Just Me

With a little over five days until my 5th marathon I thought I would post something I've thought about for awhile now. I've alluded to it in previous postings, but for some reason as I prepare to head out on this journey again I can't help but think of it more and more the closer I get.

If you're reading this and you've run a marathon or a road race of any kind or you're a runner you might understand this. If you're not a runner this may be hard for you to fully understand. But the bottom line in a marathon or races of longer distances is that it's just you.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned since I started running is that it's just me out there. I may be running it with possibly thousands of others but for them, it's just them. In my athletic career, which is ever evolving I thought that golf was perhaps the toughest sport because it's something that you do by yourself and it is by far a very technical sport. But I will draw a similarity to running. It is a very individual thing. It is also very technical. A minor error in running can lead to disaster. In golf there is always the next shot. In marathoning, you might not be able to take that next shot for weeks or months.

So as I make my final preparations this week; most of it is mental at this point, I go with the total understanding that it's just me. I have only myself to rely on or lean on when times get tough out there. It's o.k. Almost all of my training has been done under the same conditions. Nobody forced me out on the roads, or checked the status of my training and there was nobody there to push me when I got tired. Except for me. I think that's why when I qualify for Boston it will be the most satisfying thing I will have ever done in my life. And when it happens, short of Becky I won't expect many to celebrate the accomplishment with me because it won't mean as much to them as it does me. It's o.k. too. After all, it is just me. Just me training. Just me running. And just me qualifying. Why not just me celebrating?

An Ode to Boston

Today is April 20 and it is two weeks from now that I hope to be reveling in a Boston qualifying run in Frederick, Maryland. If things go well it will be just around 9:40 a.m. when I cross the line knowing that I'll be headed to Boston next April. The holy grail of marathoning. And so that brings me to today's post. The Boston Marathon.

Tomorrow is the 112th running of Boston. Even if I had qualified in Philadelphia in November I would not be there right now. The plan was always to use my qualifying time in 2009. But yesterday and today I cannot help but think about where I would be and what I would be doing right now in Boston, Massachusetts. For some people I suppose it would be like Christmas or an anniversary. For me the day of the Boston Marathon is a special day even though I'm not there. It makes me continue to hope and wonder will next year be the year?

In my life I've had many goals and accomplished a lot of them. And even though I can honestly say that it has only been a little less than two years since I set my sights on Boston, it still seems like it's been a lifetime of effort. It is my life and focus right now. It teases and tortures me every time I lace up my running shoes. I guess you could call it my obsession. And why? I don't bother with those kinds of questions. It is something I want to do, and I will stop and nothing to get there. Yes, there are times I wonder if and when but mostly I continue to run and stay focused on the end goal. The important thing is I believe it will happen even if it takes me a lifetime to get there. And tomorrow morning when thousands are toeing the line in Hopkington, Massachusetts I'll be there in spirit dreaming of the day when I'll join them and complete my journey.

T-Minus 16 and Fun With Numbers

Two weeks. In two weeks I'll be within a couple of days of heading to Frederick for my self-imposed date with destiny. Or not. Much like Philadelphia I am at a point where I have no expectations of myself. I am comfortable with that. After all, I expected nothing near what I did in Philadelphia and that worked out alright for me.

As this training period wore on I questioned at times whether or not it was the best idea to come back and attempt another marathon, let alone a Boston-qualifier so quickly. Not six weeks ago I wondered if I'd even back out of this marathon for lack of proper preparation.

But time, like always has healed those thoughts and I am a confident and quick runner at themoment. A "slow" training day today in the hottest weather I have run in in 2008 (71 degrees but very little humidity) yielded a BQ time without really trying. Again I must reiterate I am confident.

While running today I wondered if what I felt was true. I recall thinking that I feel as though my overall mileage for this marathon training period is down, but my average miles per run is higher than usual. So all I had to do was go back through my logs and compute simple math to find out. What I found out is that I wasn't exactly right, but the numbers do bear out something else and like everything else right now it has provided me with even more confidence. Below in order of running are my marathons with the total "training miles" logged followed by an average miles per run (in parentheses):

• Cleveland: 372 total (7.15/run) - finish time 4:02:02
• Baltimore: 263.9 total (7.13/run) - finish time 3:39:37
• Cincinnati: 426.85 total (6.99/run) - finish time 3:26:08
• Philadelphia: 242.75 total (6.22/run) - finish time 3:16:03

Interestingly enough my highest mileage total yielded my second fastest time. My highest average per run total yielded my slowest time. My PR time run in Philly was done on the lowest average per run and lowest total mileage. What isn't taken into account here is weather, course conditions or time of year. I'm simply improving each time out. And each training period has provided me with different challenges. In comparison (with six training runs left until Frederick) I am at a total of 264.6 training miles with an average run of 6.3 miles. Comparitively speaking it's closer to Philadelphia than any of them, but slightly higher. Irregardless of the numbers I feel as fast as I have ever been and I hope that holds true in sixteen days.

Drop and Give Me Twenty

It's the one before the real one. The dreaded twenty-miler. Over the years, despite my love for running, the 20-miler in prepping for a marathon is not one I particularly look forward to. Oh, early on I enjoyed it. It posed a hurdle to get over and built up the mental well being necessary to get through marathon race day. It still does, but it has become the thorn in the side day during preparation. It's like running a marathon with no support, no onlookers and no medal. Just you and the road.

Yesterday was that day.

I awoke and got on the road by 9:30 knowing that I was looking at a little over 2 1/2 hours of running. I paced myself slow enough (averaged 8:18 miles) to just get it in and done. The temps. were in the mid 30's at the start rising to about 45 by the time I got done. I did my usual 20 mile route. It is a 10-mile loop that I repeat a second time. It's just easier. I leave my gels and water and gatorade on my steps and get my break at the halfway point. Yesterday I sat down and enjoyed a 5-minute break halfway through.

During the first half I struggled with some left hip, knee and foot pain. During the second half I actually got stronger. Despite feeling cruddy afterward, I recovered pretty quickly and this morning I have few ill effects of the run. I decided to do it on a Saturday this time to help extend my weekend a bit. Now I have today to sit back and relax. With four weeks to go to the marathon I have but one more speed session remaining and no runs longer than 10 miles on the horizon until Frederick.

Yesterday gave me the confidence I need that I'll be able to push through another 26.2. Boston qualifier? I have no idea. But one thing is for certain, I will give it the effort and at this point that is all I can control.