A couple of years ago, I was suffering from both hypoxia and
extreme muscle fatigue after a run up and down Rancho Vistoso Blvd. (and not
the full Desert Classic course by any measure). I was no longer standing, but
sitting on the curb, and about to assume the prone position by lying on the
sidewalk, when I detected someone speaking to me. Amy had asked what my
qualifying time was for Boston. “Huh?” was the best response I could muster.
Even that took a fair amount of effort in my condition. Jeff whipped out his smart phone and had the
answer as I was still on the ground in agony. “You two must believe in unicorns
too,” I wanted to say after I grasped the implication of her question. But I
was way too exhausted to do anything but grunt a response, “Ugh!” I hadn't run
10 miles, was flat on my back, virtually in extremis, and the subject now is
qualification times for a premier marathon event. Surely I must have left the
rational world on this run. Was it on the hard ascent on Rancho Vistoso Blvd or
the too speedy descent where I entered this altered reality. When would I
return to earth as I knew it? Boston? Really? After a performance like that you
link me and Boston? Really?
Time passes, and surprisingly, I live to actually race Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon. Jeff and Amy go to Boston in 2013 and are through the finish area
safely, before the explosion. There are further discussions of Boston
qualification, over the next few months, but nothing that I take seriously. To
put this in perspective, I will need to take almost 60 seconds off my best half
marathon pace, and hold it for twice the distance, to qualify. (Note that this
was a full on pace, probably more than everything I had, as I could not step up
on a curb after the Desert Classic half. After some kind soul helped me up this
particularly challenging curb, my quads locked up and I could not take another
step for several minutes, blocking pedestrian traffic.) “Where are those
unicorns now,” I am thinking again, as people rush by immobile me.
More time passes. Sometimes I run, sometimes I walk, and
sometimes I hobble. I enter a few races,
some go well, some don't. Sometimes I
feel good and hit the finish line feeling strong. At IMS Arizona Marathon in Phoenix I hit the
dreaded wall, and then hit the ground (twice, I think), and bleed my way to the
finish where I am embraced by a paramedic. Over the next year I encounter
hamstring problems, Achilles tendonitis, and plantar
fasciitis. Additionally, I seem to hit a plateau with no pace
improvements for months. Oh yes, I am now running low on toenails, and vow
never to show my feet in public.
In June 2014, a dozen Tucsonans are on a week long bike ride
in Colorado. After a moderately hard ride from Creede to Gunnison (105 miles
and about 6,500ft climbing) one of the riders changes into his running shoes
and asks if I have mine. My answer is “Yes, I have mine right here,” and I
hoist a bottle of beer as I endeavor to keep my electrolytes balanced on a
daily basis. We had briefly run together at the Meet Me Downtown 5K until he
dusted me in the first 1K. When he returns, I hand him a cold one and talk
turns to goals and accomplishments. He is anxious to share pain, I'm happy to
share a beer. He had qualified for
Boston years ago and wants to do it again. Hmm, I think, I'm beginning to detect
a pattern here. Another person thinks I can BQ based on no evidence of ability.
However, another beer or two later, “OK, lets do this.”
Returning from Colorado, I look for some running groups that
do not interfere with my Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday bicycle
schedule. I bounce among some groups but mostly what I found were conflicts
with my desired biking schedule. Then Amy adds me to the Tucson Runners Project Facebookpage. With trepidation I attend a
Wednesday track session and everyone was very welcoming. With only slightly
less trepidation a Saturday run is attempted. Marti and Tom were great to run
with. Other TRP runs are attended, my
Saturday bike ride is ditched and a consistent running schedule is developed.
Can I work hard enough to Qualify for Boston with TRP? Maybe, but I need a
plan.
Time to get serious and figure out how to do this. A
literature review is begun consisting of Hanson's Marathon Method, Chi Running,
101 Simple Ways to be a Better Runner, Daniel's Running Formula, Run Faster
from the 5K to the Marathon, The Marathoners, 52 Workouts 52 Weeks One Faster
Runner, 16 Weeks to a Faster Marathon and Advanced Marathoning. I'm like a kid
in a candy store, everything looks good until I read the next good thing.
Confusion reigns. Looking for proof of
concept, I try to find out who has succeeded and what did they use.
Unfortunately I can't discover a crisp answer, but come to realize no one is
going to say, “Do this and you will succeed.” Different formulas will work for
different folks. TRI-FIT has a number of
their folks attempting to qualify for Boston and they are using Advanced
Marathoning as a basis for a marathon plan, so Advanced Marathoning (the last
book I read) it is. Now the task is to rework one of the plans into the TRP
running schedule, with a little bike riding and some sort of life other than
training and sleeping. Scheduling weekend long runs are easy, Wednesday track
can be VO2 max and lactate threshold runs, and Monday PM can be general aerobic
conditioning or a medium distance run. But I'm out of week days, recovery runs
aren't happening, so I justify easier bike rides as my recovery days and become
known as a slacker to my biking friends...grrrr! But I have a plan and my
priorities.
In the fall 2014, Saguaro is a great run for me, but A
Mountain not so much. So, is this marathon training plan working, only working
sometimes, am I destined to be always inconsistent, or am I delusional thinking
I can qualify for Boston? I run the Veterans day course with TRP one Saturday, but
A Mountain still weighs heavy on me and I do not enter (which I immediately
regret the day after the event as you all did so well and seemed to have so
much fun). Next up is the TucsonMarathon. But wait, I'm leaving for Africa the Tuesday after Tucson. I won't be able to to climb Kilimanjaro
unless I'm at full strength and certainly won't be for a few weeks after a
marathon. New plan, pass on the Tucson Marathon and sign up for The PhoenixMarathon.
It is January, 60 days out from Phoenix, and I need to
recover that one month hole in my training plan, with most of December spent in
Africa. I can't make it up but need to
get back on track. How will I get those
20 milers in without fear of injury from too much too fast? I fiddle with the
training plan and to keep the panic at bay I develop a new mantra, “just run
the plan.” I run 18 miles with 15 at my wishful thinking marathon pace. That
night I'm in bed before 7 PM and limp for three days afterward. Next week I run
20 miles at an easy pace and my confidence soars. Perhaps I can complete a
marathon. Another week, another twenty miler and yes, I can do this, although
pace and consequently BQ is questionable.
Three weeks out from Phoenix I have a semiannual dermatology
visit scheduled. Doc says, “I don't like
the looks of that,” and out come the surgical steel. Ten stitches in my
shoulder later, the instructions are, “…. and no activity for three weeks. You
may want to keep your arm in a sling to immobilize it the shoulder.” I gasp,
then whine, and negotiate the “no activity” to two weeks, but utterly fail in
my attempt to negotiate “no activity” to 10 days. The stitches will be removed
the Thursday before Phoenix. Time for a new mantra, “a long taper is a good
taper.” Nevertheless, I cheat. In two days
I walk as fast as I can for 7 miles. In 7 days, I'm on my bike and in 10 days I
run ten miles at an easy pace. No effort is very hard, just ensuring all the
body parts still work as my marathon debut looms ever closer. I keep repeating
my taper mantra,“a long taper is a good taper.”...... to be continued.
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