Posts Tagged ‘Richmond Marathon’

I signed up for the Cleveland Marathon on Friday, which drastically changes my approach to the whole year. I have been indecisive about what to do this spring for a couple of months now – while the Shamrock Half Marathon is my No. 1 priority, I believe that a spring marathon will only enhance my experience in Virginia Beach in March.

With doing some initial planning, the timing is perfect — Shamrock is 9 weeks before Cleveland; this summer I ran the Lynchburg Half Marathon 9 weeks before the Baltimore Marathon. My planned mileage and long runs before Shamrock really don’t change all that much by signing up for the marathon.

I have had a lot of thoughts wrapped up in my head about a spring marathon, and it’s relieving to finally have the chance to get them out. As I hinted yesterday, this hasn’t been an easy decision.

“… I would love to go back there for a third time …”

Those are my words from my last post, which may explain this email subject line:

There are lots of reasons for this, which I don’t want to get into right now. It’s the right thing for me and I can’t wait to run Richmond for a third time. That is all, for now.

One of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs is “Rhyme & Reason,” which has the lyrics “My head won’t leave my head alone.” That’s the way I have felt about choosing a race for next spring. I’ve hinted at a few things in a previous post, but that was only the beginning of some thoughts.

Here are things that have actually crossed my mind — in no real order — and why I have legitimately thought these things:

• Upgrading to the Shamrock Marathon
  At one time this was my most realistic next marathon. Then I went back and re-read a post from March when I missed the race due to my injury: “I’m going back to Virginia Beach next year for the Shamrock Half as a stronger runner, but perhaps more importantly a smarter runner. (Although is saying publicly that I want to break 1:40 being smart?)” The only thing that’s certain right now is that in 4 months I will toe the line of the Shamrock Half. That sub 1:40 goal? We’ll see.
• Charlottesville Marathon
  I’ve had this race in the back of my mind for a while. The timing of it actually would work well too. If I did this, the Shamrock Half would be the ceremonious ending to training as I tapered for this race, which is April 7. It definitely makes sense to choose this marathon, but the $90 price tag for a smaller marathon makes me hesitate a bit. However, it’s proximity to me offsets any travel costs.
• Marine Corps Marathon
  After I signed up for Baltimore and then had time to think about what I had done, I wished I had made the snap decision a month earlier and signed up for MCM. Hindsight is 20/20, though, so now I’m setting my sites on March 7 — the signup day for the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon. That, of course, is subject to change.
• Cleveland Marathon
  I had a realization on my recent Ohio trip — I use a lot of my vacation time visiting my in-laws. So why not turn a trip to Ohio into something more? How about a spring marathon (May 20) in Ohio? Right now this scenario has an edge over Charlottesville.
• Glass City Marathon
  It’s funny how things I’ve never heard of seem to make their appearance several times over a few days on my Twitter feed. Toledo is known as the Glass City? Never heard that. A marathon in Toledo? It turns out this is a pretty popular marathon in Ohio earlier in the spring (April 22). It also has a respectable price tag, but I’d have to say right now from a timing standpoint this is the least likely of the races I’d chose in the spring.
• Ragnar Relay
  I can’t even begin to explain my thoughts about this. I would love to participate in a Ragnar Relay. At this point, there are a lot of logistics I need to work out for any of them to become realistic. And if the stars aligned, most of these other things besides Shamrock won’t happen. Simply put, a Ragnar Relay would be THE highlight of 2012.
• Blue Ridge Marathon
  I’ve thought about this marathon, yes, but it’s nowhere near realistic thoughts. I’d really like to do the half again after missing it this year and seeing if I can beat my time from a couple of years ago when I didn’t really race it. This race is April 21, which would be a nice follow-up to the Shamrock Half, similar to what I did 2 years ago.
• Richmond Marathon
  As usual, Richmond has the temptation of a lower entry fee for next year through this Thursday. It’s my home away from home race course, and I would love to go back there for a third time and break 4 hours. My biggest hold up from taking advantage of the price is my desire to do the Marine Corps Marathon.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A year ago yesterday it all unraveled — I knew I was injured and I knew I probably shouldn’t be running. My second marathon, though, was something I felt like I had to do.

A year ago this past weekend was my second Richmond Marathon.

I think it’s taken me a year to figure out why. This gets into those weird conversations about the overused “everything happens for a reason” things, but despite a very solid 2010 with running, I know that I lost focus. My runs meant nothing — they just become training runs for the sake of training runs.

This past weekend, as I had a solid run on Saturday, I realized how focused I am these days. Even though I am undecided on what marathon I want to do next — there’s no if this time around — I am extremely focused on running just to run right now.

Running remains fun, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted it to be. I’ve had fun in my “come back” this year and I can’t wait to keep having fun as I close out the year.

Of course as I type this I’m at the peak of a horrible cold. I think it started at the end of last week and just got gradually worse over the weekend. This morning I couldn’t hardly sit up for more than 10 minutes without being dizzy. I’m better this afternoon and am taking every step I can to get back out later this week for another run.

When I’ve been sick before, running is the last thing I think of, but today it’s the first. It’s all about having fun, and sitting on the couch all day hasn’t been fun.

Today’s 4.5-mile run may very well be the most important run I’ve had in 6 months. Not only did it get me to 20 miles for the week and past 80 miles for the month of April, it caps what is the wildest 6 months of running I’ve ever had.

It’s almost hard to believe that at the start of this cycle, I was injured and now I’m talking about running 20 miles in a week again. I’ve gone from running the Richmond Marathon with a bum leg, to running just a couple of miles a week for a while, to slowly building my mileage back, to getting a PR in a 10k, to this.

This is about so much more than the mileage. It’s about getting my confidence back; it’s about feeling the best I have felt in a year; it’s about getting back to having fun with running again.

Having all this come together in April is very important to me too. After completely awful Aprils in 2008 and 2009 in which I ran just a little more than 30 miles each, I’ve now had two awesome Aprils. Last year I did my 30-day streak, had two great races and logged 100 miles.

In addition to running, I have continued to do many “other” things such as a variety of push-ups, sit-ups and squats. I fell short my 50 consecutive push-ups goal, but I still did more than 500 push-ups this month. I have to go back to the drawing board on that. I maxed out at 35, but even with rest when my arms felt tired I couldn’t get beyond that. I need a better plan.

All in all, I am happy with where things are 1/3 of the way through the year. I’m in a good place with my running to keep gradually increasing my overall mileage and continue building a base before I flip the mental switch to “officially” training for the Baltimore Marathon.

Image: scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve stayed quiet about this, but I should be running a half marathon this weekend. Last year’s “Instant Classic” of the Blue Ridge Half Marathon is taking place this weekend in Roanoke. The marathon portion of the race promises to be even tougher than last year and, quite honestly, I was hoping to run the full marathon.

Well, the history has been written and I’m not running either race this weekend. I hate it. I really do. But instead of sitting a pool of disappointment, I have to look at how far I’ve come. Being obsessed with numbers, my weekly mileage on Daily Mile really popped out to me this week.

In the several weeks following the Richmond Marathon, here’s how my mileage looked:

After getting things going again in January and slowly building my mileage, and then having a brief illness in February, the last several weeks have been pretty awesome with getting consistent again.

Over the next few weeks, I’d like to get closer to 20 miles, hit 20 miles, get a little over 20 miles and then just keep going during training for the Baltimore Marathon. That marathon, by the way, is six months from tomorrow. Then six months after that … well … I sure hope it’s not another blog post like this.

I ran a mile last night. Nothing more, nothing less … well, technically it was 1.1. So I ran 1.1 mile(s) last night. It wasn’t too bad; it wasn’t all that great either. It was a mile, much sooner than I expected after my marathon. A mile is a mile. I’m not sure when the next mile will come. It could be tomorrow; it could come on a turkey trot; it could be December before it happens again. Just like much of this year has gone, I will continue to do this by feel.

I do have a consultation appointment with a chiropractor in a couple of weeks. My wife’s chiropractor is doing a patient appreciation event and is offering free appointments in exchange for toys for a Toys for Tots drive. It’s one of those things I shouldn’t pass up. When I was running Saturday, I was thinking about my issues of lack of core training, and if something is out of whack now would be a good time to address it. I’ve been reading a lot this week about chiropractors and runners who use them … some good, some bad, some neutral. So, we’ll see.

So speaking of core training, this week I have busted out my dumbbells twice, done the plank a couple of times and done several sit-ups. It’s not unusual to do something like this, but in the past few months I lost sight of how important these types of cross training things are. When it comes to the core, cross training might not even be the right words — it’s necessary training that I haven’t done regularly in a very long time.

With the holidays approaching and doing less running, I can’t have too much out-of-control eating. A week before the marathon I was 183, so I’ve done a decent job of maintaining. But when I saw my marathon photos this week, I know that I have a ways to go. I need to burn more fat … what the end result is on the scale, I don’t care. I just want to feel better about myself.

So this has become a very random post … but that’s what happens with no running. I’ve got a variety things on my mind and I need a good 3-4 miles a few times a week so those thoughts don’t make it to the blog.

7.2 miles … that’s all I have to get to 1,000 running miles for the year. Sure, some of those miles are power hikes up a mountain or walk breaks during the marathon, but it’s all grueling time on my feet. I won’t let a few miles ruin the celebration of hitting this milestone. For the record, I’m well over 1,000 exercising miles anyway if I still counted walking miles, which I haven’t done in a couple of years.

The question is, when will I run again? A few days after the Richmond Marathon, I actually feel really, really good. There’s some soreness remaining, but I can handle steps just fine and walking provides a lot of relief. It’s kind of crazy to think that I’m so close to 1,000 miles and it all comes down to literally taking it a mile at a time until I get there.

As for “what’s next” with running, there’s a part of me that wants to sign up for a 2011 marathon and do it all over again. Honestly, though, I don’t want to go through that commitment again right now. If I could heal up quickly and have no problems running in a few weeks, I would consider upgrading my Shamrock race, but those chances are slim. If you’re in Vegas, don’t bet on those odds. And I would say right now that there’s a small chance the Shamrock Half won’t happen.

Whatever I do next comes down to how my body reacts to running again. I was hoping I could do a 2-mile turkey trot next week and the Christmas Classic in Bedford on Dec. 4, but I really can’t say either way what I’ll do. Racing isn’t important right now — getting healthy is. All year I have recovered very well after each race and after most of my long runs, so I just have to listen to what my body says.

So go ahead and ask me “what’s next?” All I can say is I don’t know, and I’m fine with that. For a few days anyway.

There’s a lot of my mind from Saturday’s Richmond Marathon, but it’s going to take some time to find all the right words for what I’m thinking and feeling. Before I move on to those thoughts or what might happen next, I wanted to give a big “thank you” to a lot of people for all the support over the past few months and year in making this happen. Saying “thanks” isn’t enough, but it’s the best that I can do:

* To my wife
My wife was a trooper on Saturday venturing around Richmond to all the party zones and then walking her way to find me on the course near the end. In addition to all the support on Saturday, my wife never had any issues with my evening runs or early morning weekend long runs over the summer (or my sweaty clothes I liked to leave on the bathroom floor).

* To my mom
From the comments on my blog to some extra babysitting a few nights so I could run, my mom has always been one of my biggest fans.

* To my Daily Mile friends
I almost lumped social networking into one, but Daily Mile deserves its own shout-out. Without the support on there from others going through the same things, or offer advice from there own experiences, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.

* To my Twitter followers
For those who don’t “get” Twitter, you need to find your niche. The support on Twitter is unbelievable and helped carry me through many of my long runs as I took my phone along with me.

* To my friend Travis
Earlier this year Travis and I strung together some awesome runs as we prepared for the Shamrock Half in March. We didn’t run together quite as much in the summer as our training took us in different directions, but his support along the way and the mileage we shared together went a long way in making the marathon happen.

* To my dog Duke
I may get annoyed with his antics on a leash sometimes, but Duke is an awesome running partner. I should write about him more than I do. I have no idea how many miles he’s gone with me this year, but every weekend he was up and out the door at 5:30 or to run several miles of my long runs. He survived the crazy cold earlier in the year and made it through some intense heat this summer.

* To the spectators
The Richmond Marathon has some great support along the entire course (minus the Lee Bridge), along with some good bands and DJs. Even when I was walking, people were able to give me a boost. It’s tough to acknowledge those things while they’re happening, but please, keep lining the course!

* To all my commenters
There’s some overlap here, but for anyone not following me on anything not listed above, thank you for commenting and reading my blog. I’ll never meet many of you, but every comment means the world to me. Thank you.

I took my phone with me today for a few images -- this is crossing over the Huguenot Bridge overlooking the James River.

I could be mad. I could be sad. I could feel sorry for myself.

But this isn’t the time for any of that. If I’m hard on myself or upset about how today went, I would be doing a disservice to myself.

Another view of the James River. This is along River Road.

Today I overcame some crazy challenges that life has thrown at me in the past month and finished the Richmond Marathon in 4:45. In what was easily the worst race when it comes to pace, I can’t be disappointed with pushing through it.

I left whatever was remaining in me after all this training and knee problems and recent illness on that course today. Sure my knee gave me hell — it started bothering me about 3 miles in, and I was oh-so close to just packing it in a few miles later. But when I saw my wife at the first party zone, I just kept going.

I started walking through the water stops very early on and after those first stops through the halfway point I would feel pretty good. Through mile 16 or so, I took a walk break for about 30 seconds or so at some point in every mile up until about mile 19.

The Lee Bridge. Easily the worst stretch of the race.

For the last several miles I did a run-walk as best I could: I would run until my back and legs would tighten up. Then I’d walk for a quarter mile or so. I was pleasantly surprised that my mile times were staying between 13-14 minutes.

Just before mile 25 I saw a familiar face as my wife had walked from the finish line to meet me. I had sent her a text near mile 23 saying I’d probably be close to 45 minutes before I got to the finish. Then for about 3/4 of a mile she stuck with me during my run-walk. It was truly a special moment in this tough day.

You can tell a lot from my splits. Things were actually rolling along just fine until halfway, but at mile 20 it pretty much unraveled: 9:09, 8:57, 9:29, 9:59, 9:44, 9:36, 9:28, 9:15, 9:20, 9:22, 10:08, 9:54, 10:09, 9:45, 9:41, 10:16, 10:50, 11:47, 11:45, 13:50, 14:02, 14:01, 13:18, 12:52, 12:59 and 15:36 (final 1.2).

After I decided to stick with it, I made a big mental shift to do whatever I had to do to make myself not suffer too much pain and to prevent too much damage to my body. Seven hours after the fact, my lower part of my body is feeling like it should after a marathon and my knee hurts like everything else does. I hope that’s a good thing.

There are a lot of other things on my mind with how today went, but I am a marathoner for the second time. And nobody can take that away from me.