-04:00

I have started back running after some time off. I can tell you it has not been easy. As you age, the body takes longer to heal. I have been able to bounce back in a cardio capacity, but the healing of the worn out parts of my body are taking their own sweet time.

Putting together a training plan has been simple this go around. Whatever I feel like doing, I do for the next month. Run? Sure! Swim? Sure! Bike?...Bike??? Well, not so sure. 7 months out of the saddle was left me in the beginner's stages of riding again. This was evident last Wednesday as I was dropped and then dropped again. But you know, I had other priorities at the time and my goal was to "best" my 2009 marathon time and I did that. So, the bike will come, when I feel like riding.

Last night I told Sarah that I am going to swim at JC in the morning. This brought a heavy sigh, since JC's swim starts at 5AM. That means getting up at 4:30AM to get over there. I could have swam alone later, but that is no fun. I am in post season training for the time being at I just dread thinking about solo swimming.

I hit the pool and same with Jannie. I even did her workout. She wanted to focus on the main set of 1500 meters. I said, lets hit 3 X 500's and decend on them. She was game so after the warm up we started in. I let her lead on the first 500. We hit the wall at 8:23. Jannie said she was concerned on her races that she goes out too fast and dies half way through the swim. I asked her if the 8:23 was a controlled pace and she said yes. She was trying to start out slow and increase. I gave her a pointer. I said on the next 500, hit the first 75 meters hard, then settle in. After 250 meters hit another 75 meters hard then settle in again. I lead out and finished the 500 in 7:40 and Jannie came in at 8:15. I told her that type of swim technique will train her for the race. Everyone goes out fast but the smart ones learn to settle into a race pace and keep moving forward. We hit the last 500 the same way, I came in at 7:41 and Jannie was 8:19.

After a few sets of 100's I got out. I headed upstairs to run the dreadmill. The only reason I ran on the wheel of doom was to hold a constant flat surface. Flat surfaces are more forgiving on the Achilles while they heel.

I started out my the "stretching" area in the back of the gym. After 1.5 miles, "Sweaty, Spandex Dude" came to stretch. He was decked out in his black marble bag (like a Speedo Boxer Suit), tight, red Spandex shirt and yellow Spandex 80's head band. He proceeded to lay on the floor right in front of me and stetched his legs WIDE open. Now, there is some very worng with this picture and I did not want to continue to look at that snap shot.

I hopped off the Mill of Torture and headed over to the "other side" of the gym where there were more rows of "Walking Paths to Know Where". I settled in between two elder women, cranked the speed to 7.6 MPH and finished my 4 miler with no Spandex Dudes in sight.

If it wasn't for the Spandex Dude and a snap shot of all his glory, it would have been a good morning.

Hitting weight at lunch as well. Changing up the weight program and instead of doing lighter weight with more reps, I am following Runner's World suggesting and doing heavier weight at less reps. The leg workout yesterday went quicker and I learned I need to up the weight. The legs were not as fried as they should have been from this workout. Will attempt the same process on the upper body today.

The Weekend

2010-05-03T15:18:00.002-04:00

While my friends and training partners enjoyed the weekend racing in a 5K, riding 100miles or even riding and having a few flats along the way, I spent my weekend working around the homestead.

Saturday was spent stream cleaning every carpet in our home from top to bottom. This process took 7 hours and I had planned to move to the cars but ran out of solution.

Sunday was a nice day so I was outside. After church I started on tearing up the front yard around the pear tree. The tree over the last 6 years has grown from a sapling to a giant tree. With the grass being Bermuda the shade had killed off all the grass within a 10 foot radius all around the tree.

The day was spent: killing the rest of the grass, tearing down the brick flower bed that surrounded the tree and lugging the bricks in the back yard, putting edging down and hauling 30 bags of bark mulch from Lowes to cover the area. After that I headed to the back to spread pine straw. Another 9 hour day working in and around the home and I am not even close to being done.

I find it interesting that I can run 20 miles or bike 100 miles and never feel as sore as doing 1 day of yard work.

Building

2010-04-30T10:13:00.000-04:00

“Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.”
Thomas Carlyle

The last two weeks have been filled with excitement, planning, racing and camaraderie. I have enjoyed every minute of it and it does not stop.

I went from participating in the 114th running of the Boston Marathon, to being a man slave for a group of dedicated, hard core athletes in a 200 mile relay to know awaiting my wife, Sarah to accomplish another goal she has set for herself, a Half Ironman Distance Triathlon.

Sarah is in her final week of training for her epic race that takes place 1 week from tomorrow. As I write, Sarah is out on a 6 mile trail run with a few of her training buddies. I feel a sense of pride in her dedication and commitment to herself and her race. With the injuries that have plagued her on her run, she still holds a good frame of mind and is going into this race believing she can and will do the best she can. Sarah already has the self-esteem and confidence that will carry her to her accomplishment next Saturday.

This week for me has been up and down. I am officially in “post marathon training” for the next 8 weeks until I kick it into high gear for the Chicago Marathon in October. Mid-June cannot come fast enough, but I think my old age is allowing me to accept a slow progression and patience in training. Like my friend, Carmen who smoked the St. Anthony’s tri last weekend, I am about schedules and timing. In order for me not to put too much on but slowly build back my fitness from the pounding you take on a marathon, I have turned to the Hal Higdon programs for recovery and base building on my run.

For the next 8 weeks, I have a regimented program of runs 5-6 days a week, but unlike the winter training I endured, I am going to run with other runners. The plan I have established has a lot of variances involved to allow me to “run” with other runners, which I have missed over the last year.

This morning was one of those days were I could run with another runner. I met Ann Marie at the pool this morning. Her Friday workout consisted of a swim then a tempo run. We got to the pool at 4:50AM (that was hard to do) and swam Ken’s workout her established for her:

300M Warm-up
10 X 200M on the 4:15’s
200M Cool Down

I took lane 3 and Ann Marie was in lane 4. The water I must say was good. Not cloudy, not dirty, not the chemical peel as Rebecca stated a few days ago.

After the warm up, we jumped into the sets. Ann Marie was consistently hitting the mark of 3:25’s + or -, while I hit around 3:00’s. I waited for her interval time of 4:15 and then we took off again. The workout was good and I enjoyed swimming without having to “prove” anything to other swimmers in your lane. We both swam or swim.

When the swim was completed we changed into our running gear. I had brought a jar of honey along to refuel since all of the GU’s have been used up by Sarah and me. I downed a huge mouth full of nectar and went to meet AM in the lobby. As I approached the LTF lobby I saw Bob stretching near the lobby T.V. Bob had just came in from running 3 miles. He is doing a 5K with his son tomorrow and ran a short run to get the blood and muscles moving. We chatted about weight, runs, Chicago while waiting for AM.

After a few moments of conversation, AM appeared and we took off on the tempo run. By the way, good luck tomorrow Bob, I expect to hear your results!
Ann Marie’s run consisted of:

10 Minutes @ 8:15
2 X 10 minutes @ 7:45, then 5 minutes @ 7:15
5 minutes @ 8:15

I had plotted her paces and time and come up with a 5.8 mile loop that was dead on:

Tradewinds to Morris
Morris to MBTA
MBTA to North Point
NP to Windward
WW to HWY 9
HWY 9 to Henderson Pkwy
HP to Cumming St
Cumming to Westside Pkwy
WS Pkwy to Morris
LTF

It was a good run. The temperature was in the mid 50’s, ideal for running. There was a series of hills up and down along with some flats to hook into a groove. At the end of the run, we both felt like we got a good workout in.

While stretching we “ran” into Brian, Calvin and Michelle. The 3 had just finished a 10 miler in and around Alpharetta. Michelle is participating in Gulf Coast next weekend which will also be her first Half Ironman distance event.

Race season is here. The construction of building confidence and esteem has begun for all.

The Quest of the 200 Miler

2010-04-27T13:12:00.019-04:00

The weekend after the Boston Marathon I participated in a 200 Mile Relay in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Now, I did not run, oh no! I was the van driver for half of the 12 runners who ran this tough and challenging course.

Instead of a long narrative like the Boston Report, I decided to make this adventure into a picture book.

Once upon a time in a far off State there lived 12 amazing athletes. One day, by the order of the Running gods, they where sent on a quest. A quest to run 200 miles without stopping for over 1 day.

So the warrior's set off on this quest.

Along with their driver and man servant they packed up the chariot and headed North.

Arriving at their first check in point awaiting the first chariot to arrive Knight Ironchick, Knight Smiley Face and Knight Быстрый бегун had time to do a little Can-Can Dance for the group to ward off the evil spirits.

Chariot 2's warrior's

The male warrior's Knight Fire Snubber, Knight Home Boy, Knight OCD and the Man Servant attempted to mimick the female warriors, but it was a lost cause. Flat Stanley was the Man Servant's companion throughout the quest.

Within minutes of the warrior's completing their tribal dance, Knight Hippie, chariot 1's scout had arrived to inform us that the warrior's that have done battle where coming in for much needed rest.

Knight Blistering is giving pointers to Knight Adventure Racer about her speed and accuracy in battle. Knight Ironchick can't agree more.

Knight Hippie shows off her battle fatigues after her conquest.

Knight Home Boy egarly awaits his turn in battle against the evil mountains of Georgia

As the Knight's from chariot 2 prepare for battle, Knight Smiley Face captures the souls of her competitors with the Soul Catching Machine.

On the horizon comes Knight Rock Star after her courageous battle.

Knight Rock Star is a giant among the warrior's in her techinques of running. She walks amoung the other Knight's as they are in awe of her presence.

After Knight Быстрый бегун winning battle against the evil asphalt of Georgia she spares the defeated with a "thumbs up"

Knight Ironchick comes in after her heated battle against the sun gods and evil asphalt doers to hand Knight OCD the "Shield of Protection" as he takes off on his journey.

Knight Home Boy prepares for his epic battle by doing the "Hang Ten" battle cry.

As Knight OCD is being chased down by the "Sands of Time" he increases his stride to insure victory!

The hand off of the "Shield of Protection" from Knight OCD to Knight Home Boy, Knight Home Boy battled the Truck Monsters to bring in the sacred chalis of Gatornector.

Knight Быстрый бегун and Knight OCD washing war wounds after their recent battles.

Knight Smiley Face dances the dance of the running warrior before she does battle with the Taybor Monster

Knight Smiley Face heading into battle

As Knight Smiley Face continues her quest, Knight Fire Snubber marks the trail for the chariot just in case the warriors need to double back.

After her 11.6 brutal battle against the Taybor Monster, Knight Hippie transfers some of her "mojo" to Knight Smiley Face in order for her to recoup her strength for her next encounter.

Knight OCD poses for the warriors to make sure his battle fatigues don't make him look fat and are flattering to his figure.

The Man Servant was honored to be standing beside the Almighty, Knight Smiley Face as the warriors awaited the arrival of Knight Fire Snubber.

After a long hard battle in the second round 5 of the knights relax in the wee hours of the dawn to prepare for battle again.

Knight Fire Snubber is out after the battle cries into the night. Sleep well, warrior, sleep well as tomorrow brings the final leg of the quest.

Knight Быстрый бегун rests her head upon Knight Smiley Face as both drift off exhausted from the battle.

Two warriors conquering the restrooms at Camp Huddle before dawn.

Knights, OCD and Home Boy take in some grog at the local tavern at Camp Huddle.

Knight Smiley Face with her warrior's face paint and tribal hair.

After the pilaging in the forest, Knight Быстрый бегун is mesmerized and pays homage to the rain to wash her battle scars away from her hand.

Knight Ironchick begins her travels to do battle with the notorious Seeded Lake Serpent

After time, Knight Ironchick is bruised and banged up from her encouter but continues to forge ahead.

Receiving encouragement from another warrior, Knight Ironchick calls in reinforcements from an allie, Relay.

The hard battle Knight Ironchick fought was one for the history books as Knight Быстрый бегун tells the tale to Knight Rock Star in order to pass the fight down from generation to generation.

Knights await the return of Knight OCD as he battles rain, wind and the black serpent, Asphaltus.

Knight Smiley Face consults, Knight Nike' and Knight Hippie on her choice of foot ware. Knight Smiley Face is concerned that the battles have taken their toll on her equipment and her battle maybe lost if her footware remains dirty.

Warriors and servants preparing for the dance for the rain gods to be cast away.

Knight OCD on his final leg of his journey!

Knight Home Boy's skirmish with the rain gods proved to be a tough one as his battle clothing was literally ripped from his body as he made his way to the checkpoint.

Knight Smiley Face on her last leg of her journey as she pours magic running elixir on her body as the rain gods pelt her to stop her from moving forward.

Down and fatigued her battle was won!

Knight Smiley Face completes her quest with the "Chicken Dance"

In the end, the warriors from chariot 1 and chariot 2 were victorious crushing all evil and enemies from the 200 mile quest in their path.

Victory!

The group of warriors capturing their success for the ages.

The warriors end their conquest by feasting with the nobles from Lake Chatuge.

The End

The Boston Report

2010-04-26T10:17:00.023-04:00

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind not with it.

Henry Ford

When I first read this quote, I started to reflect on the past 18 weeks of marathon training. To say the least, it was not easy. I tend not to dwell on the past or the negatives that come in and out of my life, but the quote from Henry Ford did have an impact on my training and does sum it up.

Right out of the gate in Week 18 of training, the cards were against me. The first long run of the season ended in a left hip injury. This put me back 3 weeks in keeping up with my schedule. I drudge through the pain with stretching, icing, weights, water running and Ibuprofen.

Then the weather turned and did it turn nasty. All winter long we experienced, rain, cold, wind, sub- zero temperatures, snow storms that drove not only me but all my friends to the dread mills in the gym.

A few weeks after the hip was healed and I was back on my game I dropped an 80 pound piece of particle board right on my Big Toe. The pain was so intense that I remember wobbling off to the Home Depot bathrooms and sitting on the commode for over 20 minutes delirious from pain. The next day, my hopes of Boston felt like they had slipped away. The toe was twice the size and the whole nail was black-blue. Michelle, Susan and Bob all told me that I was going to lose the nail. To combat this I drilled a small hole near the cuticle to relieve the pressure. It worked! As of today the nail is on and no issues have come up.

In the pool, besides the quality of the water being the worst I have ever seen, I pulled my shoulder muscle, which had an effect on my speed workouts. You need upper body momentum to carry you through and the soreness had another impact on my ability to perform in my training. Ice, stretching, weights and adjusting my swim helped. Too bad the management at LTF can see an issue and readjust to fix it.

During the 4th 20 mile run, I needed a change of scenery in my routes. I plotted a course through Cumming with a mix of hills and flats to simulate the Boston course. Elevation was comparable, flats and down hills were right on, the only thing I had that Boston did not was dogs. At mile 15 I was surrounded by two packs of dogs at different times. Fangs showing, barking and attempting to bite my ankles I moved past one group right into an ambush from the second pack. Again, snarling and barking pushed me to the end. Being afraid was not on my mind, but rage. Rage engulfed me and I started screaming at the dogs and the owners of these vicious animals. I am not an advocate for putting down animals, but I am one for putting down the humans that allow their animals to threaten another human on a public road. I am still enraged at the situation I went through and do not recommend going on Orr Road in Cumming.

Sciatica. I did not mention too much about this during training since it is always there. Throughout the season especially with the cold, wet weather, the pain was constant. Pain Management has been a constant process in my training. Ice, heat, stretching, core, weights and rest are the only ways for me to move past the nagging spikes in pain, the reoccurring since that your hamstrings are pulled and the numbness in the toes. You either live with this and do what you enjoy to do or give up. The latter is never an opinion for me.

Solo running has been a constant state of affair for me. I enjoy the company of friends, Ann Marie, Jay, Bob, Jeff, Stacey and everyone else on runs, rides and swims. With this training, the workouts are Key Workouts and you are forced to run at paces that my friends may not be able to run. I had to sacrifice companionship for my individual goals. I was lucky to be able to run track with my friends and hit a few tempo runs with the Twins when our training distances crossed paths. Every long run was accomplished by myself. The only motivation I had was the carrot at the end of the string, my goal. I ran in all types of weather to attempt to meet my goal. My friends understood since we are all forged from the same mold and I am grateful for their support along with Sarah, Grace and Ellie’s support of my desire to be my best.

The last hurdle I came up against while on the tail end of training was in the taper weeks. Both Achilles tendons flared up. The pain was hard to manage. 24 hours a day, sitting, sleeping and even running the tendons felt like they were on fire. I stretched, iced and down numerous Ibuprofen to subdue the inflammation. Nothing helped. My only saving grace was after about 15 minutes of light warm ups on the run the tendons calmed down and I could manage the pain during the paces I needed to hit during each workout. The day I left for Boston I knew this was going to be an issue and I knew exactly where it was going to be as well.

At this point, you are probably thinking, dang! This is negative and a downer. I wanted to hear about the race and what he did. Well, fasten your seat belts, the plane is about to take off.
29 hours. This is the time I was in the great city of Boston Massachusetts to run the 114th running of the Boston Marathon.

I landed at Logan Airport at approximately 1PM on Sunday, April 18, 2010. I opted for this flight because the day before was my wife, Sarah’s birthday. With all the selfish things we do during training, this was one thing I was not going to do by missing her day.

On the flight, there were about dozen other runners on the plane with me. 3 women across the aisle talking the whole time about their qualifying, their races, their shoes, bodily stuff, which all conversations about running lead to. One of them asked me if I was running. I told her, yes. She asked me if I have run it before and I said, yes, last year. This was their first running and we excited as she asked me what I did last year. When I told her and the other two, a look of shock came on their faces. She then asked me if I just run, and I told her I compete in Ironman’s as well. The three looked at me up and down and did not have anything to say. The one woman wished me good luck and I wish her and the other two the same.

I chuckled a little too myself after experiencing the looks on their faces as if they were in the midst of an Elite Athlete. In my mind, I am far from this.

The rest of the flight was uneventful as I relaxed, sipped Gatorade and water and listened to the background conversation of the women runners across the way.

Touching down in Boston, I grab my duffle bag and headed towards the T. Since I was in Boston for a short period of time all I brought with me was a regular size duffle bag or nap sack. The contents were: running shoes, running shorts, socks, singlet, white cotton gloves, hat, running pants, jacket, throwaway shirt, gels and mini sized toiletries. I had gone out and bought a small deodorant, man spray and travel wipies to make myself presentable for my fellow air travels on the way back to ATL. Yes, no shower after the race.

I headed towards the pickup zone in Terminal C to catch the MBTA Transit Bus to the Blue Line of the T. The route that took me to the Hynes Convention Center on Boylston Avenue was: The MBTA Bus to the Blue Line, the Blue Line to Gov’t Center. Got off the Blue T and headed inbound to the Green Line. There are three T trains to take, I was on the Boston College T which was packed. This T took me to the Hynes stop were I unloaded and headed out of the subway to the surface.

As I neared the exit doors I heard and saw rain pouring down from the skies. I opened the duffle bag and pulled out my 113th Boston Marathon jacket and a hat to shelter me from the rain. I was not meaning to wear this jacket until after the race for karma reasons even when it was last year’s jacket. Weird idiosyncrasies I have.

The temperature was around 50 degrees with a heavy rain. I was in shorts but I sheltered my core from the cold rain. I made my way from the Hynes T station to the convention center. The walk was approximately ¾ of a mile. The streets and sidewalks were bustling with runners, spectators, tourist, Bostonians and alike. This is the point I felt the ubiquity of what has transpired on these grounds 113 times before.

Boston Marathon jackets old and new shuffled the streets of Boylston as we all were soaked by the afternoon rains. Looking into the eyes of the people around me no one seemed to mind though. They journey was coming to a conclusion as was mine and a little rain was not going to dampen anyone’s spirits.

Outside the Hynes

The pictures are a little grainy due to the disposable camera, but when you arrive in the convention center you are in awe. The amount of runners and the Expo are unbelievable. The Expo is on the second floor which you take the escalator up and you are in view of the WELCOME sign. This sign leads you into the millions of vendors and products at the Expo.

To your right is where the real action is. The hallowed halls of the 114th Boston Marathon Registration. This is where Number Pick Up starts and where you pick up your BM technical shirt. The hall is long, wide and tall. The hall is decked out in the Boston Marathon colors of blue and yellow. There are larger than life pictures of past winners plastered on the halls and columns. The bib numbers seem to go on forever starting at #1. The volunteers are dressed in their official Boston Marathon jackets.

I make my way down the corridor to the sign: 7800-7899. I pull out my official entry into the 2010 Boston Marathon and give it to the friendly volunteer, who name was, Steve, along with my license. In exchange, he produces an enclosed clear packet with my race number, official chip, 4 safety pins and the directions on how to attach it all to my person. Steve then looks up at me and says, “Corey, thank you for running in the Boston Marathon.” “Thank you?” I think. He is actually thanking me? That is crazy! I in turned said to the friendly volunteer, Steve and said, “ I would like to thank you for supporting us.” We both smiled and said, “You are welcome”.
I departed from Number Pick Up and proceeded down the corridor to the technical shirt and clothing bag pick up. I made my way admiring all the pictures of the past runners while glancing at the runners strolling through the halls. All I could think about is that I wish I could experience this right now with my wife and friends who have BQ’d for Boston. Next year, I thought, next year…

The Hall of Numbers

I ended in front of the table that read, “Men’s Medium”. I asked for a medium, the friendly volunteer, Trish, marked my bib packet and handed me a heavy florescent yellow bag. Again, I heard the words, “Thank you for running this year” I returned by saying, “Thank you Trish for helping out, I really appreciate it.” We smiled at each other as I departed to a corner of the hallowed halls to transfer the bag’s contents to my backpack.

Technical shirt, Boston Marathon Program, Poland Springs Water Bottle (drank this actually), 2 packets of mini Jasmine Rice, Key Chain, Maps, Brochures and marketing paraphernalia. Not much but I am not here for the goodies.

The end of the corridor filtered right into the Expo. And man, what an Expo. This one puts even the ING Atlanta Marathon expo to shame. First, the place is jammed with runners and spectators. The Adidas area is huge. There are 114th Boston Jackets as far as the eye can see. Tons of runners trying on the perfect jacket to top off their prize of making it to the Big Dance. There are hats, socks, gloves, backpacks, mugs, stuff animals, shoes, glasses and of course t-shirts. The lines are well organized and the store employees are there to assist and to shuffle you through with your purchases. I stopped and purchased a running hat, which went right into the backpack until after the race.

Expo

Call me superstitious but, I believe you can jinx yourself by wearing the garb before you have tackled and finished the event.

At this point I was starting to feel hungry. Only one thing to do, raid the stands for giveaways. I hit PowerBar, Gatorade, Casacadian Farms, Muscle Milk and when I was full I walked the Expo for a few more minutes just in case it was not a false fill.

Being there alone I was still in awe of the Expo, but all I could think while I made my way around was I cannot wait to experience this with my Boston Qualifiers. This is a part of the experience no matter how hectic it is. You must take it all in.

Expo

I made my way out of the Expo and onto Boylston. To the right of me about a quarter mile in the distance was the big, blue stage with the words, FINISH. I decided to head down that way and take a shot of the Finish Line. As I made my way down Boylston it continued to amaze me the amount of runners that have converged on this town. There were Boston jackets from 10+ years back. Old runners, young runners, men, women, kids (18+) all here for one purpose and one purpose only.

As I approached the Finish Line, I remembered an article I read last year on Ryan Hall. Ryan ran the route a number of times during his training, but one thing Ryan never did was cross the Finish Line in his training. He would always stop his runs before the line. As I made my way by the Grand Stands on both sides, a feeling came over me. I stopped in my tracks. Just like wearing the race shirt or jacket before you have completed the race, I felt as if I should not approach the sacred Finish Line. I turned back and walk to the end of the police gates and took this shot. I never saw the line.

Close as I was going to get to the Finish Line...

I had a train to catch on the weekend schedule, but I also wanted to grab some food at one of my favorite pizza joints in New England, Bertucci’s. I made my way down Boylston, right on Hereford, over Newbury Street and left on Commonwealth Ave, or “Comm Ave” as the locals call it. The skies opened up again and I was drenched before I made it two blocks.

Less than 1 mile from the Finish on Comm Ave, pouring down rain.

Arriving at the pizza joint I made my way in soaked to the bone. I figured I had a little time so I grabbed a booth, took off my water logged shoes and looked at the menu. I ordered a chicken margarita pizza and a Harpoon I.P.A. The Red Sox were playing the Rays at Fenway and getting creamed. I watched the game on the tube and ate, drank and dried off. I decided after lunch to head over to Fenway to walk around and take it all in.

Favorite Pizza Joint in "Bah'sten" & The CITGO Sign

I wanted to head down Yawkey to take a shot of “Who’s on First” the bar where I met my lovely wife, Sarah, but security was tight and tough. They were not letting anyone in without a ticket. I did not need any bad karma so I tried to take a shot from outside the gate, but just could not get the right angle.

Red Sox Nation!

On Lansdowne Street

By this time I needed to make my way past Boston Beer Works, yes it killed me not to go in. Sarah and I spent many nights eating nachos and drinking funky beers in this establishment. But I had to catch the MBTA train to Natick.

I only had to walk across a parking lot to the Yawkey Station. While waiting for the train to arrive, a family with the dad, mom and 5, uh, yes…5 girls came up to me. They noticed my jacket and asked me if I was running tomorrow. I said, “yes” I will be there. They said congratulations. We exchanged small talk for a minute or two and when the train pulled up to the platform the mom said, “we live in Wellesley and we will see you tomorrow running.” Not to sound negative since there are 24,000 runners, I said, “I’ll keep my eyes open for you as well” laughing a little.

The train ride was easy and uneventful. The train actually stops less than ½ mile from my in-laws house which makes it convenient going in and out of Boston. I hopped off at the Natick Station and made my way in the drizzling rain to their home.

Joe & Joanne's aka: "The In-Laws" Home

I will save everyone the time and my fingers from typing on the next 13 hours by summarizing:
I sat and talked with my father and mother in-law. My brother in-law with my three nieces showed up about an hour later. Soon after that, my sister in-law along with my two other nieces arrived. We chatted and ate pasta with meatballs. Had a glass of wine along with a fruit and granola dessert. Everyone left and I was upstairs prepping for the next day by 9PM.

Ready to Roll!

Then it was bedtime…

Monday morning. Race day. 18 weeks later and here I was waking up to for my “A” race. I woke at 6:15AM. I was actually up around 5:40AM not due to nerves but the sun. Yes, the sun started to show itself along with the birds singing.

I got up, checked my stuff on more time and then headed downstairs to eat. A 10AM race is awesome! You do not have to get up at 3AM to eat, drink or make sure you have pooped enough. You feel like you have all the time in the world to get ready.

I made a large bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, almonds and cranberries. Finished it and topped it off with a banana and coffee. I was going to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but felt quite full so I bagged it. I had Sports Beans and gels for the pre-race snack so I was not too worried.

After breakfast I did what everybody does from the book, took a shower and got into my running gear. About 8AM my in-laws got in the car to drive me to the Hopkinton State Park. I am thankful they allowed me to stay at their home. It makes the world of difference not to get up at 4AM and jump on a bus in Boston to trek to Hopkinton and wait around for 3-4 hours before the start.

We made our way down Route 9 from Natick to Hopkinton. The ride took about 25 minutes with a little traffic. No nerves where shown. I knew I had plenty of time to make it to the start for 10AM.

We made it to Hopkinton State Park and they dropped me off my the buses. I thanked them for the lift and would see them in Boston in a couple of hours. My in-laws, sister in-law and two nieces were going to meet me after the race. They did not want me to me alone in a big town all by my lonesome.

I headed for the bus to take to the center of Hopkinton.

Heading to the bus to take me to the Start

Arriving in Hopkinton you could feel the presence of thousands of runners walking and running the street awaiting the start. The buses drop you off .7 miles from the Athlete’s Village, which is not bad. The walk is a light uphill and gets the blood moving in the legs. The village was what I remembered but there seem to be a lot more runners this year. I walked around to see if I could find anyone I knew, but the old saying, “finding a needle in a haystack” does apply in this case. Everyone looks the same. Sweats and baseball caps. I hit the Porta Potty and milled around the village for about 20 minutes until it was time to drop my gear off. Leaving that night I had all my worldly trip possession in one bag. I made my way over to the bagged drop buses as thousands, yes thousands of runners started to walk down Grove Street to the start. I wanted to warm up a little after I dropped the gear so I headed down Hayden Rowe Street to warm up and hit a few pick-ups before the Start Line. With Grove Street packed end to end with runners there was no way to warm up heading this way.

Athlete's Village. The top runners in the World!

Hayden Rowe dumps you right near corral #1. I had a chance to quickly see the Elite Runners milling around in waiting for the gun. I did not see Ryan Hall in the midst but I knew he was there prepping for the run of his life.

I made my way past the corrals, 2, 3, 4, 5…This is when I saw Minnie Mouse. A guy was dressed head to toe with make-up on making his way to corral 3 dressed up. I laughed and thought there is no way I would spend the money and time to get here and run in a costume, but to each his own. Corral 6, then my corral, number 7. It was already packed tight with runners as I squeezed my way in. The runners in #7 were antsy. A lot of jumping and shaking going on. I looked at the woman next to me, smiled and she looked right through me as if I wasn’t even there.

I decided to move up a little and get away from the negative vibe she was casting on my mojo. I passed a dude decked out in a nerd’s outfit. Corn rimmed glasses with white tape, plaid , short sleeve shirt, pocket protector, pencils, Bermuda shorts, black socks and dress shoes. Okay, the dress shoes just let a little mojo escape from me. I moved on. I found a little clearing as the National Anthem started. After we gave our respects to our great country, two fighter jets buzzed the corral’s sending a pounding vibration through your chest. Man, that was awesome!
A few minutes later after hanging close to other runners for warmth the announcer came on the P.A. and said, “45 seconds to the start of the 114th running of the Boston Marathon!” The corral started to shift side to side as the runners moved forward in anticipation.

The next thing I knew the gun went off and the announcer stating the Elite Runners were off! The corral clapped and hollered as we made baby steps up Route 135 to the crest. The mass of runners kept a slow but consistent movement forward as we made our way closer to the Start as you could hear the loud cheers from the spectators in the foreground.

A few minutes later corral 7 was jogging then running as we crested the center of Hopkinton and started the descend down Route 135. This was the first time you could see where the noise of the crowd was coming from. There were hundreds of spectators lining Route 135 at the Start, cheering on the runners as we filled by. Talk about getting the juices flowing. Everyone’s faces had the look of joy and happiness as they cheered each and every one of the runners.

But wait, the cheering did not stop. Not after 1 mile, 3 miles, 13 miles, 18 miles. All the way from Hopkinton to Boston, Start to Finish, the streets where lined with spectators cheering the runners on all the way!

The first mile was epic. The cheers and the runners pushed you forward at a faster than prescribed speed. I knew that the first couple of miles were going to be fast which I had planned for in the pacing.

As we cruised down Route 135 into Ashland, the crowds did not let up. This continued to fuel the adrenaline pushing me faster down the hills. Passing the marker where the first Boston Marathon started in 1897, the road even out and I knew this was the time to dial it back and fall into a rhythm. Within a minute of thinking this, I heard Black Sabbath cranking in the foreground. Rounding a small bend in the road, I passed a biker bar. Out front, there must have been over 200 motorcycles and well over 300 bikers decked out in leather gear drinking beers, smoking and screaming as loud as they could. It was awesome to see a group like this supporting the likes of us.

Hitting the Ashland Clock Tower the road changed with a slight upgrade, again I focused on my gait and pacing. I slowed it down a little while my turnover on the short quick hill increased. I continued up and over without losing momentum.

The next land marker was the center of Framingham. I remembered last year the crowds lines both sides of the street 5 to 6 deep. This year was no exception. I believe there were even more spectators out cheering. The roads narrowed not because of the terrain but the cheering spectators had started to spill out onto Route 135 to get a glimpse of the runners as we hoofed it on by.

The amount of cheering had an effect on you. Your blood is pumping, your legs are turning and you have an uncontrollable smile on your face that I believe you could not shake if you tried.
Leading out of Framingham, the road remained relatively flat. The pace for the first 8 miles was 7:10’s. This was way too fast! I should have been averaging 7:15’s max. I knew I should have eased off at this point but we were heading into Natick. Natick is where my in-laws live. A small contingency of family, friends and neighbors were going to be at the Natick Library to cheer me on. As I passed Lake Cochituate, the noise from the upcoming crowds started to ring in my ears. Which each step the sound grew and I could feel my turnover start to increase. With a short incline and then cresting you could see the center of Natick. The crowds were immense! The intersection of Route 135 and Route 16 were smothered in spectators cheering, waving banners, beating drums, blowing horns and even a guy in a kilt playing the bagpipes! I navigated to the left side of the road through the intersection and focused on trying to find my mother-n-laws bright yellow jacket. Within a few steps of the library, I saw her and my two nieces. I waved and hollered at them giving a few a high five as I sped past. There is nothing more you would like to do is to stop, but as you know once the legs are in perpetual motion, it is hard to get them spinning again.

After Natick, I said, “okay dial it back and hit the pace”. I was roughly 1:25 minutes ahead of plan and needed to save the energy for the back portion of the course. But, this is futile. Wellesley was coming up and the “Wellesley Girls” were out in force. Before hitting the college you pass by huge bright yellow banners that say, “Be prepared for the Noise”. This is an understatement. On the right side of the road by Wellesley College are hundreds of college girls screaming at the top of their lungs. A majority of them are holding signs that say, Kiss Me.” I saw men and yes, women stopping and laying a big sloppy kiss on these girls. One guy ahead of me would stop every few girls and kiss them. I pulled a little left and just watched the show. The girls were cheering and kissing and just having a great time as they always do.

Looking down at my watch at the half way point in the middle of the festivities I was ahead of plan by 1:40 seconds. I knew that I was going to pay for it on the back half. At this point the only thing to do was push on and get out of Wellesley and try to settle in again.

Leaving Wellesley I knew at the 25K mark the terrain was going to start to change. I eased back on the pace, but I could feel myself labored as I continued onto Route 16 and towards the first major hill. The pace I was running felt off as my breathing increased and legs started to feel a little mushy. I decided to hold the pace until I made it up and over the Highway 95 bridge at mile 16. At this time the average pace was 7:11’s. I felt good, but needed to dial it back.

The crowds thinned. Well, what I mean by this is that the crowds were not 5+ deep. The roads were lined with people cheering, they just were not all over the road. I decided to pick up 3 PowerGel’s right before mile 17. I had 5 minutes before I was scheduled to take one. I swung on the left side and picked up a chocolate, raspberry and espresso with caffeine for the next 9 miles. I knew my energy levels would diminish and the extra calories would help. Right before the turn by the fire station I took in the chocolate gel. Drank some water and settled into the second major hill that leads into “The Hills of Newton”. Last year, this hill messed with me. It is short but increases almost 100 feet in less than a quarter mile. Hit it too hard you pay on the next series of hills, run it conservatively you loose time.

The plan was since I had some cushion was to run it moderately. The pace was controlled and I felt good cresting the hill. The road on each side was lined again with bands playing, kegs of beer, hula skirts and coconut bra’s, a old man pounding on tribal drum while a young boy was playing revelry on the trumpet.

I took in some Gatorade at the water station, which I did at every station from mile 1. The next two hills were going to make me or break me. Being over a minute ahead of pace in total I knew this was the time that I had to pay. After a short downhill and bottoming out to mile 19 the road changed again heading up. The hill was again step, but stepper than the first. It is also misleading. Your mind has a hard time comprehending and computing at this point. I thought for a minute this was Heart Break Hill and I heard a few other runners say, “Welcome to HBH!”. Then it dawned on me that this was Hill 2 and not HBH. I tried to readjust but the hill got me before I could compensate. I slowed and my breathing was labored. I shifted the gait and chopped baby steps up. Once I hit the top, the 1:40 cushion I felt hit me like a ton of bricks. All the thought of me saying, “too fast” ran through the mind.

I knew that the pace was slowing, but I had to push on. I splashed a cup of cold water from the station on my face and head, took a gulp of Gatorade and readjusted again. HBH was right ahead of me. The crowds were intense. This was Boston College land and the college kids were out in force. They were screaming, drinking, waving banners and just pumping the runners up.

Heading on the cusp of Heart Break Hill, I decided to be conservative. The faster than prescribe pace so far was having its effects as I knew it would. I focused on short strides and looked for the traffic light at the top of the hill. Once that light was in my sights I tuned out. I did not hear the crowds or see the crowds. My whole focus was on the red light, then yellow, then green and back to red light ahead of me. I pushed myself up the hill and once I crested I did not feel so bad. I cruised along towards the end of Boston College on relatively flat terrain.

The came the hill…The hill this time was downhill. I felt good and started the decent, but almost instantly the legs seized up and my Achilles on both legs exploded. The pain that radiated from the lower part of the calf to my heel was intense. I could no longer lean forward and run on my mid foot. I readjusted and leaned back landing on my heels. This slowed the pace down to a 7:47. I knew I had to figure out a new strategy to get me to the finish. Running on my heels and the cushion I had in time being eaten away I saw a vision. Well, actually two visions. Two female runners in florescent yellow Brooks running singlets came up beside me and passed me. They were not going at a lightening pace but a few clicks faster than I. The color of their shirts was mesmerizing to me so I decided to see if I could lock in behind them and focus on the yellow taking away from the Achilles pain to bring me home. With less than 4 miles to go, I had to give it a shot. I put the rally cap on a moved forward down the road.

I locked in and mimicked their pace. The front-runner was obviously pacing the second runner. She kept looking behind and adjusting her pace to match her. I hung off the back of the second runner out of view of the both. I did not want them to see me and try to kick me loose at this point. The pace was good and I was able to push the pain down and just focus on clicking off miles.

The CITGO sign came into view and I knew to hold pace until reaching the sign. The road was mostly downhill as I ran on my heels. There was one more incline of significance near Brookline Avenue which was a bridge near Fenway. I had to adjust the gait and run on my mid foot. The Achilles barked back but I did not pay attention. Cresting the bridge on the other side you could see the 1 mile marker.

At this point the goal time was shot. The two runners were streaming along and I knew I would have a descent time and beating last year’s time. I pushed down Comm Ave past the CITGO sign and with a few turns, I was on Boylston Street!

Boylston was hopping! There were thousands of people cheering you on as if you were the one that was going to win the Boston Marathon! The two yellow shirt runners picked it up as I looked down at my watch. My watch said 3:10:05. I did not make my goal time, so I decided to soak up the nostalgia and the crowds. I continued to push but not a really fast pace.

I made it to the grand stand seating while I looked at all the people who paid top dollars to see me, yes me complete the 114th running of the Boston Marathon.

As I crossed the line hitting my watch at 3:11:29, all I could think about was next year. My wife, Sarah will be running the Boston Marathon along with a number of my dear friends.

Words can only tell you about this marathon, but I am so glad and thankful that I will be able to experience this epic race with them and bask in their awe of the race.

That was my major goal, to get back here for 2011. I ran directly into a headwind over 18 weeks ago, but at the end I was flying high. Mission accomplished.

Paces for the 114th Boston Marathon. Too fast but stayed consistent!

I will keep this short and add a few pictures. I gathered my stuff, met Joe, Joanne, Julie and the nieces at the Family Meeting Area, “P” and we headed over to Champions for a bacon, cheddar cheese burger, fries and a few Harpoon I.P.A.’s to celebrate. I took off that evening back to ATL and was in bed by 10:30PM.

The bag and change area. Yes, there are changing tents as well.

My "Bah-sten" supporters!

My cute nieces

Tried to get a picture of the Finish after the Race. Not going to happen. Too much security and the crowds were packed in tight!

Home.

The Day After Boston

2010-04-20T10:17:00.001-04:00

Over the next couple of days I will be documenting my adventure running the 2010 Boston Marathon.

In the meantime, I am recovering and doing just fine, except for the sore legs.

Week 1 - "Race Week"

2010-04-12T08:33:00.002-04:00

It has come down to the last week. 7 days left and I will be in Hopkinton, MA awaiting the 114th running of the Boston Marathon.

Sunday was a wonderful day (except for the pollen). I ran my last long run before the marathon. I ran 10 miles on the Cumming Greenway. I wish I could say I floated along with ease but that was not the case. The pollen was rough on the sinuses, every bone ached and every muscle burned. To top it off I could not for the life of me hold pace. I was actually too fast. I had to maintain marathon pace for the 10 miles but ended up being 9 seconds too fast per mile.

You could say, "Wow! That is great! You are ready!" But in long distance running I might be signing my own death warrant. Too fast and I will blow up in the hills of Newton and Chestnut Hill making the last 6 miles brutal to run.

Doubts are still there and I keep thinking about that I only need to run a 3:30:00 to BQ for 2011 so I can run with my wife Sarah and all my friends. But, this is not my nature to just get by. I need to and want to push my body to see what I am capable of.

This week I am going to stay focused to the goal paces I must achieve.

As for the rest of the weekend and the "Staycation" is was great. I enjoyed the time I spent with the girls with no pressure of worrying what was going to happen or having a set schedule.

This will be my last entry for until I have completed my goal. There is a lot of logistics I need to coordinate since I fly in on Sunday morning and fly home on Monday evening.

A race report will follow next week.

Week 2 - "Welcome to Doubtville"

2010-04-10T09:12:00.002-04:00

“When in doubt, don’t”
Benjamin Franklin

Taper weeks are the hardest weeks of training. Your body and mind has been focused on distance and speed for 13 weeks then you need to adjust to a new set of rules.

Aches and pains have surfaced where I have no had pains before. Everything hurts and every move I make I feel like I have just pulled another muscle.

The workouts are tough as well. Where I used to be able to knock out a 20 miler, a 13 mile run is a struggle. Tempo runs are labored and track, well this is where the doubt of my ability to run a marathon hit.

Yesterday I ran track at the Lambert High School. First of all this track makes Alpharetta’s track look like a dirt track. The pristine lines, the soft forgiving surface, the clean field, the immaculate stadium made me feel as if I was at a World Championship Track and Field event. The surroundings got the blood pumping for 5 X 1000 meters at a 3:37 pace.

I ran 20 minutes around the high school and elementary school’s grounds then headed down the chute and onto the field. The sun was shining, the sky was crystal blue and the wind was blowing in from the North. The flags on the football goals pinpointed the wind direction and I knew the straightaway was going to be a direct headwind. This means I needed to increase speed on the turn before and after to make up the seconds lost driving right into a Northerly wind.

I changed into my Puma track shoes and figured that each 200M split needed to be achieved on the 43’s. The first 1000M was a snap hitting each 200M on the mark and coming in at 0:03:35. I took my R.I. run and headed to the line to reverse direction for the second 1000.

Rounding the first curve and hitting the 200 mark I was 2 seconds fast. I eased up a little and hit the 400 on 1:25. The legs started to feel the effects on the second 1000. In my head, I thought, “how can this be? I have trained hard and these should be a piece of cake!”

The 600 mark was at 0:02:10, one second behind pace. The effect was the wind, but in my head the doubts started to grow. I shook it off for a moment at I hit the 800 mark at 0:02:53. If I was to make the 0:03:35 goal I needed to knock it on the last 200. Time was 0:03:35.

At the end of the second 1000, I was gassed out. My breathing was hard, the legs were in pain and the gates to Doubtville were opened.

The third 1000 was directly into the wind at the start. The first 200 was at 0:00:43. Right on, but I knew the pressure was on to maintain. The second 200, 0:01:26. Still on track. By the time I rounded for the 800 I was at 0:02:55, 3 seconds too slow. I kicked it on the last 200 taking the turn hard and increasing on the straight coming in at 0:03:36. Still on, but I was toast.

This is where the doubts started in. 1000 meters was hard, how can I run 26.2 miles? The wind is strong, how can I run 26.2 in wind. The pollen is wrecking havoc on my sinuses, what if I have to run 26.2 miles in a pollen cloud?

I hit the line and started out. The legs were in pain, the wind felt as if it was hitting me in every direction, the pollen dust was burning my nose and eyes. I hit the 200 at 0:00:41. Okay, keep going I thought. Then it hit me, I can’t run this. I am done. The 400 mark was 0:01:27. Losing time. There is no way I can run 1000 meters and there is no way I can run a marathon. 600 meter mark, 0:02:14. Why am I putting myself through this, just stop. 800 mark 0:03:02. You are not a runner and cannot accomplish the times you want, so give up. 1000 meters at 0:03:46. This is nine seconds off the 1000 time I had to hit.

I walked around the track huffing and puffing. It usually takes 15-30 seconds for my breathing and heart rate to come back down. After 1 minute 30 seconds I was still breathing hard and my heart was trying to pound out of my chest. I started to laugh. “What a joke!” I said out loud. “There is no way I can do this!” Again out loud.

I started to think, “okay, all I have invested is time, entry fee and a flight. Minimal. I can just give up and forget the whole thing.” “I know I wouldn’t be able to make this last 1000 so, let’s just get out of here and go home.”

As I walked the last curve heading towards my shoes and keys that little competitive voice in me said, “what the heck are you doing!” You are not a quitter, why are you starting now?!” “Get back on that track and run this last 1000 meters!”

I stopped and looked down the straightaway and thought about the last 14 weeks and what I have gone through. I thought about the miles I have run and the past marathon’s I have raced. I have never come in after my goal time in a marathon or half marathon. Why start now?
I headed to the line, took a drink of water, blew out pollen snot from my nose, slapped both legs and told them to wake up, one more to go.

I hit the watch and I was off. Pace, pace, pace went through my head. The first 200M was at 0:00:43. Rounding the northern curve the wind picked up. I tucked in my head, leaned forward and pushed to the 400 mark, 0:01:26. Pace, pace, pace ran through my mind. The only thing I had in my mind as I pushed the doubt back behind the gates and kept moving.
At the 600 meter mark, I was at 0:02:09. Right on. The wind picked again as I rounded and I pushed again. 400 meters to go I thought, no sweat.

At the 800 mark I was at 0:02:53, one second behind the pace. Instead of, “Pace” I said out loud, “Finish”. I kept saying this as I felt doubt pushing against the gate, “Finish”. Coming off the last turn, the legs burned, the lungs burned, the sinuses burned, the eyes burned and all I could hear was my labored breath, “FINISH!” I kicked it pounding the track surface hard with my feet, kicking high, elbows and arms pumping as I crossed the 1000 meter mark.

I am starting to learn that taper is time for the body to relax but this is also a time for the mind to be active. During regular training, you tend to shut off the mind and allow the body to take control to push yourself further and faster than before. Now that the body prepares, the mind has control back and fills your head with thoughts that you have not had over the last couple months.

Every competitor goes through this I know, but not every competitor is me, nor are they running my race.

0:03:34.

Week 2 -"Staycation Week"

2010-04-08T08:58:00.002-04:00

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

A full week has flashed by since my last entry. This was not intentional; the time has just slipped away.

The week has been full of activities and time with the family. The girls are on Spring Break this week and we had decided after searching for a vacation spot to do a “Staycation” instead.
Last Friday started the morning off with leg weights. Since this was the last day in the office I hunkered down and got all the loose ends tied up so there would be minimal items left on my plate.

Sarah was busy at home as well. When I arrived home two men were carrying out our old office desk and putting it in the back of a truck. Sarah had totally cleaned out her office and is in the process of remodeling it. Paint, new desk, new look, new everything is in order.

Saturday was my long run. We were heading off to NC to stay with my P’s for Easter so I wanted to get the run in before we left. I ran the Cumming Greenway for 13 miles at marathon pace. It still amazes me that during Taper time every workout continues to be a struggle. I planned to run a positive split on the 13 miles and came in 45 seconds ahead of the total pace. Doubts filled my head the whole way. “How am I going to run 26.2 miles when 13 miles is tough? “ I guess these thoughts hit us all occasionally. I just cannot think about it and focus on the run in the next two weeks.

After the run, we packed the car and headed to NC. Arriving at my P’s house around dinner time we hung out and had a great dinner.

Sunday was Easter. The weather was perfect. Low 80’s and not a cloud in the sky. We attended 8:30AM service and then came home for an Easter Egg Hunt. The girls, though they are getting older still enjoy the thrill of the chase as they searched and collected eggs in the backyard. After a candy infusion, we headed out on the boat. The water was around 60 degrees but that did not deter the girls from playing off the side of the boat. We were out on the water for about 2 ½ hours until we made our way back for an Easter Dinner. Before dinner, Sarah went out for an 8 mile run. After her return, we had a feast.

Monday, the girls, my father and I headed down to the boat pier and fished for perch at around 7AM. They were not biting that well as we only caught five fish. I wanted to clean and fry them for breakfast but the girls would have no part of that and released them while I was fishing off the front of the boat. Sarah and I had planned an Open Water swim after breakfast. The water temperature was around 60 degrees. In our wet suits, the temperature was just right. My father dropped us off about 1.25 miles from an island in deep water. We swam to the island as my father and the girls trolled beside us. Reaching the island, Sarah and I decided to swim around it to make almost a full 2 mile swim out of it. After the swim, we hung out on the island for a while then made our way over to the Rusty Rudder in the boat for lunch. We had a great lunch out on the deck in the nice weather. We decided to head over to the Duke Emporium after lunch to check out the visitor center in the boat. All-in-all, we were out on the boat for 5 hours.
Tuesday, Ellie and I got up at dawn and fished some more. Very little bites with only one fish caught. This was the day we were heading home as well. We packed up and left NC around 9:30AM. Our short trip to my P’s was fun and everyone had a great time. The ride home for 3+ hours was uneventful. We unpacked, cleaned out the car and Ellie and I decided to clean all the cars in the sunny, warm weather. I took the top off the Jeep after we washed it and we headed out to dinner in the Jeep.

Wednesday was a day to sleep in. All four of us got up after 8AM, which is not normal for this household. Sarah headed off to Dynamo to swim and I headed off to run a tempo run. The pollen has plagued my sinuses this year and was not into a track workout. Sarah swam 3900 meters while I ran a 6-mile tempo run, 2 EZ, 3 @ 6:34’s and a 1 mile cool down. This run went a lot better than the long run on Saturday. The rest of the day, we went shopping. For me shopping is like running 15 miles on a treadmill. It is boring and the thought of walking around while the girls try clothes on is mind numbing. However, I wanted to hang with the females of my household, so I made the best of it. One the way home we were starved, so we swung by Johnny’s Pizza for a pie and a pitcher of beer. To end the night we went to the movies. The girls saw, “Alice in Wonderland” while Sarah and I saw, “The Green Zone”. It worked out perfect. The movies started and ended within a minute of each other.

This brings us to Thursday again. The weather outside is threatening to rain, which I am hoping for. The cleansing of the pollen would bring some relief to my sinuses. Grace is off to The Panhandle with her friend and her family for a couple of days. Sarah, Ellie and I are going to paint Sarah’s office and putz around the house today.

The Staycation is going by too fast. One more day and it will be over. We have had many activities and it is not over yet.

Week 3 - "Sin of the Runner"

2010-04-01T16:23:00.002-04:00

Today I committed the training plan sin I alluded to yesterday. In my current marathon plan, I am not to run consecutive days in a row. The reason being is that each workout is a key run and you need to be fresh for that particular run and also each key run fries your legs setting you up for a possible injury.
With Easter weekend upon us I wanted to schedule the my runs around Sunday since this day is typically a long run day for me.
I ran a hard track workout yesterday, lifted weights (legs) at lunch and swam at the “other pool” this morning. I planned to run the 6-mile tempo run at 10:30AM today to make sure I had enough energy to get through it, but also late enough so I could recoup and eat from the swim.
The workout this morning in the “other pool” was perfect:
100M warm up
50M catch-up
50M right/left
100M Kick
Repeat
4 X 300M on the 5’s
600M pulls
16 X 25M’s descending in time
200M cool down
I swam with Hans and Trey. They both are stronger swimmers than me so it was not too long, but challenging enough. I was in and out and sitting in my office chair by 6:45AM. I am liking the new schedule and pool.
After a few meetings I was off to the gym to run the 6 mile tempo. The weather was beautiful, warm, sunny, just a pleasant day. I ran inside. Okay, I know you are thinking, “What a nut! It has been cold and miserable outside and now we get a great day and he runs inside?!” Believe me, I did not want to run inside, but I had two reasons:
1. Looking at my logs from last year when there was a spike in the temperature I ran outside and bonked. My body had not acclimated to the change and I overheated and became dehydrated. I finished the 15 mile run that day, but struggled off the pace to finish it.
2. After running yesterday and the pace I needed to hold on this run the most viable place would have been the Greenway. If anyone has run the Alpharetta Greenway they know the town must have used extra hard cement on the trail. This trail beats my body up from my toes to my neck.
With these two factors in play, I played it safe. There are plenty of nice days ahead and I did not want to jeopardize anything for 43 minutes in the nice weather.
I hit the treadmill and got the run done. The pace was fast, I thought really fast but I maintained the run and with a 1 mile warm up and 5 mile tempo finished in 0:43:34.
Now with this run out of the way, all I have is a short 13 miler on Saturday at marathon pace to complete before starting the Easter weekend.
I was apprehensive in doing this run since I have maintained the program and to veer off only 3 weeks from the marathon put me at risk for an injury. Nevertheless, to be able to get it done with no issues, the risk was worth it to be able to spend the whole day with my daughters, Sarah and my parents.

Week 3 - "Speed and Consistency"

2010-03-31T10:26:00.002-04:00

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
John Rohn

Pace. I have a certain pace that needs to be achieved during the marathon. If I go out too fast at the halfway point my goal pace could be jeopardized on the back 13 miles by more than 4 minutes. If I go out too slow on the first half, I will be required to push the pace to make up the time leading to fatigue or injury. Pace. It is an elusive carrot that dangles in front of me that I continue to strive to master.

During the last 13 weeks I have been able to “stay on pace” for the full amount of the runs. This actually means I have achieved the total time needed to run the distance I needed to cover. There has been bouts of fast and slow paces but very few were consistent.

On Sunday, my main goal was to hang on to the pace. Focus on splits stay on track on remain constant. At the end of this 20 miler I felt I was disciplined enough to hold the average and hit the desired time.

Going into the last weeks I have changed my focus on will be cognitive of hitting the pace where needed and maintaining that pace. Not too fast or not too slow, but as Bob says, “right on”.

This morning was speed. The regular time and the regular group. There is consistency for you. I prefer the norm at this point. My regular friends running the regular track at the regular time. No surprises.

This morning everyone had a regular workout as well. It seems the distance on the menu was 800’s. The Twins had 800’s, Ann Marie had 800’s, Stacy & Shane had 800’s, Susan had 800’s and I had 800’s. Evan was there as well, but he ran mile repeats. I don’t even think he stopped to rest, but just kept going…
Heading down Webb Bridge the temperature started to drop. By the time, we were at the track the temperature must have been 5-10 degrees cooler than at LTF. There was a nip in the air as we scouted the track and started this morning’s program.

The Twin’s quickly connected their Wonder Twin powers and took off. I followed about 20 seconds behind them with Ann Marie tailing me soon after.

I can not speak for all during this workout on their times because they seem to be all over the place, but for me my goal was:

8 X 800M @ 0:02:52 with a R.I. 0:01:30.

The first 800M was 0:02:51 followed by:

#2 @ 0:02:52
#3 @ 0:02:52
#4 @ 0:02:53
#5 @ 0:02:52
At this point we switched direction. Going North to South on the track is a weakness of mine and it should in the times:
#6 @ 0:02:55
#7 @ 0:02:54
#8 @ 0:02:51

It takes me 2 reps to get acclimated to the change up. I was not concerned about the times since I knew I struggle on this direction but would be able to hone in towards the end.

Finishing up, I watched Ann Marie and her coach, Ken (he came a couple minutes after we started) complete the last 800M. It was good to hear Ken teach Ann Marie about pacing and what times they needed to hit on the 200M splits. The last 800M they had I think was a 0:03:02. I told Ken at this point that he needed to change up Ann Marie’s time and make them faster since she was been crushing the prescribed times on her workout sheets.

Not sure she liked to hear that, but consistently since February Ann Marie has been come in with faster times than what Ken has given her.

We left the track and headed back to the gym. One note on #5-800. I left a few seconds after the Twins started their 800M. I held my pace and in the final 100M turn I started to pace the Twin’s. As I moved ahead, both Bob & Jay kicked it up and beat me to the line. First thing Bob said was, “right on”. I turned to him and said, “right on what? “ “Pace”, he said. I estimated they hit a 0:02:59 or less on a 0:03:07 pace.

I enjoy the company and camaraderie of The Twin’s and Ann Marie on the track due to their natural speed. I let them go these days and stop chastising them for inconsistent pacing. They are all fast and can give me a run for my money. However, even with their natural talent for speed and the competitive edge they bring to the track that rubs off on my mere mortal body, I am grateful for have friends with such athletic prowess. Our goals are different at this point and I need to and will remain disciplined during these weeks to achieve the desired goal I have established for myself in the upcoming weeks.

Tomorrow I am going to commit a sin. Not a religious sin or a moral sin, but a sin against my program. This act is to allow me to spend time with my family and parents during the Easter Holiday. Let’s hope the gods are in my favor.

Week 3 - A Different Venue

2010-03-30T07:57:00.002-04:00

Tuesday’s have been cross training days. Tuesday’s are swim days. Today is a swim day but one thing has changed. The pool. Well, in the way that I abandoned the poor quality, over promised and under delivered same old, same old pool for another pool.

I arrived this morning at 5AM to swim with the group. The group is a level lower than the Master’s Swim group I usually swim with but I swam with a group of good swimmers: Hans, Trey, Janny & Amy.

The workout was right from the Total Immersion Book:
200M Swim
200M Kick
200M Paddles
6 X 25M right side then left side kick no fins
4 X 100M with RI: 15 seconds. Hans, Trey and I were hitting 1:25’s and waiting for Janny & Amy
6 X 25M right side then left side kick no fins
4 X 100M with RI: 15 seconds. Hans, Trey and I were hitting 1:23’s and waiting for Janny & Amy
6 X 25M 3-5 Breath Strokes
4 X 100M with RI: 15 seconds. Hans, Trey and I were hitting 1:20’s and waiting for Janny & Amy
200M Cool Down

It was a short workout and I was in and out in less than 50 minutes. There were approximately 20 people in the water. The water quality was a B to B+ even after the swimmers were in the water. Clear, cool, no dirt. The pool maintenance actually came out and tested the water because the amount of swimmers in both pools halfway through the workout. The chlorine levels were a tad high, but no band-aids or clumps of hair floating in the bottom.

Good group of swimmers this morning. I was actually asked back to swim with them more often.
Lunchtime will be an upper body and core workout. I have 2 weeks of weights left before I stop completely 1 week before Boston.

The End of Week 4 - "Into Taper"

2010-03-29T16:00:00.002-04:00

Done. That is all I can say. Over the last 12 weeks I have ran 5 – 20 mile runs all solo. The 5th one being completed on Sunday. I thought I was going to break my streak on this, the last and final long run, but my buddy had to bail on me do to family obligations. It is fine that he did though. After running 4 long runs by myself, I was not disappointed in the change of plans. I just ran the 20 alone.

I had scheduled this last long run at the Columns. This was the second time I had run the Columns as part of this training. The first time was on Ann Marie’s birthday. It was a 17-mile run for me and she met me at the Columns and ran approximately the last 9 miles with me. This was one of the few runs where I had a running partner so I remember the occasion.
On this 20 mile run, I wanted to hit the Columns for the gravel trail. With the last couple of Half Marathons two weeks apart, the joints have been feeling it over the past week. I figured with the softer (well, softer than the asphalt) trail it would save the joints and hopefully speed recovery going into taper.

Sunday was a rainy, damp, cloudy day. I arrived at the Columns at 8:50AM to start a 9AM run. The goal was to maintain an average pace of marathon pace + 15 seconds for the whole 20 miles.
The day before I plotted the run and splits. Since I was not using a Garmin I decided to make the loops and the out and back my interval times to hit. The 20 miles:

1. 3.25 Loop
2. 5.0 – Out and Back on Columns Drive
3. 3.25 Loop
4. 2.00 Inner Loop
5. 3.25 Loop
6. 3.25 Loop

When I started, the rain was light and a head wind coming from the South was blowing up the trail. It was enough of a wind that I knew that the times heading out on the trail and the back section of Columns Drive would slow my pace.

On the portions where the wind was blowing directly into my face, I tucked in with my head down, body lean and sliced through the wind. Once I turned and had a tail wind, I increased the pace to average it out for the loop. The first loop of 3.25 miles was 22 seconds fast which I was not concerned with since I tend to go out fast and settle in later. I eased into the run pace and headed out onto Columns Drive for the 5 mile out and back.

With the wind at my back, I knew the 2.5 miles heading back to the trails was going to be a negative split, so I increased cadence and speed in order to give myself a cushion for this interval section. I saw a few bikers and passed 6 runners on the road. There were 2 bikers that I saw 4 times on Columns. I kept thinking to myself, “what a monotonous ride”. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. My goodness. I even said out loud to myself, “shoot me if I ever come down here and do this kind of freaking boring ride”. Little did I know at the time, running 4.75 loops on the trail is equivalent to that kind of pain fest of repetitiveness on the bike.

At the end of the 8.25 miles and heading back onto the trails, I was a total of 18 seconds ahead of total run time. I did not worry or be concerned at this point since 1 was only 41% completed and the place where I was to need energy and sheer determination was at mile 16. This is where the brain and body stop talking to each other and start carrying on with their own conversations and telling you to stop this nonsense. With being 7.75 miles from that point right now all I needed to do was focus on pace.

After 11.5 miles, I was still 18 seconds ahead of total pace time. With this amount of time, I eased off the pace and settled in again. The wind had died down and a light rain was falling. As I made my way around the trail, I noticed an increase of population of runners and walkers. In the morning, the “hard core” walkers were out with their dogs walking in the rain. There were a few runners, but majority of the people at the Columns were 60+ year olds. They were decked out in rain gear, boots and safari hats. By the time, I was completed with the 3 segment of the run the demographics had shifted to more runners, a little younger and less clothing on, meaning no rain gear.

As I rounded the trail to make it out for the 4th segment I decided at the end of this 2 miler I was going to peel off the top layer and refuel my bottle. I had lost 5 seconds that 2 mile loop. I believe the mind was wandering a little thinking of what is going to be for dinner.

With having 13 seconds in the bank, I decided to maintain the pace and see how much time I had to make up after the stop. Rounding the Parking Hut, I made it to my car with my car key in hand. I had laid out the bottle in the trunk and like a NASCAR pit crew I had removed the top layer shirt, changed bottles and was out of pit row in 20 seconds.

With the pit stop and losing a little time on the 2 mile due to the mind starting to wander a bit, I was behind pace by 7 seconds. In my head I thought, “okay, you have 7 seconds to make up with 6.5 miles to go.” That is a little more than 1 second per mile I need to make up. “No problem”, I said aloud to myself.

When I run, after an hour or so I start to have open conversations with myself. I ask a question in my head and answer it aloud. This does two things for me. 1. It helps me hear my breathing to determine if I am over the threshold and 2. Since I am running solo, it keeps me company. In addition, we can have some good conversations sometimes. Me and I can talk about food, beer, weather, how we are feeling, where the next turn is. You name it we talk about it. Actually, we may even have conversations about you, the reader of this blog. However, we will never tell. I am not one for gossip.

During the 5th segment I started to come across either High School or College Cross Country runners. The speed and fluidness of their runs seemed effortless. Unfortunate for me they were going in the opposite direction of me so I never had the chance to pass them.

At the end of the 5th segment as I passed the “Parking Hut” it finally hit me that I was as sadistic as those bikers out on Columns going back and forth, back and forth. Instead, I was like a crazed dog chasing its tail in a preverbal 3.25 circle. I laughed at myself, said I was a nut job, looked at my watch and thought, “time to bring it home”. I was 3 seconds behind the total time at the interval. With only 3.25 miles to go, I figured I had plenty of time to make it up.

I picked up the pace slightly and felt my heart rate and breathing become more labored. I looked up the trail and pinpointed on a runner that I was to “pick off”. If I focused on the runner ahead, slightly increasing the pace and counting the time at landmarks for when they hit it compared to when I hit it, I was able to control my overall speed and pass them. This way I would not blow up with a mile or so to go.

As I headed on the short out and back to the back parking lot near 285, I passed by a few of the Cross Country runners. I knew at their pace I would not gain ground on them so I dismissed them as my target. Round the back parking lot and about a quarter mile from the turn, I had a new challenge. 3 Cross Country runners and an older runner with a Louisville Ironman Finisher hat on passed me in the other direction. From the look on their faces and the glance I got as I passed by, I knew they were in for a chase.

I had to keep my composure because this was not a race and I did not need to push it beyond the 1 second faster to hit my target time, but the competitor in me kicked in.

I knew they would track me down and overtake me if I did not accelerate. I took a deep breath and with over a mile to go, I settled in at a faster pace. Not lightning fast, just faster. The heart rate was up, the breathing was labored, the legs were yelling at me, but I knew if I thought these guys were coming down on me I would for sure make my time for this 20 mile run and then some.

As I made it over the small bridge heading North on the trail, I glanced back and saw the pack behind me by a few 100 meters. I decided at that point to just run and not look back. I focused ahead and made tracks through the leaves and pine needles. I heard footsteps behind me as I ran with less than a half-mile to go thinking these guys kicked it up, but it turned out to be my own footsteps kicking up gravel, leaves and dirt. Just then, I saw the octagon bench in the distance indicating the end was near. I increased the pace slightly more and pretended I was on my last 400M track set while I increased my kick. Again it was not a blinding all out speed, just enough to push my limits after 19.75 miles.

As I rounded the last turn and saw the Parking Hut, I kicked it a bit more passing the hut and hitting the stopwatch. 8 seconds ahead of the total goal time for the 20 miles. At that moment after glancing at my watch, the pack of 4 runners ran by as I nodded and the 4 of them nodded knowing that the friendly chase was over.

We are always thankful when we have met our goals in achieving what we set out to accomplish. For me, it was the 5-20 milers all at my targeted paces. As I hit my watch and saw the time, I knew I was ready for the long haul pace on the 19th of April.

The next 3 weeks leading up to this event are going to be filled with emotion and challenges to keep focused. Tapering for a race can be as trying as any long distance endurance training run. You need to stay focused, clear on your objective and just be happy. No need to let things upset you. There really isn’t anything that can be that damming to you and what you have achieved up to that point.

Monday. I emailed Ann Marie last night to see if she could save me a bike for Brian’s spin class. I was not going to “grind it out”, but I want to go to flush the toxins from the legs and loosen up the tightness from the run on Sunday. With Ann Marie saving me a bike, it also forced me to get up and do it. I now had a commitment that I need to keep.

Brian’s spin was rough. Not for me since I just spun, but for the participants. A lot of AT stuff. I just spun and spun while watching the Tour de France on the screen.

After I stretched and when I was leaving Chris told Ann Marie and I that the lap pool looked absolutely disgusting. He stated he was going to swim at Woodstock-LTF in the morning because of the quality. On the way down to the locker rooms, Ann Marie and I took a detour to check out the pool’s conditions. A rare pop quiz for the pool on Monday. The grade was an: F. The water had a green tint, dirt in the corners, clumps of something floating in the water, it was cloudy making the Black lane lines at the bottom of the pool look gray and to top it off there was a skim of slim on the pool’s surface.

Good to see that people who call them professionals cannot do the job they are paid to do.

I am seeking alternative venues to swim.

Week 4 - Tempo Run

2010-03-26T10:10:00.003-04:00

“The successful man is the average man, focused.”

These weeks leading up to the marathon I need to hone in on the feeling of the pace I will carry for 26.2 miles. These current weeks of training have most of the tempo runs and long runs within 15 seconds of marathon pace.

This morning a 8 mile tempo was completed. 1 mile easy and 7 miles at marathon pace. This particular tempo run acclimate the body to become accustom to running at a certain pace for extended periods of time.

I was able to remain focused and maintain the pace that was prescribed.

Sunday will be the final exam. I have a 20 mile run at marathon pace + 15 seconds. I have a planned route that will be able to help me achieve the goal I need to hit for the full 20. After Sunday is over and if I continue to stay focused on the run the remaining 3 weeks will be a snap for this average runner.