So where were we? Oh yeah! Bucket list item complete, running career over, and blog done. Thanks for tuning in...
Wait! What's going on? As I recover from my marathon thoughts keep creeping in. You can run it faster. That wasn't your best effort. You were content to just finish, and you did, now let's see what you can really do. This voice inside my head kept haunting me. I would wake up in the middle of the night and I would hear it (OK it was probably just the wind, but just play along for dramatic effect). The point is, I knew pretty quickly that my running days were far from over.
I set my sites on a a local race this time. I was going to tackle the PF Changs Rock N Roll, Arizona and this time I would make sure I was as prepared as I could be. The 18 week training that I used for my previous marathon had 3 levels to it, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. I decided I would follow the intermediate level training, which added another day of mid range running to the week and topped out at 50 miles as opposed to 40. I took two weeks off and ran intermittently throughout the summer. Then September came around and I started on the 18 week schedule full force. I also decided to incorporate weight and cross training sessions as well. At the time I was a stay at home dad and had the flexibility to get my runs and training sessions in during the day.
The intermediate level of training was definitely a lot more daunting than my first attempt. Looking at it as a whole made me nervous that I wouldn't have what it takes to complete my training effectively. The schedule called for 3 twenty mile runs and the long runs started at ten miles. I felt like I was still in good shape from the last race, so I dove right in and decided to take it one week and one workout at a time.
I started on the first week and everything just fell into place. I was more motivated for this race than the first one and I focused on each workout instead of the entire picture . I felt great, and because I was running all the time the effort I was putting in felt minimal. I moved though the first part of my training and felt good about my progress, but it didn't feel like I was running any faster than I was before. So as I came up to the point in my training where I would be running the group of three 20 mile long runs, I didn't feel like I would be able to run those workouts with the kind of improvement I was looking for.
I set out on my first 20 miler and decided to take it easy on this first one because I still had 2 more to do in the next 5 weeks. That first run I did in about 3 hours and 30 minutes, a slight improvement from my first training but not what I expected. After a rest week I set out for another 20 miler and pushed myself a little harder. I finished that in around 3 hours and 15 minutes, but the biggest thing that stood out to me was that my legs felt less fatigued than they did in my first 20 miler and an ice bath later I was feeling even better. Two weeks later I once again set out to run my last 20 miler. My strategy this time was to run it as fast as my legs could carry me . I wanted to see how much improvement I had made over the last three weeks. Surprisingly (or not so surprising) I clocked my best time breaking the 3 hour mark at 2 hours and 55 minutes. I was ready to run my best race. I felt confident that I could push myself to break the 4 hour mark.
Once again I was running the marathon with my friend that I had run with in San Diego. We had trained separately so we had different time goals but were starting in the same place. I had purchased disposable clothes at the expo a couple days earlier because I heard it was suppose to be cold (well cold in Phoenix terms). This was the year we started our tradition of eating our carb load pasta meal at Bucca Di Beppos. The reason for this is that you can get major portions (sized for a family style meal) at a decent price. After dinner I felt ready to take on the race. I went home and got my gear ready and went to bed early.
I woke up the next day and got ready to go. The plan was that I would pick up my friend and we would drive to the finish line and take a bus to the start. I started the car and saw something that I had never seen before. I looked at the temperature gauge on my rearview mirror and it was flashing between the temperature and a word "ICE". The temperature that morning was 25 degrees. I know what some of you people from back east and to the north are thinking, "that's like a nice spring morning", but for a Southern California born Phoenix transplant, that was the equivalent of below 0 temperatures. Luckily I had gloves and my disposable pants and jacket. I picked up my friend and we headed to the finish line.
When we got there we quickly jumped on one of the many busses that were transporting runners. They did a great job heating the busses that morning, so good that when we got to the start everyone was begging the bus driver to let us stay on the bus until it was time for the race to start. We all reluctantly stepped off of the bus and made our way to the start area. We went to the tables and picked up a bagel, some bananas, and a cup of coffee (just to keep our hands warm). We were ready so we made our way to the corrals. We stepped into our separate spots and wished each other a good race.
Now it was just me, my adrenaline, my plan and my focus. I waited with anticipation for the gun to sound. My plan was to keep running for the first 10 miles and then take a break if I was feeling fatigued. The gun sounded and we all bunched up together to be herded to the start and off we went. I still had my disposable outfit for the first 10 miles, but made my biggest mistake in the first 2 miles and discarded my gloves because my hands were warming up. Let's just put it this way, that was the last time in that race that I could feel my hands. It was a wonder that I was able to get any water or sports drink in me because I couldn't grab the cups without stopping.
Even though my hands were on ice, I still felt really good at the 10 mile marker and chose to continue on my current path and not pull up and walk like I had planned to do. I kept my pace and met up with my wife and kids at mile 17. My wife told me that I wasn't very far behind the front elite runners that had passed around 45 minutes before I got there. When I informed her that they were probably crossing the finish line, it showed to me that no matter how elaborate my fantasies about winning a major race were the reality is that I was racing against myself, always! I still felt great and after a brief hello to my family I was off again.
I struggled through the next 4 miles and hit the proverbial wall but kept pushing forward. I got to the 20 mile marker at the 3 hour mark and I knew that I would do well. At that point my goal was to finish in under 4 hours, and with the speed I was going and barring any unforeseen hiccups I could do it. I turned on to the last major stretch of road about another 1.5 miles to go and then I saw them, my family at mile 25 cheering me on to the finish. If you want inspiration, motivation or an emotional reaction, seeing loved ones cheering you on after running 25 of 26.2 miles will do it. I got my boost, I stayed long enough to high five and hug everyone and I was off for the last mile. I knew I had it, the adrenaline alone would propel me across the finish line. I crossed in 3:51.06 almost 9 minutes below my goal and over an hour improvement from my last race. I definitely felt like I had put in my best effort and was happy with the result, a PR.
Side Note:
Two weeks after the race my neighbor came up to me and said "nice time on your race. I saw the article they printed about the race with you in it". I said "what article? I've never seen any article about the race". He went back into his house and came out with one of those free coffee shop publications and opened it to the part about the race. There it was a picture of me crossing the finish line with the race clock over my head and a blurb about how I broke the 4 hour mark. There was over 15,000 runners running the marathon that day and I was one of 3 runners they chose to feature in this article. The time from this race was my PR and it still stands as my PR. I've come close but haven't been able to beat it since. So I have a permanent record of my current PR in print.
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