The Best Laid Plans

When I started this blog so many months ago, I expected that I would update it once-a-week (give or take a day or two). The best laid plans, right?

Not only does this phrase sum up my blogging prowess (or lack thereof) and my ability to understand what my body could endure if put through the appropriate training, it also aptly describes much of my training over the past few months. See, before I ran the Sedona half all the way back in February, which seems like an eternity ago, I was running AND making it to the gym for cross-training. But something happened when I returned from vacation and to be honest with everyone, including myself, I think I have only made it to the gym 3 times since then. With that said, the runs have become longer-4 of the last 5 weekend runs have been "my longest"- and harder, especially the Tuesday night track workouts. Still, I know I've lost something in not going.

Unfortunately, it now seems that this is ability to skip workouts has crept into my running. Three weekends ago, in an effort to fully recover from a good old-fashioned cold and from the 18 miles I ran the previous weekend, I didn't run at all. I did feel refreshed, but also slightly guilty. I did, however, feel amazing that week and went on to complete my first 20 mile run that Saturday, which helped relieve some of the guilt. Recovering from this run was a bit tougher than I thought it would be. Last week's runs did not feel good at all. My legs felt heavy and even when I tried to push myself, they did not respond well. Then, I missed this weekend's group run due to a roommate's birthday party on Friday night. I had planned to go running at some point over the weekend, but I let the party affect me a little longer than I had hoped.

So now I feel guilty. I haven't been doing the proper cross-training; I haven't been stretching or icing as much as I should; I've missed two of the last four weekend runs, but....

What I've found about running and training for a marathon is that there's always a time for redemption. You miss a run. Okay, so what? Run the next day. Miss that. There's tomorrow. I understand that this cylce couldn't go forever, but there's still 28 days left until April 20th. I have a 20 mile in the bank. I have another coming up. Other than a few aches and pains that seem pretty natural at this point, I'm healthy. I feel confident that I can do what I need to do over the next 4 weeks to get where I need to be.

It may not be the way I planned, but approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes after I cross the starting line in Hopkinton, I will cross that finish line and know that it doesn't matter what I planned, I made it to the end.

So Close and So Far

According to my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge website (http://www.runDFMC.org/zacharyd2009), I am less than $30 away from $3,000! This is excellent news. But there's still over a month to go. If you've been waiting until it was closer to the marathon, give today! If you need any motivation, watch the video below. It truly is an inspirational story and gives everyone a fuller understanding of the impact that all of our efforts have.

My goal is still far off - $6,500 - but I know that we can do it. I expect this next month to be the big push. I have see the overwhelming response I've received so far, and this has given me the confidence that WE will reach the goal.

Thank you all for your support.

This is why we run

I've read every article and watched all the videos I've found, and it's still a great story.

I guess I just don't know...

First, the good news: I completed my longest run to date this past Saturday. I ran 18 miles in 3 hours and 15 minutes, for a per-mile time of approximately 10:45.

Now, the bad news: I had to walk a little over a mile.

Others keep telling me that walking isn't that big of a deal and that I should be happy that I have 18 miles "in the bank". Yet, I can't escape a feeling of un-accomplishment. My last few runs had went so well that I was excited to test my body and push myself further than before. I'm not sure how some runners handle this feeling, but before the run I told myself that if I could run last week in X minutes then I should be able to do this run in Y. I mean it was only 2 extra miles. Sometimes, however, it's just not your day I guess.

Looking back on it now, a whole 2 days, 1 pub crawl, and 12 inches of snow later, I can see the successes of the run - no lasting injuries or pain outside the normal soreness, almost a neutral split in time between the first and second half of the run (pretty good considering the walking part), and I just ran 18 miles.

All in all, it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be. I've had worse runs before and I'm sure I'll have worse in the future. I was thinking of this as a setback but I realize that this is definitely not the way to look at it. I still have a month and a half to go before the marathon, and I'm still learning. I don't know what my perfect pace should be or if I need to eat better the day before or day after. I don't know my body will feel the day of, and I don't know if the crowd will give me the burst of energy and enthusiasm everyone says they get.

This is hard for someone like me to admit, but there's a lot of things I don't know. But that's kind of the fun in all of this. The not knowing is a challenge. I'm not sure what my body is fully capable of and trying to understand is exciting. It keeps me motivated. Between this, the patients, and the thrill of race day, I think my motivation level will remain high throughout the rest of training and beyond.