Day Sixty Four - "1 Week to Marathon Weekend"

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Christopher Robin to Pooh”

Countdown to Rocket City Marathon and MetroPCS Marathon is on. Each race is next weekend. I have talked with all the runners; Sarah, Wren, Tracey, Ann Marie and the Wonder Twins going into the last week of training before the race. They are all ready! Everyone except my sister, Tracey, has finished his or her last long run of this training session. Tracey is running a section of the MetroPCS Marathon with her friend, Kelly on Saturday.

Each one of these brave, strong runners has come a long way in the last 15 weeks. There have been some complications from almost everyone but one thing has remained vicissitude, their desire to achieve the goal that they set for themselves.

Last night was another family gathering night at the table. With the year ending, the extra-curricular activities are winding down as well. This gives up more time as a family unit to talk about the day or days ahead. This past week I am on a mission with dinners. Every 90 days or so, I go through the freezer and plan meals strictly on the contents of the food that is in a deep freeze. Last night was BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken and bake beans. Not the healthy of choices, but is darn good.

I heard the alarm go off around 4:55AM this morning. I was slow to react to the sound and as I turned off the alarm, I had a smile on my face. Unlike Bob, it was not because of a track workout, but the smile was planted on my face because I turned the alarm off. Today is Friday, which means, Saturday is tomorrow and I do not need to get up at the crack of darkness (dawn is still 1.5 hours away) to workout. It is also bitter sweet, because Saturday’s used to be the Saturday Morning Ride training for Ironman or Half Ironman’s. Those days are gone and maybe hard to return in the future.

I made the familiar trek to the gym drudgingly knowing that the workout ahead of me was not only on the track, but a solo track workout. These workouts as the air-cools in late fall are brutal. The wind, light from the moon and the surroundings on the AHS are disquiet to the brain. The bleachers in the stadium creek, the moon casts haunting images that are not seen in the light and the mind magnifies any little thing by 100. I know there is nothing there with me, but the brain states otherwise.

As I left the locker room I saw Jeff coming down the hall in his running gear. He was running a little late and wondered what I was up to. Jeff was to meet the Wonder Twins out on their 10 mile course and run the last mile or so in with them, but like me, the warmth of the bed held him at bay for more time than he expected. He asked where I was heading and I told him the track. Since Jeff was running late, he decided to join me out at AHS instead of trying to figure out where to meet the Twins. I was grateful for his decision.

The track workout was a tough one: 5 – 1k’s at 0:03:31’s. The legs were not firing on all cylinders from last week’s Half and the leg workout yesterday morning. The first 1k was right on at 0:03:31. I set the watch to hit the 200M split at 0:00:42 to keep me on track. After hitting the first 1k on the money, the remaining 4 did not go as well. I ended the workout at 0:03:31, 0:03:37, 0:03:35, 0:03:38, 0:03:36. I was a little disappointed in the lack of effort but oh well, not going to beat myself up over a few seconds here or there.

Jeff ended up running his own “stick” around and around the track. It was probably boring for him but I did enjoy his company. We tend to have a few times once or twice a year of working out that reminds me of the days of Ironman training and spending hours on end in the pool on the road and on the bike.

We saw Ann Marie, Susan A & Michele in the hall at LTF. First thing AM said to me was that they were 5 seconds off pace. They ended up running Windward that is hilly, hilly, and hilly. Jeff said, to only be 5 off for that run is good. I think she is a little nervous that dropping pace for this run is going to have an effect on her performance. Man, is she competitive. That is a compliment on her behalf because her energy feeds me in seeing how fast she is becoming. The devotion she has in doing her best fuels me to do my best as well. "It is always better to surround yourself with eagles than to be surrounded by turkeys." I need to get the eagle on a faster plan in the future so I have a running partner to sore with.

After the stretching, came the awards of Jeff and my efforts out on the track. We met the Wonder Twins at Cracker Barrel for a hearty breakfast. These are the times I enjoy, sitting around with a group of fine gentlemen that I am glad to call my friends, eating and conversing before our busy days start. We always have good intentions on having a beer after work but life extracts any little time we have to knock one back. Mornings are our thing. The family is still asleep or getting ready for school, it is before the start of the workday and it is the only time we truly have to ourselves or to friends.

Editor’s Blog Note: Ann Marie wanted this editor to set the record straight on Wednesday’s blog entry. It was stated that Ann Marie did a spin class Wednesday morning then ran her 5 by 1k’s on the treadmill proceeding the spin. While this is true, I am to clarify that Ann Marie no way or form broke a sweat while spinning. This was an hour of “light” spinning to get the legs warmed up for the speed workout.