This summer has turned out to be one of the least predictable periods of my life. All was fine in June, but during July and August all hell broke loose and I barely spent any time at home. That can really put a wrench in a training regimen(sp?) if you are not t0tally serious (yes, i am not always totally serious about my training, hard to believe). Lucky for me, my half-marathon was in June and I was ready to tear it up.
On the morning of June 27 I found myself up in the mountains at about 10,600 feet. Not too worry as the course had some downhill, but also some brutal uphills as well. Basically, it was a great race, not quite as fast as I would have hoped, but I crossed the finish line in a respectable 1:39:11 or about a 7:35 pace. I had to make one slight detour on the course (half way up the side of a hill into some trees, don't ask!) that cost me about 2 minutes, but overall I was pleased with my first ever race. I was ecstatic with the day and felt great after the race. So much so that I failed to do much of anything in the way of recovery and paid for it dearly for next week. Oh well, no pain no gain, right?
On to the next challenge, (drum roll please) the marathon! At this point, I wasn't sure if this was going to work out. I aimed for the St. George marathon which takes place in the middle of October, but I failed to get selected in the lottery. There was, however, a marathon in Colorado Springs on Labor Day. This was much sooner, but I thought I might be able to make it. Well, shortly thereafter I was on a plance to Anchorage, Alaska for a week and I didn't run a bit. I came back thinking there was no way I could get trained up for a marathon less than 2 months away. A friend of mine and my wife convinced me I could do it(NOTE: this friend would later leave me high and dry, bailing out on the race less than 2 weeks before we were to run).
Unfortunately my training became worse than ever. You see on July 27, I set out on a nearly 3 week trip to Munich, Germany where I logged approximately 30 miles (14 of which came in one day, a run that ended quite badly). I came home from that trip in the middle of August, with less than a month to train and still having not exceeded a 15 mile distance. I also had a trip to London less than 10 days away. I convinced myself to attempt an 18 mile run on the 21st to give myself enough confidence. I ended up pushing 20 that day and felt great. After that, I never questioned whether I could finish the marathon or not. I ran once in London (all of 4 miles) but I had confidence, and I was sure that would carry me 26.2 miles.
Labor Day morning came and I was freezing my butt off in the dark near some lake at 5:30 am. The 6:30 start time could not come soon enough. I buddied up with the 4 hour pace team and soon enough the gun sounded. A 9:10 pace was easy enough and the first 10 miles went by in a breeze. I found myself running alongside a 60 year old man knocking out his 100 and something-th marathon and also a dude who was runnning his third marathon.... of the freaking weekend. He was thrilled with the idea of completing a rare "triple" as he put it.
Anyway, about 10 miles in I settled alongside what would be come a good friend for most of the remainder. We separated from the 4 hour pace team and found ourselvers going slightly quicker than a 9 minute pace. I felt great and as the miles got into the high teens I knew I was going to make it. We hit mile 20 and my buddy started to cramp up, he kept pushing but around mile 21 he dropped off. I took this as my cue and picked up the pace. The last 5 miles became a mental game as I no longer had a partner to keep my mind busy. I ran faster and felt great. In fact the last mile or two I even started passing people, quite a few of them! I quickly realized that I had a shot at a sub 3:55:00 time. I pushed and pushed and as I broke the finish line the clock read 3:54:55. I had done it, I had run a freaking MARATHON!
I must admit, I was very proud of myself. My wife and I embraced and we shed a few tears. It was emotional for me. I had accomplished a lifelong goal!
I hope to continue to run. I want to tackle a triathlon as well. Hopefully I will share my training here as well.
