At last...70

I've been thinking about today for a long time. Today is the second time in my life that I finished up a 70 mile week before a marathon. Can you guess how long it has been? 6 months? 1 year? The last 70 mile week that I finished was in March 2006 (30 months!). Looking back that far seems like an eternity. If you are training right now, think about what it might feel like to have to wait thirty months until you are ready for another fast race. The marathon is not an event for those who insist on instant gratification, but thirty months is a while to go between goal races.

Since Boston 2006, I've been wanting to train hard for another PR...I'm certainly capable of faster than a 3:37:21, if I was able to do that at Boston. Just get me ready on a faster course.

Pikes Peak 2006 - an August race. I trained trails all summer. I seemed to put on a bunch of weight. In hindsight, I know that it is because I mistakenly followed the advice of taking electrolyte tablets. Just because people spend a lot of time training in the heat and a lot of time on the trails does not mean that everyone should do electromix or endurolytes or any kind of salt tablets. I have absolutely no business taking any kind of electrolytes. I have never experience muscle cramps and I am always 'crusty' after sweaty runs. I've got way too much salt going on in this body. Anyhow, I ran Pikes almost fifteen pounds heavier than I am today, most of which was water weight and reaction to elevation. The pictures from my time on the mountain are hilarious with my cankles and tree trunk legs.

After Pikes, I gave myself 3-4 weeks and started training again with Mac. I felt sluggish and tired the whole time, and after 2 months of no improvements and exhaustion, I figured I needed some time off. Also, my job teaching became incredibly stressful and I ended up quitting teaching at this point. I still trained a little on my own.

Summer 2007 - training for St. George. I joined Ruth's Fall Boston group geared towards runners looking to qualify for Boston at a Fall marathon. Chad, Kirsten, Charles, Bruce, Kim, Anne Marie, and many others were in this group. I trained very hard and finally felt fast again until August happened. I suffered an injury in my hip that took me completely out of running until the end of October 2007. It took weeks and weeks of PT and pilates to get over it. After not being able to run St. George, I was devastated.

February 2008 - ran the Austin marathon as a pacer. But, it was the 5:00 group. I have blogged about that race and some of the humorous parts of running as a pacer, but ultimately it is not my goal to continue to run at a pace that is much slower than what I am capable of. At this point in the year, all I could do was focus on getting married and look forward to the summer of training.

April 2008 - Boston - Chad's year. I got to spectate Boston...great for Chad, not as much fun for me. It made me miss running fast, and I became more determined than ever to train healthy and strong.

So now here I am. It is September 2008. I have made it through a hot Austin summer training in the heat with Mac. I have peaked in mileage and am not injured (knock on wood). I have my goals in mind and am ready to focus beyond the training and visualize the race.

Thirty months...waiting for today.