Philadelphia Marathon - Training...Part 1

Coming off of Cleveland, I had just set a 7 minute PR of 2:37:46 and a 5th place finish. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined running that kind of time. 5 years ago, I was 185 pounds and had a 5K PR of 21:09. I had read Brad Hudson's book on self-coaching back in the spring and used some of the elements of his philosophy over the last month of my Cleveland plan, which was still largely based on two training programs set up for my by Matt Woods of Malone. One of Brad Hudson's philosophies is that training must be adaptive. In other words, you can't use the same old tricks and expect to continue to improve. Because I wouldn't have time to implement a 5K or 10K training cycle, my challenge was to figure out how to modify my older plans to yield improvement rather than burnout from over training. Another problem I had was time and energy. I simply could no longer get up at 4:00 am and knock out workouts. I was mentally exhausted from working calculus/physics problems during the day (and in my dreams at night...no lie) and rest was at a premium. In addition, I was unable to run with the Wednesday a.m. group. Those guys (Jim, Damon, Rich, Nilesh) have had more to do with my improvements than I can express. There is definitely a learning curve to marathoning, and my curve was paved with ice before I met those guys. Regardless, everyone has obstacles so I lived by the saying, "build a bridge and get over it." Training began.

In the last 6 months....

Way back in June, I fully intended to become a blogger. I wanted to detail my running on a weekly/daily basis. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I either didn't have time or was not motivated to do so. The summer began with the death of a good friend, Stuart Tolle. That was tough more me to take. At the same time, I got strep and my motivation for running fell apart for some odd reason. I had just come off of a PR in the Cleveland Marathon and should have been ready to train again. Yet, my energy was at a very low point and I struggled for a good month to get going again. In the mean time, I had been assigned to teach AP Physics...a calculus based course. I had only taught general physics four times in 14 years and hadn't done calculus in 15 years. I had never applied calculus to physics. After all, my main concentration was in chemistry. I spent most on June and July relearning Calc and doing problems - no lie - a minimum of 6 hours a day, 7 days a week. I thought Denise was going to kick me out.

In late July, I shipped off to Arkansas and spend a week at the University of Arkansas for training. About that time, Denise, who was running really well at shorter distances, decided that her intention of running the Philadelphia Marathon would be detrimental to her current training. She suggested that I go to Philly and run the marathon as a way to get me back to focused running. I agreed and signed up. Soon, school started and training was placed even farther on the back burner. I was trying to run 90 mile weeks, but had no time, energy, or motivation to run doubles. Consequently, I only ran single daily runs, but failed to cut mileage. 90 -100 miles on 7 single runs is a bear, but I'm stubborn and managed to do it (in the future, this now 38 year old body can't take that kind of training). I did happen to run a couple of races (perfect 10 miler and Columbus 1/2 marathon) along the way, but didn't run up to par in either race.

By late October, I started running with the Wednesday morning group again and my motivation and focus improved. Those guys are good for me in more ways than I can state here. Then, in early November, my grandfather, who is the unprecedented role model of my like passed away at age 87. He lived a good life, but losing him was really hard. Because my parent divorced when I was 5 and because he lived next door on the farm, he was a true father figure. I decided to dedicate my efforts in the Philadelphia marathon to him, regardless of place or time. He was the toughest man I ever knew and I wanted to live up to his standard. The day of his funeral, I developed a cough that is still with me 2 weeks later. Ultimately, it would play no role in my marathon, but it did make for some interesting training days as the marathon approached.

I find it ironic that my most recent training cycle began with the death of a friend and ended with the death of my mentor. If anything, I have realized the importance of relationships, of carrying on the personal legacy of influences of the past, and of appreciating each day for the life experiences we are given. That is how I now approach each day, embracing the gifts of family, friends, and running.