I know it's been a while since I've posted, so I wanted to put out a quick update.
Since the podium finish at Brierman, I haven't been doing much except running. My wife and I are both doing the Richmond Marathon on November 13. Well, I should clarify, she's doing the half marathon and I'm doing the full. I'm very proud of her. She decided back in the spring that she wanted to do a half marathon and she's on track to complete her goal. I'm sure she's going to do great. She has been very disciplined with her training (much more than I am) and when she finishes it, she'll have earned it much more than I did. You have to understand that she had back surgery about ten years ago, has gone through the core muscle, ligament, and tendon obliterating experience of giving birth to three children, stomach issues that have necessitated trying multiple types of exercise nutrition, and more soreness that I've ever experienced. Yet, when her training schedules says get out and run, she does it. On top of that, I know that she has inspired a number of other people to take up running as a means towards losing weight and getting in shape. She's pretty amazing (but then, I'm a pretty biased observer).
With my wife as inspiration, I have continued to train. I decided during the summer (about the time that I decided that a full ironman distance race was a realistic goal) that I wanted to do the full marathon in Richmond. I've already done two marathons, but they were both before the tech bubble burst, and neither one was a very pleasant experience. Just goes to show that a 25 year-old's social lifestyle of going out quite frequently isn't meant for marathon training. So I'm doing this one for a couple of reasons. First, I want to prove that I can get through a marathon well. I have a goal of finishing under 4:20 (10 min/mile pace) and a stretch goal of finishing under 3:54 (9 min/mile pace). Second, I want to have a truly long distance race under my belt going into the 2011 season. With my triathlon goals for 2011 being to complete a half-iron and possible a full, I feel like my confidence will be much higher with this race under my belt. On top of that, everything I've read says that Richmond is a great race, flat, and a lot of fun.
In order to train for the marathon, I've essentially given up biking and swimming to focus on my run. I did get a great 30 mile bike ride in a few weeks ago with a long-time friend, but other than that, I haven't turned a pedal (in anger or otherwise) since Brierman. All that bike ride did was remind me that I need to spend my winter doing some back exercises. I haven't even looked at the pool. What I have done is run. I've gotten to the point where an 8-10 mile run is "short." I knocked out a 20 miler last weekend in less than 3:20. And all I had for inspiration during that run was the podcasts on my iPod. As an aside, I've found that I much prefer podcasts for long runs. Music is great, but a one-hour podcast makes the time go by much easier. After the 20 miler I felt great. I made it through two Halloween parties after the run and didn't fall asleep at either one. I was climbing stairs the next day without pain in my quads or my hammies. Is it possible that I've become a distance runner?
This optimism though is tempered by my memories of my last marathon. I ran the first Baltimore Marathon about a decade ago. And I remember nailing an 18 mile training run about 2 or 3 weeks pre-race. I went into race day on a huge high, expecting to do great and thinking that breaking 5 hours would be easy and 4:30 might be possible. Then, about mile 8 I developed a blister on my foot. It popped around mile 11. The sun beat down on us and the temperature rose to about 70 degrees. My breathing became labored. I spent the last 10 miles of the race (which were mostly downhill) running about 500 yards at a time and then walking for a few minutes. I finished well over 5 hours, feeling terrible.
I've learned alot since that awful race. No more Red Bull on race morning. No re-lacing of my shoes on race day to accommodate a timing chip. I'll take my own nutrition on to the course (Hammer Nutrition's Sustained Energy). With the knowledge that I know more now than I did then, I still have high hopes for the marathon. But mostly I can't wait to cross the finish line and see my wife beaming after finishing her race a few hours earlier.
Note: It's unlikely that I'll post again between now and the race. There just isn't much going on from a training standpoint. It might be a little quiet for the next month or so simply because it's the off season. But be sure to check back around the beginning of the year. Eagleman is in June and training will start in January to make sure I do well in that half-ironman distance race.
