Good News / Good News / Bad News / Good News

Good News / Good News / Bad News / Good News

The good news: I was running today. Doing the 6 miles prescribed by my program, and although it was difficult I’m finding the speed workouts to go quite nicely. Not too fast for these old bones of mine. Even better is the fact that the leg pain is slowly backing up the leg. That is to say the original progression went from lower back to gluteus maximus, to thigh, to knee to shin to foot. It’s headed its way back up the leg and now only presents itself in the gluteus maximus occasionally, which has given me cause for celebration. It may be working itself out. WOOHOO!!!!!!

The good news: I’m right on track for training and although I would like to have run a 20 miler before the marathon—the plan has me running one 18 mile run—I’m willing to accept that in exchange for the trip to Houston and the chance to chase Haterella across the finish line. I’m feeling so good about the race that today I was musing about the next marathon I was going to run. I looked at the race calendar in my head and thought I would run the San Francisco Marathon! I was pretty excited about the idea, because I would have another 6 months to train for it after Houston. And then....

The bad news: I’m going to be in Beijing at the time of the marathon. That’s right. I’ll be stuck in Beijing NOT having the time of my life at the Olympics. No, I will be working hard and won’t ever see the sun, let alone the gymnasts. It’s not going to be pretty. :-)

The good news: I can still train for something before I leave, I just have to figure out what. I’ll look at the official calendars since the one in my head only has races I’ve either wanted to run or have already run.

Looking down the road to marathon number 3 I think I’ve actually learned a few things.

1) Never train too quickly for a race. The faster you do it the harder your body rejects.
2) I’m not a world-class athlete. It’s true. I love running, but I’m never going to be the guy way out in front. This doesn’t change the beauty of crossing the finish line in any way. It just means I cross it much later than the guy that takes home the cash.
3) Injuries need to be taken seriously. The more you ignore them the more they come back to haunt you.
4) Weightlifting is worth much more than I had previously given it credit. Over the past 7 weeks my times have gotten consistently faster, and my recovery is almost down to nothing. Sunday I ran 9 miles, Monday I did a leg workout at the gym, Tuesday (today) I’ll be running 7 miles and don’t expect much trouble with it. Not bad. Two months a go I couldn’t run three miles very easily.
5) I am a runner. When I don’t run I feel bad. I may skip a run, but that just increases my resolve for the next run. It’s that simple. Like Deetschei I’m looking to figure out how to keep doing this for years and years to come. Imagine running a marathon on your 50th or even 70th birthday. Did I hear Boston?
6) Which reminds me, this all started with a challenge to qualify for Boston. Will we ever do it? I’m not sure. I’m sure trying. With any luck I’ll survive Houston without an injury and be able to train for another marathon right away. Perhaps even in May. Consistency and lack of injury is clearly going to be the key.

I’m through being intro/retrospective.

Stats:

Weekly miles: 16 and rising
Average pace: ~10:00
Overall Impression: Sometimes Its Nice Having Someone Breathing Heavy Next To You! (SINHSBHNTY!)