Relatively speaking ~ Newton’s Third Law of Motion…

As I mentioned before, I had not planned to run a Marathon so early in my running career. However, after the opportunity to deploy to Afghanistan for a year had been presented, it just seemed silly not to use this year to train for my debut Marathon. My grand scheme had been to use the whole year to train; maybe I could even surprise myself and debut with a BQ. Ha, as the title suggest though, things don’t always work out as planned. The opposite reaction here was simply that I didn’t run a lot for my first 4 or 5 months.  I averaged maybe 20-25 miles a week. I wanted to use the Fall, Winter, and Spring to safely move my mileage up above 50 mpw (preferably 60). I wish I had some grand reason (read: excuse) that kept me from my goal, but no, I just didn’t do it. On the positive side, I did manage to keep my fitness going. I spent a little more time than usual building my strength, which will ultimately help me be a better runner and healthier person in general.

There are several big positives about training over here:

I am able to do a year’s worth of training at altitude.

I am able to train relatively free of other interruptions.

I can train at my own speed and do my workouts to my ability without the pressure to over train.

There are no late night parties to keep me up all night.

I am limited to what I can eat and how much of it.

Lastly, I make my own schedule so I am really only responsible to myself; there is no one to blame if I flake on a workout.

On the other hand:

I don’t get many opportunities to race and test my fitness.

Let’s be real Time Trials suck.

I don’t get to come home to my family everyday and I do miss them terribly.

I don’t get the camaraderie of a running group to push through the hard workouts.

Social interactions are almost non-existent. And "There are no late night parties to keep me up all night."

I am not able to eat good food. I am at the mercy of whatever the Dining Facility serves. They don’t have “Large Mocha Lattes with Skim Milk and no Whip Cream” for post Long Run re-fueling

Lastly, I make my own schedule so I am really only responsible to myself; there is no one to blame if I flake on a workout.

All in all, though, I can’t/won’t complain (too much). I do get to live and train like an Elite Road Racer; although at a way slower paces. I do have a good group of co-workers that run and I can talk with about training. One of the Officer’s in my shop is running the Seattle Marathon and another officer is running the HM there. Another runner in the shop is running the Malibu Marathon. In addition, there are a host of other people who run just for fitness or fun. I could have it much worse.

Well I guess we will be able to see how this works all works out on 19 September, at RnR Philly. By then I should only have been back from Afghanistan a few days. I am looking forward to a great race if I’m able to be recovered from the time change and flights.

Workouts this week:

Monday, 21 June

15-16 miles moderate run w/ progression run. Then 8-10 x 1 min @ 3k effort w/1 min jog rests

Tuesday, 22 June

Rest (or 2-3 recovery miles)

Wednesday, June 16

6 miles moderate with ladder of progressions

Thursday, June 17

Rest (or 2-3 recovery miles)

Friday, June 18

5 miles easy with strides

Saturday, June 19

3 miles easy

Sunday, June 20

13 miles moderate run with uphill striders and then sprints. Full Recovery 30-45 min @ Marathon Effort

"Once you're beat mentally, you might was well not even go to the starting line."

~Todd Williams

Last move?

My new digs…

I was finally able to move into my new room. It’s a little messy, as you can surely tell. It is nice to be settled again though. Hopefully this is my last move, until I return to the States; but you just never really know…
I had 16 miles with 30 minutes of progression slated for today, but it turns out I was so comfortable in my bed that I gave myself a Daddy Day gift (of rest).

"It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys."
          - Emil Zatopek

HTFU...

So, I’m mostly over it. I spent a little time last night lamenting in sorrow and feeling bad for myself, and now I’m mostly good. I think about some of the people that I’ve gained motivation from over the last couple years, Jenny and Paulette specifically. They kept going and going and going. I understand that sickness and death are a part of life. Stuff happens; there is absolutely no way to avoid the inevitability of bad shit! But I have the knowledge of being a Christian, being a son to a Strong Mother and a father to two beautiful and smart little girls and a son who is all I could as for. I can listen to their voices and know that in the end, it will all be ok.

Whether the news that I receive over the next couple weeks is good, bad or indifferent; it will change little to my life. I love my mother completely but I’m secure in our mutual belief in God to make things work out. I do know that she will pass eventually. While I’d like that to be in about another 30 years, that is not my call. J is finally getting the answers (and hopefully the help) that she needs. Even if her diagnosis is grim, at least we will know something.

Point is this; nothing I can do will change the news I’ll receive from either of these two important women in my life. Why sit here, feel bad, and bring people into my depressed state of mind? I won’t. As far as my other little predicament (the tent), screw it. I live where I live. I have lived in much worse places, and I’ve lived in better ones. There are so many more important things to take up my thoughts.

So basically, after last night’s 3 cigars (yes I know how smart that is with a mother who has Lung Cancer), I’ve come to the conclusion that life sucks and it is time to HTFU. Me lying in bed is not gonna make this Marathon in October any easier. My mom and J being sick aren’t gonna keep me out of this Marathon in October. Where I am currently living is not gonna keep me out of this Marathon in October. Fact of the matter is, I’m only hurting myself. If I don’t put in the training, I’ll be that much weaker come Marathon Morning. There is no way to plan for every eventuality in distance running. You can only prepare yourself the best that you can with what you have. I’ve been given something a rare gift. I have the ability to train as much (or as little) as I desire at altitude for one year, before competing in my first Marathon. I am the only one that can mess up this opportunity. So this week I will be running and doing a lot of it. Some slow, some fast. Every mile will have a purpose and every pace change will be appreciated. Time to HTFU and Carry on.

Workouts this week:

Tuesday, June 15

5 miles moderate with strides and some added sprints

Wednesday, June 16

Rest (or 2-3 recovery miles)

Thursday, June 17

7 miles moderate run w/ LT effort and HM effort mixed in. More sprints

Friday, June 18

Rest (or 2-3 recovery miles)

Saturday, June 19

3 miles easy

Sunday, June 20

15-16 miles moderate run w/ progression run. Then 8-10 x 1 min @ 3k effort w/1 min jog rests

 

Life is short... running makes it seem longer.
~Baron Hansen

So that workout sucked…

I don’t know if it is because of the new living quarters, the problems with my –ex or my mom’s medical situation but my workouts have sucked drastically as of late. I went out to put in 10 to 13 miles today and I figured I would run 6, start the speed portion and go from there. If I felt good I’d do the full 13, if not I’d settle with 10 and add 6 more tonight, as opposed to 3 that was scheduled. Ahem, this morning’s workout actually finished with me having run a whopping, mind-boggling 5 miles. I even walked in there a little. I just didn’t have it in me. I can knock out 10 miles without a problem; there should be no reason why I couldn’t even make it halfway. Yesterday was an off day and the day before was only 5 miles easy. So I am pretty confused.

I woke up this morning at 3AM for absolutely no reason. I laid in bed and tossed a little until I finally made it back to sleep and woke up again around 515. This is when I was supposed to get up. I turned off my alarm and tried to get off of my cot and no joy. I just didn’t want to go. I did want to run this morning, I did actually feel good about the workout today; a lot of sprints. I just didn’t want to get out of bed. It’s not like the cot was super comfy. It isn’t. It’s not as if this tent is very homey, far from it. So what gives? I am in Marathon Training and I can’t let bad guys get to me. I like the old Poker Mantra “First, you need to forget your last hand.” But how can I forget a 2/7 off suit, when the following hand is 3/7 off suit? Hmmmm, this is the dilemma. How do I HTFU, if I don’t want to? I know it is just a faze and that it will pass soon enough, but what do I do in the interim?

Well, my mom should get a treatment plan on/about Wednesday. So, if that, and my 'J' is what has caused me to lose interest maybe this week will present some answers and some better workouts. If it is my rooming situation, then damn, there is no telling when this will be resolved. Either way, I need to snap out of it and Man up! Some of you that are reading this aren’t Runners and may not really understand why this is a big deal. It’s beyond training and running to achieve a goal months down the line. The Marathon is just the reward for the work that I’ve put in. This while occurrence can be correlated to school/graduation. You work for four years to reach one day that you can walk across the stage and everyone can clap and congratulate you. Well I am training for four months so that I can run across the finish line and receive my medal; as you would stroll across the stage and receive your diploma. Your grades equate to my finishing time. Your decision may be to go on to another level of school or enter the job market; my decisions will be to run another Marathon and finish faster or retire to shorter distances.

With that all in mind, imagine being in your Sophomore year and having some personal difficulties come up. Maybe your homework and study habits slack. You realize that you have two extra years to make up for the loss of focus, but does that make you feel any better about not reading the required assignment for the night? Nope! I want to do all that I can now. I want to excel now and continue to grow. I want to graduate with Honors and be proud of the journey.

Accordingly, I will come to my room tonight, I will lace up my shoes, and I will head for a little redemption through sweat and miles. I have many challenges ahead of me in life and my running (and the time I spend with God) reassures me that I can handle them. If I am unable handle the running, how will I handle the difficulties? I wouldn’t be able to. So I will run on and cover more miles. It is in me; there is no way I can’t keep going.

Learn to run when feeling the pain: then push harder.
~William Sigei