Lessons Learned

For the second time, I found myself very disappointed after finishing Grandma's Marathon. After having such a successful Spring, I just knew that this race was going to be my ticket to the Olympic Marathon Trials. Yet, only 8 miles in to the race I was simply hoping to finish. Even before the half way point my legs were shot, and my pace slowed to well over 6 mins. per mile. I sulked over the race for about a day, then I was able to reflect on the experience and learn some valuable lessons. Here is what I learned:

1.) God has blessed me with a healthy body and a great ability to run. My mother reminded me of this shortly after I finished the race. She said that many people cannot run at all and certainly not at the level that I can. I never need to take this for granted.

2.) I have a great support system! I am so thankful that I have a wife who supports my running goals and dreams. My favorite thing about finishing a race is seeing her beautiful face. I also have a very supportive family. My parents flew all the way up to Duluth to watch me run--it was great having them there. My sister, Monica, updated my progress on facebook, and my brother followed my progress on the computer as well. The support of my family makes my successes sweeter and helps me persevere through my failures.

3.) My body is the best compass I have as a runner. In my quest to run a trials standard, I neglected to heed my body's warnings many times. Looking back at my training, there were many times when I was probably pushing too hard and my body was screaming for me to back off, yet I kept surging ahead. I need to be more disciplined in this area and always trust my body's feedback.

4.) It's just a race! I think I put WAY too much pressure on myself to hit the standard at Grandma's. I was so nervous on Friday, I really couldn't think about anything else. In the grand scheme of things, this was just another race, and there will be other opportunities to hit the standard. The stress I put on myself to qualify really took the joy out of running the race. I love running, and I do not want to lose sight of that. If it's not fun, I need to re-evaluate why I'm doing it.

5.) Running has given me a chance to experience so much! I have traveled all over the U.S. running races, and I am so fortunate to have had these opportunities. I have also been able to meet some remarkable people. At the Grandma's expo, I was able to have my picture taken with running legend Dick Beardsley (probably the most motivating person I have ever met.).

6.) Finally, I learned that there will always be obstacles on any journey. Of the last 5 marathons I have run, this is the first one that I did not feel was a success. That means 4 out of 5 were great experiences! This is just a little bump in the road. The important thing is to get back on my feet and try again.

Looking ahead. . . .

My plan is to capitalize on my current fitness level. Even though the Grandma's race did not show it, I am very fit right now. So, I will be racing a couple of half marathons in August and September. The goal for these is to go out, race and have fun competing!!

anxious

There is nothing like finally making it to the starting line of a big race. After months of preparation race day finally arrives and you are left to attend to your nerves and await the gun to fire.

I have really been training hard for Grandma's Marathon since early March. The race is just over a week away, and I am really starting to get anxious. This week I have cut back a lot in terms of mileage. I had one quality session of 8x1000 on Wednesday, and it felt pretty good and easy. Saturday, I will do a 12 mile run with some 3 minute pickups, but for the most part my heavy training is over. These last few days are really designed to just help my legs feel good. The last few easy runs have been fun--I can definitely feel some of the spring returning to my legs.

10 day forecast is showing a high of 65 with a 60% chance of showers for race day. That would be fine with me!

Mizuno shoes

I am less than 2 weeks away from race day! I had my last real long run over the weekend. It was 17 miles with 13 in the middle right around race pace. It really didn't go very well. I was sore for much of the run (probably some lingering soreness from the repeat mile session on Wednesday). I ran the first 7-8 miles pretty strong then started to fade a bit. I actually stopped after 12 miles at race pace and just cooled down for the remaining miles. Yesterday (Monday) was a day off, and it made a big difference in how I felt on today's run. My legs felt as though they had a little spring in them.

As of 1:30 today, it is 52 degrees and rainy in Duluth. The 10 day forecast shows a high of 66 and a low of 55 on Thursday, June 17. I can only hope that the temps don't get any higher than that for race day.

Above are images of the shoes I have been wearing. I am fortunate enough to have a regional soponsorship through Mizuno where I can get some free shoes. I have been training in the Mizuno Wave Precisions. They are a lightweight trainer with good support and excellent breathability. Plus, they have a really good color scheme. I will be racing in the Mizuno Musha 2. These racing flats are light but have great support for those longer races such as the marathon. I can't say that the colors are very flattering, but they definitely catch people's attention out on the race course!!

Last Week of School

I only have two days left at school until summer break. It is kind of surreal--I am looking forward to the break but there is a lot of uncertainty looming. I made the decision to get out of coaching for a couple of years to focus on my running. Coaching has been very good to me, and I have had the pleasure of working with some very remarkable kids. However, I think the time committments have just become too demanding for me to continue to give adequate attention to both coaching and training. So, I am hoping to find another job in the coming months where I can make money and still dedicate myself to running.

In these last few weeks before Grandma's, my training has been going very well. Yesterday, I met my coach and friend Derick Williamson at Austin High School for some mile repeats. The air was thick with humidity making it difficult to breathe at the end of the workout, but overall it was a quality session. I did 6xMile with 3.5 mins. between efforts in 4:45, 4:39, 4:37, 4:38, 4:41, 4:32. This week's mileage will drop significantly as I begin to taper for the marathon.

Three weeks to go!

I finished up the week with a bang. On Friday, my friend and Durata/Mizuno teammate David Fuentes drove up to Cedar Park to do my workout with me. We ran a 10 mile tempo in the Block House Creek subdivision. The miles were as follows: 5:43, 5:17, 5:24, 5:20, 5:14, 5:18, 5:14, 5:12, 5:12, 5:04. After weeks of training alone, it was great to have David there--he certainly hepled me grind out those miles.

Friday night we headed to DFW for our friend Doug's wedding. We stayed in Lewisville with Stephanie's parents. I did an easy 10 Saturday morning and a 22 miler on Sunday. The 22 felt great (I ran the first 17 at 6:20-6:40 then cranked the last 5 down to 5:15 pace). I forget how different it feels in DFW--there is very little humidity compared to Austin.

Finally, I was able to take Memorial Day off. It was my first day off from running in quite some time. The picture is of Steph and I at Doug's wedding.

Only three more weeks before Grandma's!!