Hey Stephen! You are an Ironman!!! Part 2

So, baseball season wraps up on June 4th and as soon as I get home I jump on the bike to get in an hour of work.  It's time to really get after it because my first real triathlon race is just over 6 weeks away and I have no idea what I'm doing. 

Every year, Tricia and I try to plan a trip to North Dakota to see her family in early summer.  This trip would be different.  We'd meet them in South Dakota instead and spend time in the Mt. Rushmore area. 

Just so happens there's a swim only event there that weekend that my sister-in-law has found.  Of course, my first thought is that this is a great idea.  Sure, I'm in.  "A Dam Good Swim" is the name of the race.  It's in the lake behind Pactola Dam.  Calm water, very controlled setting, right up my alley.  So I thought.....

In the days leading up to the race, we're informed that things are changing due to flooding.  WHAT?  I don't need all this.  Make this simple on me.  There would be no parking near the start line because the parking lot is completely flooded.  Race check-in would happen near the dam and we'd be shuttled down to the start line.  Tricia and I arrive early at the direction of the race director.  Lot's of standing around.......walked across the dam to get to a restroom.  Not at all an ideal setting.  Finally, I get a shuttle down to the start line. 

We stand around for an hour because the race team is delayed in getting buoys out.  Finally some race instructions.  I get my wet suit on and slowly wade into the water.  It's cold.....like really cold, or at least to me.  I finally get my face in the water and it takes my breath away.  HOLY CRAP!  The race organizer advertises this race at 68-72 degrees.  No FREAKING WAY!!!!  It's much colder, or so it feels.  I swim 2 strokes and freak out a bit.  I can't see my hand in front of my face.  The race organizer advertised the water as clear to about 20-30 feet.  DAMN, THAT'S COLD!!!  Race time and I'm slowly getting comfortable in the water.  Ok, I can do this.  The first group goes off.  They're going 2.4 miles.  My race is the 1.2 mile.  15 minutes until I go.  I'm wading around in this cold water.  I swim 4 -5 strokes and the cold water gets me.  I swim 5-6 strokes, no better.  Everyone in my race starts to gather near the start line and I find my way to the back of the group.  My only hope at this point is to complete this race.  No need to 'race', just going through the motions. 

The gun goes off and I let everyone take out ahead of me.  I get my face in the water and freak out.  I swim 2-3 strokes and lose my breath.  I raise my head up out of the water and start flailing.  I'm panicking and don't know how to do this.  Another 5-6- strokes in this cold water and another freak out.  Breath taken, Heart racing. Doggy paddle, cold, heavy breathing, heart racing, 3 more strokes of real swimming, head up, breath taken, heart racing, more doggy paddle.  I'm 75 yards off the start line and I stop.  I try to regain my breath and slow my heart rate.  I take 15-20 seconds as I see everyone in my race pulling away farther toward the first buoy.  5-6 more strokes and attempting to breath every stroke.  My breath is taken again.  I freak out and decide today's not my day.  I pull up, float for a second, and backstroke my way back to the start line.  Done.  Finished.  What the hell was I thinking when I signed up to do this???  I'm NOT a SWIMMER. 

The Eddie Ferrell, Music City Triathlon is a staple in the city and brings out all of the local triathletes.  I decide it's important to eliminate as much of the race morning anxiety as I can by picking up my packet and dropping off my bike the day before.  I get there and realize I'm completely out of place here.  I know some of these people through running, but I'm lost.  It's a lot like the first time I ran a big race.  Not knowing where to go or what order things get done and so on.  Fortunately, Tricia is with me and I gotta at least act like I know what I'm doing!  haha! 

I see some familiar faces and chat for a minute or two, then I see Season!  What a welcome sight!  Runner, Triathlete, Race Organizer, good friend.  I haven't seen her in probably a year at this point, maybe more.  I introduce her to Tricia and we catch up for a minute.  She knows that I've taken on this challenge of doing an Ironman and is extremely supportive and curious.  As a friend, she wants to make sure I'm doing everything I can to get ready for the big day and knows that this is a 'training race' for me.  Me, I kept saying that, but my anxiety was growing with every minute.  Tricia and I walk down to the river......yeah, the Cumberland River, where I'll be jumping off a perfectly good dock the next morning to swim 300 yards or so.  This is stupid!!!  Will this turn into another 'Dam Good Swim' spectacle?  Or can I really do this?

Race day arrives and I'm nervous.  I'm up extremely early to make sure that I have everything packed that I need.  Wetsuit - CHECK, Cycling Shoes - CHECK, Helmet - CHECK, Running Shoes - CHECK, WETSUIT- CHECK!!  I arrive at the race plenty early.  I get everything laid out around my bike.  The 'jerk' next to me not-so-politely tells me to move my things as I'm in 'his space'.  Clearly he doesn't know this is my first race and that I have no clue what I'm doing, or that I've only made it this far from youtube videos.  I see Brad and Emily and they want to get in a little run to warm-up.  Wait, I thought the swim was the warm-up!  haha!  I agree to go and grab my running shoes.  We run a couple of miles and given it's July......I work up a nice sweat.  Just in time to put on a wetsuit.  Not the easiest thing I've ever tried.  Everyone begins to head toward the river and line up for jumping in.  The people doing the Olympic distance race board the General Jackson and they head up stream.  Everyone standing on shore applaud and cheer them on, all while my anxiety grows. 

It's a slow go as people one by one jump in to start the race.  Standing on the dock, I get to see lots of athletes swim by.  Some swimming as if they've done this their entire life, as if they have gills.  Others, not so much.  I have hope that I can do this.  I also have serious anxiety as I see those people who are struggling.  I'm standing behind a lady that I've talked to on a couple of occasions at the pool where I train.  She's doing this race without a wetsuit, her first without one.  The Olympic distance swimmers start to come into view and I slowly get to the start line.  5, 4, 3, 2, 1.......Here we go! JUMP!!!  DAMN That's cold!!!!  Face down, cold water, panic!  I tell myself to slow down.  I can manage this.  Face back in the water.  Panic.  Doggy Paddle.  I get my head turned and paddle as best I can.  I rollover to backstroke and slow my heart rate.  I try to roll back over to swim and freak out.  I hear one of the kayakers ask if I'm OK.  I nod that I'm fine.  Really Stephen, are you fine?!?!?  Doggy paddle, doggy paddle......I'm killing this doggy paddle!  Oh, there's Tricia, she's taking a picture of me doggy paddling.  That won't be my favorite triathlon photo of all time.  Let's try to swim.  Ok, there's 5 strokes.  Doggy paddle.  5-7 more strokes.  Hey, there's the finish line.  I got this..........

I come out of the water feeling exhausted, but I made it.  I completed the swim portion of this race!  That's worth celebrating.  I take my time getting up the hill from the river and try to slow my heart rate.  Once I reach my bike, I'm ready to roll.  I had come out of the water 25th of 26 in my Age Group.  Now, let's get after it!  I get out of transition on the bike and know that I have to pace myself.  While this is only a 14'ish mile bike ride, I've got to run following this.  Not something I've really practiced doing a lot.  I'm patient to start and take my time settling in.  By the time I get to Ellington Parkway, I'm ready to do some racing.  I'm consistently passing people, lot's of people.  As I make the turn to come back, I know that the worst of the climbing on the course is behind me.  Let's get after it.  I push hard all the way back into downtown.  As I get close to the stadium, I ease up a bit knowing I need to shake out my legs so that I can run.  I've just put down the 7th best bike time in my age group and while I didn't know this at the time, I'm moving up quickly.  I get my bike racked and running shoes on.
 

Tricia has my hat and now we're gonna have a little fun.  I ease into this run, but I'm passing people right and left.  I know a lot of people got into the water before me, but this many???    The first mile I click off at 7:43.  I blow by a kid that everyone who passes cheers on and tells him how great he's doing.  I ask if he's ok.  He says yes, then I tell him to push harder!  haha!  Never let up, young man!  2nd mile at 7:29 and we're heading back toward the finish.  3rd mile at 7:10 and I feel really good all the way to the finish.  I've just put down the 4th fastest run in my age group.  Add all that together with my very slow transition times and I finish 7th in my age group.  While that swim was frustrating and I know I have lot's of work to do, I know now that if I make it out of the water that I can be competitive at this.

To be continued............

Training (March 28 - April 3)

Another good week of training in the books.  I found myself really tired at the end of the week and I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the grind that it's been for the past 6 months.  However, after a couple of days away from it, I feel like I'm as ready as I've ever been for a marathon. 

Monday - After getting home late from Fayetteville, Monday was to be an easy day.  Since the time change, I've been trying to run on Monday night with the Tin Roof 2 Running Crew.  This is good because I see some familiar faces and get to run with some people that are as fast, if not faster, than me.  This day would be no different.  Alex and I got in 4 easy miles prior to starting with the Crew.  I needed 9 total miles for the day with some strides on the end.  After 3 more steady miles, Kyle McPhee and I take of on strides by ourselves.  Kyle is a former collegiate runner that claims to have some extra weight on right now.  He can run circles around me but at the same time push me to go just a bit harder on each of these strides.  Great workout.  9.4 total miles @ 7:45.

Tuesday - Easy, breezy miles.  Seems all my miles lately have been 'breezy'!!!  8.23 @ 7:59.  With a baseball game scheduled for the evening, this one happened at lunch.  Rushed again to get from meeting to run to meeting.

Wednesday - Coach has said a few times that he'd be glad to pace me over a few miles if I was interested.  I've always said yes, but until this day, we hadn't been able to work it out.  As I'm getting closer to my race, Coach decided we'd run a tempo pace over some hills.  We did a short warm-up and then dropped the pace just below 7:00.  Coach talked the entire time and gave me a play-by-play of the route as we went.  Don't you just hate those guys that can run and talk???  haha!  While I'm back behind him dying, he's carrying on a very one-sided conversation!  We finished with 11.24 miles @ 7:02.  This includes both warm-up and cool-down miles. 

Thursday - Another day where I'm cramming miles in at lunch because I'm traveling for baseball in the evening.  This time, I'm driving to Atlanta.  Not so bad and I could run after work, but there's the expectation of some thunderstorms.  8.23 @ 8:01.  Easy, breezy!

Friday - Friday's have turned into a very hectic day.  By traveling on Thursday evening, I'm able to work most all day on Friday, but I have to be at the ballpark before the end of the work day, in most cases.  Slipping in a run at lunch is tough, but I'm finding a way to make it happen.  Did a couple of easy strides on the end of this one.  7.07 @ 7:49.

Saturday - Long run in another city.  While this is challenging to coordinate and learn, this has been a lot of fun.  Atlanta is no different.  Just a mile from my hotel is the Noon Day Creek trail/greenway.  It connects on the far end to the Kennesaw Mountain trail/greenway. On Friday, I figured out there was no water on the trail so I stashed a small bottle on my way out.
I've also been doing long runs on minimal nutrition in an effort to familiarize my body with the feeling of running in a carb depleted state.  This time I took a gel prior to starting and then one at mile 6.  A 20 mile run on low cals/carbs is freaking tough but it's a bit easier today than it was a month ago when I bailed out half-way into a run.  20.5 miles (5 Mi. Fast Finish) @ 7:40 (last 5 @ 6:55).

Sunday - In this blog I've mentioned several times that I need to learn to run slow!  This is still a work in progress and I expect it to always be.  Saturday's run, followed by 9 innings of plate work, left me sore and stiff.  I managed to take this one very slow.....for me.  6.13 @ 8:31. 

70.9 miles for the week.  I like this as a final, high-mileage week for my training.  I feel good about my fitness and excited about the possibilities of a good showing in Boston.  Now it's time to start stalking the weather report!!! 

Rain & Ice & Snow, Oh My

48 days until dreams come true.  

Ever have one of those 'real' moments where you know that 'shit is about to go down'?  I had one of those yesterday when I receive a text message from my Nutritionist stating that we needed to soon discuss my nutrition plan for Boston.  Cold chills covered my body as if I was standing at the start line ready to race.  With every day that passes, I get more excited.  The workouts are getting tougher, but I believe that I am as well.  

I missed out on writing this past week because things have been extremely hectic.  Baseball season is fully under way and as I learn better each year, Baseball Coaches like to play Weather Man too.  Not a good idea.  Stick to what you know, or in some cases, don't know.     

Running in South Florida definitely has advantages.  As an Ice Storm hit Nashville on Monday the 16th, I was in sunny and 75 degree Naples.  That day's run was to be a tempo run.  I've openly admitted that I'm not very good at the execution of a tempo pace.  I've searched for and read every definition.  I've asked runner friends about how they execute these runs and still I struggle with this.  That said, I like how this run turned out.  After a warmup mile, I dropped below 7:00 pace, leveling off at just below 6:40 pace for 3 miles and then knocking down the last mile at 6:24.  A good,  hard, 7 mile effort with enough energy in the tank to finish strong.

The next day was an easy 7 miles to shake off the sting of a fast prior day.  I feel like I'm getting better at this kind of running as well.  I tend to keep dropping the pace until I find myself putting out a significant effort on an easy day.  I didn't do that on this day.  I'm also finding that my 'easy' pace is dropping down to about 7:30.  I like very much!

Wednesday of that week was scheduled for 6 miles with no particular pace assigned to it.  I'm not really sure why I didn't assign a pace, but I've been trying Wednesday runs at or near marathon pace, so I went out with the intent of going faster.  After a couple of warm-up miles, I put down 4 averaging 6:46.  I'm beginning to enjoy this 'fast' running.  

Back home on Friday (and for the next week) and things get complicated.  Snow, and mostly Ice, still blanket Middle Tennessee and baseball for the day was already cancelled.  Friday was to be 11 miles at marathon pace.  It turned into 11 miles at 'just don't bust your ass' pace.  A 50 degree temperature change definitely makes me better understand the 'Snow Bird' mentality.  I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't try the distance/pace, but please that I got out on a 25 degree, icy day and got the miles.  Saturday's baseball was cancelled early as it was 40 and pouring rain.  Not even a chance to get outside to run so I went to the Y for an hour in the pool and then back home for an hour on the bike.  Missing a long run is near disaster in my mind.  I hate situations like this.  

Sunday was to be a 10 mile 'recovery' pace run.  I was able to talk Jenifer and Alex into 13+ instead.  We had planned on doing a 'Tom King' like route, but decided that if the Shelby Bottoms Greenway was still covered in ice, that we'd improvise and make it up as we go.  And we did.  13+ miles at 7:53 pace, while not busting my ass is a success.  All this before heading to the ballpark for a double header.  This turned out to be a very, very long day.  

Monday would be another day of baseball and running while dodging ice.  The paths still aren't clear and with a temperature of only 28, it wasn't going to happen then either.  9 miles @ 7:47 pace is a win for this day.  Monday is typically a 'speed workout' day for me, but I changed this up because of the previous day and the remaining ice.  

Tuesday.  Hill Repeats.  Oh how I've missed you!  You suck!  Yes, those are exact thoughts that went through my head on this day.  I felt sluggish.  Legs were tired.  3 baseball games in two days, on top of the mileage, was taking a toll.  8 x Hill Repeats, 4 x Down Hill Repeats.  A total of 8 miles and I didn't hit my paces a single time.  Either my feeling of sluggishness was dead on or I grossly miscalculated my paces for this workout, which is highly likely.  Did I mention another baseball game?  Yep.

On Wednesday, I would have yet another baseball game and needed 9 miles.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to do this one fast, but still went out with 'good intentions.'  9.3 @ 7:34 on this day was a very good run.  

By Friday I knew that Baseball Coaches turned Weather Men are shitty Weather Men!  On Tuesday of this week, a decision had been made to cancel due to impending bad weather.  By Friday, it was gorgeous.  Thank goodness.  This weekend was a high mileage weekend.  11 Friday, 22 Saturday and 11 Sunday.  I really didn't know how I was going to pull that off and work baseball at the same time.  Luckily I didn't have to worry about it.  Friday was 11 quick miles @ 7:12 pace.  Saturday's long run was miserable, in part because I hadn't gone long in a couple of weeks, other part because it was still freakin' cold.  22 miles at 8:09 pace.  Not bad, but I really struggled in the last 4+ miles.  Sunday's 11 miles were the first time in 10 days that I had run with the temp above freezing.  Break out the shorts!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  Those 11 miles wrapped up a 71 mile week.  My highest mileage week since October.  The body is feeling it, but its also a nice accomplishment.  

Even with all of the improvisation of the past week or so, training appears to still be going well.  The miles are adding up and I'm becoming more comfortable with those faster paces.  It feels really good to execute some of these longer distances at faster paces, something I haven't tried regularly in prior training plans.  I'm also ahead of pace on my 2500 mile goal for the year and expect that gap to increase through April.  Soon I'll get to work on some of the other running goals for the year.  

Opening Day is upon us!

Wow, time is flying by.  I can't believe we are now less than 60 days until Boston.  When I qualified for this race in October of 2013, eternity was the only word to describe how long it felt it would be.  Now, it's creeping up on me.  Let's hope they clear a bit more of the snow there prior to April 20.

I'm a little late writing this week, but have a few minutes and thought I'd get these thoughts out before embarking on another busy weekend.

The week started off with a very hard, mile repeats workout.  I have a love/hate relationship with these workouts as I know they are painful, but I get better each time I run one.  I'm getting better about pacing myself in these workouts with the use of specific paces assigned to them.  The self-prescribed pace for this was between 6:16 and 6:27.  5 miles repeats, the first one 3 seconds too fast, the last one 4 seconds too slow.  Yep, just goes to show you that going out too fast impacts even the shortest workouts.  I can live with this, but beat myself up a bit about not hitting that last mile's pace.

Tuesday was a nice easy run.  It was a gorgeous 65 degree day in Naples and this turned out to be one of the more consistent runs I've ever done.  7.1 miles.

Wednesday turned out to be another nice easy run.  I was hurting a bit from the fast work on Monday and decided that I just needed to settle in for the miles.  6.3 miles.

Thursday - Travel/Off.

Friday - Opening Day of the college baseball season.  I've been looking forward to this for a long while now and, of course, the weather takes a turn for the cold.  A week earlier it was 60 degrees and gorgeous.  Now that the season is ready to open, we are going to deal with extreme cold temps.  First thing Friday morning I learn that our weekend series (Fri. thru Sun.) has been altered to avoid playing on Sunday.  This means two games on Saturday.  An appointment with my 'Witch Doctor' to get worked over for the case of Plantar Fasciitis left me with fatigued legs.  The workout was to be 8 miles with 7 at marathon pace.  I got 6.5 miles with 6 of them very near (10 seconds) marathon pace.  I just could not get down to that pace on wobbly legs.  A bit disappointed in myself, but satisfied that I made the best of this.

Saturday - Friday night's baseball game took a lot longer than it should have.  Being on tired legs already and adding a 4 hour baseball game didn't make things any better.  In order to get in my run, I would need to start at about 6 a.m.  That didn't happen and physically felt exhausted.  I started my run by 7 a.m. and two miles in realized that it just wasn't going to happen.  I did 6 miles at a very slow pace and then made my way to the ballpark for 18 innings (actually 19).

Sunday - Luckily, I got to bed at a reasonable time Saturday evening and was able to sleep in a bit.  This also allowed the temps to warm a good bit prior to running.  Even more lucky, this was a step back week in mileage so I only needed 12-13 miles for a long run.  The temp never really warmed, so I started at around 1:00 when there was at the very least some sunshine.  12 miles at 8:00 pace.  I'll take it.  Home to pack and a flight out of town to beat the Snopocalypse, Snotastrophe, Snomaggedon that's heading Nashville's way.

This was another good week of training.  As I look back on it now, it is probably exactly what I needed given the conditions, my health and schedule.  I'm going to have to learn over the next 8-9 weeks how to be more flexible with my weekend running, but still get in my miles.  While I was more than a bit disappointed about Saturday morning's effort, it probably turned out best considering the work that I had to do that day.  Being rigid and dedicated to my training makes change a challenge for me.  While I want to remain extremely focused on each workout, I must be flexible enough to move them around when necessary.

"How many laps did you run?"

4 days away from the beginning of another College Baseball season.  I'm going to find out very quickly if I'm able to manage that work along with training for a marathon.  I've never actually tried to do this, so keep your fingers crossed for me, say a prayer, send me a protein bar, a foam roller and some melatonin!  hahaha

When I'm in Naples and have track work on the training plan, I go to Naples High School.  I spoke with a grounds guy there last May to ensure that I wasn't 'trespassing' and that it was cool that I use the track.  On Monday nights, I get to 'borrow' a lane while the Gulf Coast Runner's Youth Group has their practice.  For the most part, this means that I'm dodging kids that are clueless to their surroundings, but in some way, it motivates me to keep pushing a bit harder.  Heck, if these little guys/gals can get out there to run, this old dude can show 'em how it's done, right?  

This Monday night was no different.  Dodging kids, but it seemed there were more of them.  Maybe even a few kids that were older than I had recalled previously seeing.  After dodging kids for 5 mile repeats, I was catching my breath and putting on my shirt for my run back to the hotel.  All of the kids started gathering in the same general area for their next exercise.  One little girl looks at me with bright eyes and a huge smile and asks, "How many laps did you do?"  My immediate response was that I didn't know, but then we started doing the math together.  "How many laps make a mile? And I did 5 of those and add 4 more laps.  So, 24."  Her eyes light up with amazement as if I've just solved world-wide hunger or something.  I ask her how many laps she's done.  "3", as she shows me with her fingers.  Of course, I immediately think to challenge her to do more.  "I think you should go one more to get to four. What do you think?"  Everyone around can see the wheels turning in this little girl's head.  Before she has a chance to respond I say, "If you want to go one more, I'll do it with you."  Instantly the wheels land on 'Ask Mom'.  We walk over to her Mom and she asks if she can run a lap with me.  I explain to her Mom what's going on.  The other kids are lining up to run the 100.  Her Mom tells her it's her choice and I ask her if she'd rather run the 100 or run with me.  "With you!", she says with no hesitation and off we go.  We start out slow as I had no idea whether she was a poser or a runner.  She's a runner AND a talker!  Instantly she turns into 'Chatty-Cathy'.  Wow!  She's 9, thinks running is tiring, her Mom runs marathons, is only there to get her little sister interested, and would rather cheer, dance or sing.  Oh, and she's pretty good at the cheer, dance and sing.  

We run the first 3/4 of the lap relatively comfortable and as we approach the last 1/4, I tell her we are going to pick up the pace.  Gurlfren dropped it like it was hot!  haha!!!  We jet the last 1/4 lap and finish in plenty of time for her to catch her breath to run the 100.  She is now glowing with energy (as if she wasn't before).  I give her a high-five and thank her.  Her Mom thanks me and little sister asks why I'm so wet.  Before I can answer, Mom tells her she'd be the same way if she was out there running instead of playing with an umbrella!  haha!  Thanks Mom!  (BTW, Mom has only done a couple of 5k's.  I forget the innocence a child and their concept of distance).

Perspective is something I struggle with often.  I find myself getting absorbed into my own workouts or my own day and lose sight of other things.  I had just finished a difficult workout and on one hand was beating myself up for finishing the last mile 5 seconds off goal pace, while on the other hand congratulating myself for working hard and pushing through the pain, when this little girl completely changed my day.  As I ran back to my hotel from the track, I couldn't get the look of excitement on this little girl's face out of my head.  She reminded me of the joy that I get from a good, hard run.  She reminded me of the energy with which I should be running.  Run like a kid at recess!!!

And seriously, how does that happen?  Her timing could not have been better.  Is this a case of me simply having my eyes open to this sort of thing or some sort of divine intervention?  I'm not sure that's for me to decide, but whatever it is, I'm extremely thankful for this reset of my perspective.  Thank you, Ms. Chatty-Cathy.  You definitely had a bigger impact on me than I had on you.  

Ok, so it's now less than 10 weeks until #MarathonMonday.  Here's a little recap of last week's training.  

Monday -  7 Miles at Tempo pace.  Started out too fast, but rather than backing off, I chose to run till I almost puked.  Thankful for a couple of traffic lights that kept that from happening.  5 of these miles averaged sub-6:30. 

Tuesday - 7 easy miles.

Wednesday - 6.5 miles.  This one turned into a 'Progressive' run with each mile getting faster.  1st mile @ 7:40, the last @ 6:47.  

Thursday - Off/Travel Day

Friday - 10 miles followed by 6 innings working the plate in a baseball scrimmage.  Nice quad burn!

Saturday - 19 miles, the last 4 by myself and a bit slower than I wanted, but I was spent.  This was following by 9 innings on the bases of a baseball scrimmage.  Legs were barking by the end of that one.  

Sunday - 9 mile recovery run.  Slowly I'm learning how to do these.  Typically I go way too fast after I loosen up.  This one was pretty steady.  

I feel as though I continue to do a good job of focusing on each workout individually and not getting ahead of myself looking at the full week or even the totality of the training.  

Goals Update:

2500 miles - As expected a couple of weeks ago, I'm slightly ahead of pace on this one and should be for the next 3 months or so.

Cross-training - I'm failing miserably at this.  I have to get this mixed into my routine and can't be slacking.  I know that this will help with injury prevention as well as being able to execute my running workouts.  

New Race PRs. - No attempts and nothing on the calendar.  The schedule is a bit full right now, so these will have to wait until later in the year.  

Baseball, Boston and Plantar Fasciitis

Do you smell it?  Seriously?  Take a whiff.  That's the smell of college baseball's opening day being only 30 days away.  It's this time of year, every year, that I start to really miss the game of baseball.  There is nothing better than a freshly cut baseball field on a sunny spring day.  The smells and sounds of the game remind me so much of why I love being a part of it and work so hard to hold up my end of the bargain.  This year, baseball season is going to be a bit different because I'm training for a marathon.  I've never actually undertaken a spring marathon because of baseball.  That's always been my sort of built in recovery period from a summer and fall full of training.  To say that this is going to be a challenge is a gross understatement.  My anxiety level goes up every time I look at my calendar for the month of March.



So, there's a little race that starts in Hopkinton, MA on Patriot's Day that I was lucky enough to qualify for and be accepted into.  It ends 26.2 miles later in Boston at Copley Square.  This will be known as the 119th running of The Boston Marathon.  When I first started thinking about running a marathon almost 6 years ago, I never thought this was even a possibility.  Now, it's about to go down!!!


I'm stoked about the opportunity to run this race.  Coming off a disappointing day in the New York Marathon, I'm even more motivated and dedicated to my training.  In two weeks, I'll actually start a 12-week training cycle.  This is going to be a bit different for me because I've always done 16-18 weeks with a base building phase.  Not so much this time.  Fortunately, since New York, I've continued to run and have stayed in at least half-marathon shape and have a solid base under me.  Another change in my training is that I've assigned specific paces to each of my workouts.  In the past, I just ran how I felt except on Monday's when I would do speed work.  My thought behind this is to give each run a 'purpose' if you will.  Speed, Tempo, Long Run, Recovery....whatever it is that is going to make me fast enough to chase down another PR and do it in Boston.

Speaking of half-marathons and PRs, one of my goals for the year is to run a PR at every distance.  This coming Sunday, I take my first shot at a PR in the half-marathon.  I'll be running the Naples Daily News Half in Naples, FL.  Those of us that live and run in middle Tennessee know nothing about how flat this course is.  We think that the Tom King and Middle Half are flat courses.  Dude........this course is as flat as an airport runway.  Flatter than a 4th-grade girls chest! HA!  I think there might be 5 feet of elevation change.  That said, it's up to me to go out and race smart and put in a good effort.

One thing that could stand in the way of a solid effort is a case of Plantar Fasciitis that I've been dealing with for a couple of months now.  While this hasn't exactly slowed me down, or stopped me from running, it is something that I know is always there and it takes me a bit longer to loosen up.  I really feel this each morning when I get out of bed and shortly after a run when everything starts to tighten back up.  Last week I saw a doctor in Nashville that performed some Dry Needling, ART and I'm using some Kenesio Tape.


I got almost immediate relief.  This week has been much easier than past weeks and I've even knocked out a couple of really 'comfortable' runs.  I'm finding that it's all upstream from my foot.  Tightness in my calves, hamstrings and back seem to be the source for all my pain.  I'm really trying to be diligent about stretching and the use of my Stick and massage balls.  We'll see how things shake out on Sunday.

Here's a bit of a recap of last week's running.......
Monday - 9.4 Miles - Track Work - 1.25 mile WU, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 with 400 recovery jogs between each segment, 1.25 mile CD.  I didn't execute this perfectly, but wow, I felt great about just finishing this workout.  I know that I got better while doing this one.
Tuesday - 7 miles
Wednesday - 7 miles
Thursday - OFF - Travel Day
Friday - (Dry Needling and ART) - 7 miles
Saturday - 7.85 miles - Felt very fatigued in my calves from the previous day's treatment.  Cut this one short.
Sunday - 8.1 miles

2 weeks until Boston training officially starts.  I'm feeling pretty good about where I am physically and the progress that I've made with the Plantar Fasciitis.  Hopefully there's more relief on the way.