Soldier Marathon 2010 - 3:58:03

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My second marathon, The Soldier Marathon, is now in the books, with both a PR, and a Sub 4 hour finish.  If you would have asked me throughout my training how I thought I would do you would have gotten so many differing answers depending on when you asked.  If you would have asked me at the beginning of the training you may have gotten an unsure answer of, I may be able to do better than last year.  If you would have asked me in early September, about midway through my training, you would have gotten a much more up beat answer and probably a goal somewhere around 3:45.  Once again, if you would have asked me just 2 weeks later you may have gotten the answer that I may not even be able to run it given that I had just pulled a calf muscle.  Of course, even though we don't believe it when they happen, injuries do heal and we do get back to running.

My views once again started to change and become more optimistic when I ran the 13.1 Marathon series Altanta Edition.  This race once again gave me hope that I would complete the marathon.  It wasn't till my taper and just one week out from race day that I actually set my goal of sub-4  My calf and Achilles was still bothering me somewhat and I knew I had missed a key long run, but I knew if I didn't set a stretch goal I would never make it.

Shaking it out the day before the marathon

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I am just back from 2 miles to shake out the legs the day before the Soldier Marathon.  I took it really really easy and ran on feel and not by the watch.  It still turned out to be very close to marathon pace..... let's just hope all those miles are this easy tomorrow :)

I am still not feeling great (sick runner) but today's run proved that all the breathing passages are cleared for takeoff.  If I feel this good tomorrow I will be fine.  I just need to keep on my eating plan (my plan) and keep the fluids flowing and all will go good.

I am getting ready to head out for some breakfast with my wonderfully supportive wife and then take care of some last minute errands and then we will be heading off to Columbus to hit the expo, pick up my bib and chip, and then take it easy the rest of the day.

Wish me luck! :)

Only Three Days..... and I AM GETTING SICK!

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All the many miles of training, the lost sleep, the changed schedules, and the sweaty clothes are all coming down to this one event - The Soldier Marathon.  I can't believe it is only 3 days away, but even more so, I can't believe my sinuses are starting to act up.  Really????

Last night and this morning my throat started to hurt.  This is not a good sign.  This is usually the start of a really kicker sinus infection or messed up tonsils.  I usually can slow this type of sickness or even stop it by getting out and running to get the blood pumping and all the passages all cleared out, but I have one small problem...... I can't run, because it is taper time!

Please, please, please!

What am I eating? The days before The Marathon

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One of the things I told myself after finishing my first marathon is that I would do a better job eating and fueling for the next one.  Last year in my first marathon I hit the wall at 21 miles and in retrospect I am confident much of the reason for that was a lack of fuel both during and before the race.  I was feeling great up to that 21 mile mark and out of no where my body said "I'm done"

One thing I never really thought much about before this attempt was the way I ate the week leading up to the marathon.  In all my races, and even in last years marathon I really only thought about the one meal that everyone talks about - the carb loading you do the night before a race, especially a marathon.

15 Miles To Go

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I am sure if I checked any map it would tell me that it was much further than 15 miles to get to Columbus Georgia from where I am now, but if you checked my marathon training plan you would find that 15 miles is exactly the distance left before arriving at Columbus and the Soldier Marathon.

Yesterday I finished off one last harder/faster run when I ran a 4 mile tempo run at a progressive pace.  I ran the first mile at a conservative pace and then kicked it up each mile to finish off the last mile at a 7 minute pace.  The run felt great and it is so nice to see speed after being in marathon training for a while and focusing on distance.

The Home Stretch (aka taper)

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It is hard to believe that the time has already come to taper.  So many things go through your mind when this time comes.  Have I trained hard enough, long enough, smart enough, or even the most basic have I trained enough?  Sometimes I catch myself wondering - will I even make it?  I am sure for those that run all the time, or those that are hopelessly optimistic that type of question never comes up, but for people like me it sneaks into the realm of possibility every now and then.  Then the questions and doubts start to come up about my calf.  Will it hold up, give me trouble, or will it leave me half way out on this mostly out and back course with a DNF and crushed ego?  So many things start crossing your mind during this taper time, but the one thing I need to remember is there is very little I can do to change the outcome of the marathon that is eagerly awaiting me at the end of this training journey.

It's All Downhill From Here

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Time sure flies by.  I can't believe that I have less than three weeks till race day.  It seems like just yesterday that Sony Electronics was contacting me wanting to sponsor me in a fall marathon.  At that time I was still planning on running the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon like I did last year.  Little did I know that I would find it to be sold out by the time I went to register.

November 13th and the Soldier Marathon is just around the corner and I have run the last of my 20 milers.  It is all down hill from here.  It is amazing the journey that I have been on these past few months.  I have had ups and downs along the way.  Times when I thought I was going to be able to crush the 4 hour barrier and other times when I was wondering if I was going to even make the starting line.  It was only just a month ago when I injured my calf and was wondering if I would be able to recover in time to run the marathon, much less the half marathon in the 13.1 Marathon series when it came to Atlanta.

Sony is sponsoring me in my upcoming marathon!

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The past few weeks have been a whirlwind and so this post and announcement with all it's details is way overdue.  Lately my blog posts have been limited to modified versions of what was posted to my running log, or time sensitive posts that I felt were important enough to lose sleep over like my two daughter's recent XC time trial.

We all know what time of year it is, time for school to start, time for the kids sports to kick into the full on fall training, and of course marathon training.  All three of these have hit me harder this year then ever before, especially with both of my daughters running Cross Country this fall, and my son playing Football for the first time on the 9 year old team.  Looking at their schedules makes my marathon training schedule look like child's play. :)