Here I am, almost a year to the day from my disastrous attempt at the marathon in San Antonio and finally I'm feeling ready to give it another go. After last year's failed endeavor, followed closely by a broken foot, I started training again on February 1st and managed to build back in to reasonable shape so that I could get through tri season. While it was a bit of a lackluster season for me, only racing three times... I did manage to find my passion for training again. Although I don't feel the need to train (for tri's) at the intense level that I used to, I do feel that setting a goal, or two, each year and attacking it is a way that I can better balance my career, personal life and athletic drive.
In 2012, my goal for the year was qualifying for, and racing at, the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I qualified in Boise and went on to train throughout the summer for what would be a hot, grueling course in the Las Vegas heat. I got through training mostly on my own but enjoyed the times when my buddies, Dr. Ryan Gebhardt and Craig Schmidt would join me on rides. With them I managed to rediscover my passion for road biking and get in the miles for Vegas.
While Vegas wasn't a screaming success; I had one of my slowest 70.3 finishing times ever. I am proud of the fact that I made it to the finish line in the 98+ degree heat and survived one of the toughest (hilly & hot) 70.3 courses in existence. I didn't have what I would consider a
great swim, bike or run in Vegas, but luckily, due to the heat, I was able to outlast enough people to finish fairly well. The athlete manual at the race said that over 60,000 (amateur) athletes around the world vied for a spot at the start line of the race. 2,200 qualified. Of those, I managed to keep it together enough to squeeze into the top 100 (95th). Having only "run" something like a 1:36 half marathon there, it's funny to think that I still placed that high, but I guess it just goes to show how tough that beast of a course was.
Now... now, I'm done with the heat. I grew up in Alaska and I thrive in cooler conditions.
Having finished the season, taken 5 weeks completely off of training and traveled Europe, I'm now ready to get back to it. I started with weight training and low-mileage running in the last week or two of October. I'm currently still hitting the weights 2-4 times a week and have built up to about 30 miles per week of running. I also, recently got a new book...
As anyone who reads/read this BLOG would know, my last marathon attempt was based around a training plan from the Jack Daniels book, 'Daniels' Running Formula'. While that plan could/does work for some, it simply wore my body out. It doesn't include any time for rest throughout the plan (or I missed that chapter) and after 10+ weeks in a row of 70-80 miles per week and huge intense workouts, it broke me down.
I am only about 50 pages into the Hanson's Marathon Method so far, but their training seems to take a more strategic approach and is based on the fundamental principle of Cumulative Fatigue. I'll write more about this as the start of my training plan gets closer, but for now, I'm just writing this BLOG to announce that I am back to training and am tentatively (at this point) planning to begin full-scale marathon training in early December. If injuries, sickness and winter weather don't hamper me too much this time around, I will hope to race the 1/2 in Austin in mid-February and then shoot for a sub-2:40 (ideally 2:37) marathon at the L.A. Marathon on St. Patrick's Day (3/17), 2013!!
Until my next update... Happy Training and thanks for taking the time to stop-by!
