The April Fool

So way back near the end of March, I decided that I better get my ass in gear and get signed up for the Colorado Marathon before the registration closes. Everything was going well, I seemed healthy, then the day I signed up finally, I felt a little tweaky from my left inner groin area. The upper part of my IT band was hassling me, and suddenly I went from marathon training to just trying to get miles.



For this training session my miles per week were as follows



Week 1: 28.1 I ran a New Years Eve 5k and then partied my ass off on NYD

Week 2: 43.7

Week 3: 36.9

Week 4: 63.1

Week 5: 60.0

Week 6: 40.1

Week 7: 70.1

Week 8: 48.2

Week 9: 51.8

Week 10: 53.9

Week 11: 47.4

Week 12: 25.6

Week 13: 5.0

Week 14: 25.1

Week 15: 26.3

Week 16: 9.3

Week 17: 29.2

Week 18: 13.8 so far, with another 10 or so to come.



Almost 680 miles to prepare. Less than 40 mpw average. The last 6 weeks were a wreck. I'm still a little off, but the race must go on.

Last week I made a life changing decision, one that will change my life forever. Good or bad, the jury is still out on that. The last couple years have been a real struggle for me. A lot of things have gone on in my life that I don't fo into on here, mostly because I feel there are some things that aren't to be shared. I know people think drugs or alcohol when they read something like that, but I assure you it's not. I dedicated a lot of my time and effort into something that turned our to be a dead end. To put that much time and effort into something and know that it was all for nothing, that all your pain, sweat, and tears were givin in vain is a hard thing to do. But sometimes a person has to realize that the only way to find happiness is to endure pain first, and I have for almost 2 years. I've decided that I need to be true to myself, and that's what I'm doing.

When I quit on Chicago after my IT issue last year, I was drained, worn out, had no fight left in me. I wanted to back out of Colorado this year, but after spending my day Sunday in the bottom of a bottomless bottle of beer, I went and ran on Monday, and part way through that run, I decided that for my heart and soul, I needed to do this. After all these months and all these miles, I can leave this baggage somewhere on the course, and return to the road I was on years ago, the one to happiness, to successful running, to the rest of my life. Belief in others is foolish, you can only count on yourself. I used to believe in this saying, but thought for a little while that maybe you just needed to find the right person to believe in. I was wrong.

Expect to see a 4 hour marathon or so. There is no tracking, but am making arrangements with a couple of people from runnersworld.com that I will give at least an update or two on the course, since some walking will be upcoming for sure, and my fuel belt has a spot for my blackberry.

I expect this to be my last entry before the race. I know some people might think it foolish to do this, but remember, they're just miles.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. Especially Steve, because as long as I finish, my 3rd marathon was better than yours, I'll figure out how to run that 2:58 in Steamboat, like you did in Philly, after Sunday :p

Horsetooth Half Marathon

Tomorrow is the 19th of April. My 3rd annual Horsetooth Half Marathon is coming up in the morning. This race was the first half marathon I had ever run, and probably my all time favorite race. I can still remember the days leading up to both of the other ones. 2 years ago, I went out for my Saturday run before the race and cramped up, freaking me out and causing me to drink about 3 bottles of Powerade Zero the night before and freak out. I also remember consuming a Red Bull, and a Spike before reaching the starting line, lol. Last year, I went to the packet pickup, and drank beer for 3 hours with fellow runners, probably left the 30 seconds that I finished behind my PR somewhere at the Miramont Fitness Center's FAC that was going on. I've logged around 7 miles this week, but some bike and eliptical time. The race will happen, it may be my slowest half ever, but I'll finish it. As will the full marathon here in 15 days. But that's another story for another time.

I've come to a realization in my life. After being a fairly serious runner for about 2.5 years, having run 2 marathons, 5 halves, and countless 5 and 10k's, that at this point, I'm not a high mileage guy, at least not right now. When I ran and was successful in my first marathon, I ran around 45 miles a week, but I also used an exercise bike, an eliptical machine and weights to cross train. After RNRAZ last January, I used those things less and less, and by the time I was trying to get ready for Chicago last summer, I was pretty much just running and doing nothing else. At my current weight, my legs and feet just don't like it. My toes are still bothering me, as are my left knee and IT band. The old routine for me was to get up @ 5, lift by 5:30, nothing major, just some muscle building. Then I would get 5 or 6 miles on the road at lunch, maybe pick up another 2 or 3 after work, then an hour or so on the bike or eliptical, then off to shower and refuel. Good cardio and lower impact. My long runs on the weekend were easier for me, and I stayed healthier. The allure of being a 70-80 mile a week runner has really gotten me in a bad spot, and really, to be a good marathoner, a person doesn't need to run that many miles. The time will come, when I want to be a sub 3 guy, or around there, that I will have to run those kinds of miles, but hopefully my body will be prepared for it by then.

I know some people will chime in and say that miles don't cause injury, that intensity does. Well the simple truth for me is that I can't (or won't) run 9:00 miles for 75-80% of my training. I like to run fast, and feel that I am running easy, and when I do those kinds of paces, I feel out of whack, unnatural. And I also feel like when I run slow, that I am very heavy footed, that my turnover is very slow, thus I am pounding on my feet and knees.

I have this half tomorrow and the full in 2 weeks. The Steamboat Marathon is in 7 weeks, and my base is still very good, I just need to get the running part of it going again. Lots of long weekend miles, shorter miles during the weeks and lots of bike time is what's coming up for me. But when I get ready for Denver in October, it'll look a little different from a training standpoint. I think the Daniels' plan will still be used, but we'll probably set the max mileage at 50 or so, instead of 70.

Good luck to all those running this weekend. Especially those of you in Boston, have fun, but not too much.. Leave it all on the course.