the Boston Marathon...125th edition

 Waking up one minute before my alarm was set, I thought, wow - that was some good sleep and the best I've remembered having the night before a race. it helped that Boston starts the latest of the Majors, so 5:40am wasn't too bad to wake up for. 

put on my race kit, ate a little bit of granola and bagels, had a half cup of coffee, and basically stayed off the water as much as I could since I was determined to do this marathon without a bathroom break. (I hydrated like crazy the day before). Aaron Linz, Bobby Conrad, and I (the three of us sharing an Air B n B in Cambridge for race weekend Sunday-Tuesday) walked to the train to take us to the Bus pick up at the Boston Public Garden which would shuttle us to the start line in Hopkinton for our 9am start. Once we checked our bags, we hit the bathroom for a quick break before getting on the bus, but here is when I lost them. I decided to get on a bus and get mentally ready anyway as no point in wasting time looking for them. The bus ride out was pretty long, quiet (talked just a little bit with my seat mate, who was from Columbus Oh, doing his first Boston, coming off an injury and just hoping to finish) and a bit chilly with the windows down, but I could already tell it was humid out. The temps during the race would stay in the low to mid 60s with cloud cover, yet there was a 90% humidity so the dew point was very high. 

when we finally got to Hopkinton and were unloaded, it was about 8:40am and all that was left to do was make our way to the starting line and hit the porta potty one last time before we began. As I made my way to the start I ran into Caleb Boyd, which was nice to see someone I knew. We started and ran the first mile together, which was cool. It was Caleb's 10th consecutive Boston, his first being the year I first ran it (and only other time) as well back in 2012 - the infamous hot sunny year with temps in the 90s. 

With the elite field having taken off at 8:37am there was no National Anthem or starting ceremony as we approached the line just the countdown to 9am for us regular runners to be allowed to go, and we were off...

As Caleb and I walked to the start he said he was going to start at 6:40 which I decided to do as well just to make sure I didn't get ahead of myself so early and could let the race unfold a little more patiently which is really needed with such a steep downhill start that the marathon here has. it felt like an easy trot, and was much more downhill that I remembered - a lot of the course I didn't remember well - but we successfully clicked 6:40 on the nose for mile 1, and with that my marathon was off to an intentional start that was up to me to keep in check as we continued to roll downhill. 

The second mile and through the first town of Ashland, I kept it very relaxed as the miles started to click in the 6:20s. The humidity was thick as perspiration started early. Having downed a somewhat caffeinated gel Prior to the start, I was feeling good and alert and very present and allowed myself to roll with the sub 630 pace, knowing that I couldn't let all the downhill go by without taking it's advantages of some banked time. anytime there was an uphill I purposefully pressed a little gas so that I would not loose time or pace, and by the 6th mile I had clicked off my fastest split so far of the day at 6:10 for a faster second 5k than the first 5k (20:20), hitting it at 40:05. 

around the 8th mile up in the distance I could see a few runners stopped around someone lying on the ground. As we approached a race official/volunteer had spotted the scene and was attending to the young lady laid face down on the pavement unresponsive, causing quite a scary view. I said a little prayer for her knowing that nothing I could do by stopping would help, but found out later she would be okay but did get rushed to the hospital for cardiac arrest. And later would come to find out that she was a very good runner, with a 2:44 Olympic qualifying time in her own right, just showing how nothing in life is guaranteed and that we all are here on grace. 

I got even faster the next 5k, coming through 15k in just under an hour. At the 10 mile mark I was at 63 mins and change and still feeling in control. A few folks at this point had come up to me saying my stride looked good and asked me what I hoped to run. Telling them sub 2:50 would be great, they thought I was on pace, and they themselves would say that was there goal, with one guy saying he was going to run 242 so that made me feel like I had a good chance if i could keep him in my sights. 

Back at the 45 minute mark, I took my first on course fuel - a regular Maurten Gel, and as we passed 11 miles I took another for extra even though I had some in my shorts, because these gels are the best in the market and knew I might finish with some extra which would be alright with me. 

From 10 - 13 miles we went through the nice town of Natick, which seemed the most family friendly and largest crowds so far. Live music, speakers blaring, kids lining the streets, started to give off some great energy. Also here I was starting to anticipate the famous Scream Tunnel which we would pass along Wellesley College for women, where in the past one could steal a kiss, but with covid hand slaps were in abundance. The pace definitely got a little quicker here with the energy and downhill.

At the halfway mark I was at 1:23:45 - so indeed on pace for sub 2:50 but also knowing that 99% of people run a slower second half of the course given the Newtown Hills that awaited from miles 16-21. That being the case, it was key, and I followed my instincts, to still stay patient and under control from miles 13-16 before the climbing started. These mile paces were: 612, 620, 621

The first of the Newtown Hills was a bit of a shock but my legs handled it well and I only slowed a little bit which is to be expected. I tried to not loose as much as possible really rather than trying to keep the same pace I was going on the flats, with the idea of trying to open up my legs on the downhills that followed the inclines.  The first downhill was the shortest of them all, and the second hill came pretty quickly, around mile 17. at 30k, or 18.6 miles my time was 1:59:19. At 25k I was 1:39:09, so that 5k was the first I had run over 20 mins since the first 5k of the race. Slowed a bit yes, but very much still in the game, and my stamina seemed strong. I was feeling my second gel quite strongly, this being a 100mg caffeinated one that really made me almost a bit tweaked but I shut out those thoughts and harnessed the energy. That second hill I went slower than the first, but it was longer and steeper, and once I got to the top I got back into pace. My 19th mile, which was the downhill from the second hill was 6:21 so that quickly shot my confidence back up. 

at 20 miles I was at 6:36, just rolling along the base of Heartbreak hill, hitting the clock in 2:08:20. My last marathon where I ran my PR of 2:50, I started to feel rough around mile 17, so I felt stronger in Boston than ever before and really believed I could string 2 more 20min 5ks together to get under 2:50 total marathon time, realizing once I got up heartbreak after 21 miles, I would have downhill to the finish. But it was around mile 20 I actually wasn't sure if I had run Heartbreak Hill or if it was ever coming, but right on cue, there it was, and it was a beast. I went into close my eyes and just try and chop my feet up as best I could. That mile was 7:14, but again, once I got to the top, I was greeted by Boston College where loud fans welcomed me and cheered me and inside I was pretty amped knowing I had finished the hills, taking me back on pace with the downhill for a 6:29 22nd mile. 

I was playing to the crowd, and anytime they were engaged they gave back 10 fold with cheers and yelling support. It was great. I got chills as I ran down and thought, today is going to be the day, on this tough course, in these humid conditions, that I am going to have my best time in the marathon on my 10th effort. But as quickly as the pace came back in mile 22, the pace started to shift in mile 23 as we started into Brookline. I'm not sure how it happened, but it was like a switch was turned below my belt and my legs started to move in quick sand. I tried to surge and snap out of it, but my watch kept creeping paces into the 7's and folks I was running with started to gap me and I couldn't respond to their steady pace anymore. 35k-40k i registered my slowest 5k of the day, which would be miles 22-25 roughly. while mile 22 was good, the pace fell into the 7s and I couldn't get it back, even though we were climbing hills. Mentally this was a tough part of the race because even though we were gaining on the finish line, the course looked longer than it should given the straightaway into the city with the tall building stretching out what looked to be miles longer than they were. 

my last glimmer of hope for sub 250 was with 5k to go, telling myself I would get out of this slow spot and get back with some low 6s to close out, but try as I might I couldn't, and in fact just holding on was all I could do. It's the beauty and sinister side of the marathon. You can fight for hours and then when you get so close to the finish, give so much of the time you worked for back in a blink of an eye and there is nothing you can do about it a lot of times. My daughters made me bracelets i wore which i would look down on and try and run for them. My dad ran his only marathon 40 years ago this same week, and i tried to think about that. I told a lot of friends about the race, and i tried to use them knowing i was running and would have to live with my result, but it didn't help me get faster. It did help me hold on though. The temptation is strong to stop, and you ride a line that gets finer by the minute the last couple of miles into the finish of a marathon, but its that commitment to see it through and keep pressing which shows you what you are made of. Folks around me were stopping. It doesn't help to see that as you want to do the same, making it even tougher, but you keep fighting, knowing the finish line will come as long as you keep moving. 

I thought about my only other Boston experience in 2012 and how that was such a tough day, and that even though I was falling off with 3 miles to go, I was doing well, and that I could still have my best "right on Hereford, Left on Boylston" finish and enjoy the grand, historic, and famous finishing straight. While I had a pained face that last mile, I changed it to smiles as I finished my last 400 meters. I looked around, and soaked it in, and tried to be as present as I could to my surrounding, changing my outlook from internal to external, taking cues from the great Eliud Kipchoge. What strikes me the most about his running is how aware and present he is in the end of his marathons, something I wanted to try and do - and it did make a difference. It changes your perspective from your suffering to connecting with those that are watching you giving you energy. and in doing so, I was made aware of a called out "eggers!" form the stands. I couldn't see anyone but I gave a wave. It's hard, and I didn't do it very good, but for a few moments I did, and I will have those images in my mind for the rest of my life. 

So, 2:52:41 for my official time, making it my second fastest marathon ever, and beating my Boston time by more than and 60 mins. Oh, that wave i gave when I heard what i thought was my name, was my brother in the crowd, who captured it on video, so there ya go. 

keyboard rust buster

For the fact that out of all my marathons, which is really the highlight of these blog posts, my neglect to recap my first marathon major, Boston 2012, I take to these keys to try and regain a bit of familiarity in how to write because I have a second chance to recap the oldest marathon in the world once more. 

for 16 weeks I have sustained a solid cycle of marathon training that will culminate this Monday in the first ever non April Boston Marathon that has ever been run. 

I don't need to explain Covid to anyone, and if anyone reads this decades later i'm sure everything that has been upside down and unprecedented since March of 2020 will surely be aware as well through the history books. But all that to say, that is why this is happening now. 

Boston was, still to this day, the hardest thing I ever did in 2012, given the high heat. Thought i would never go back, or at least not until much much later. But the nice ring of 125th, the unique October date, and having a good base from the last few years of consistent running, well the time was right to go back. 

a few notables for this race, come Monday: 
    

    -this will be my 10th marathon

    -this will be my only second repeated marathon (charlotte in 2010 and 2011)

    -i've never PR'd more than 3 times in a row. Monday is the chance to make it 4 PRs in a row

The last marathon cycle that brought me a PR of 2:50 was the fist time i ever used a coach and a given training plan. This time I modeled my training off of it, but allowed more flexibility. My overall mileage was a bit lower, but I think I'm still in the same shape, hoping better, than I was given the compounded build that really only had a spring with some lighter running that came between the two cycles. 

Today I just finished my last real run until the race. I'll do a little shake out Sunday but that will be very short and sweet. Yesterday I had my last little "workout" and I was a bit upset how my legs didn't feel that great like I thought they should given the taper. But today, my legs felt light, crisp, fast, and my body felt strong and my breathing and heart rate easy. 

I look forward to taking it all in, and coming back to write about it after I'm done. 

-Daniel 

Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon 2020

The fight sustained. 

I'm on the onramp interstate bridge over the lowlands of gulf coast biloxi at the apex of the course's elevation, and also at the height of the pain I will have to sustain for day's journey. It's here the questioning thoughts come the loudest, and at me the most defenseless, asking me "why?"...."how?"...."can you?". It's a space I have experienced times before, and being able to witness the shift might have lessened the doubt, but it's still- i'm coming to find out- a fight that will seemingly always have to be faced when undertaking a marathon. 

The shift began with the seed around mile 15. I had just finished the 14th mile doing surges off and on to get back the time I had lost stopping to use the bathroom. I guestimate it cost me about 40 seconds with room for more loss if the surging did take out more of me than otherwise would. I ran about a 5:59 mile but with the stopping it really was a 6:35, which was 15 seconds off the pace I had been for the whole race - right at my low range of pace, 6:20. 6:20 gives me a 245 marathon, and 629 gives me a sub 250 marathon, which is what i was hoping to do going into this race. 

last year at nyc i was not as fit as i am this year, and i was able to get to the 20 mile check mark in 620 pace, so i was not too worried about getting to 20 in the same pace, and for 14 miles it felt easy despite the headwind that was starting to be felt a little more strongly, whether it was faster or not i am not sure. 

the marathon course was known to be flat as it went along the gulf almost in entirety, on hwy 90, going west to easy, from Pass Christian to Biloxi. The wildcards, as pretty much with any race, is weather: wind and temp/humidity. race morning was a mid 50 degree start temp with humidity high. maybe a slight breeze in the air, but once we started running into the direction of east northeast it was noticeably a strong enough wind that would be sustained the entire morning of racing. around mile 16 the sun peeked out from behind the blanket of white low hanging clouds, and the the temperature crept up to about 60-62 degrees by the time we started reaching the finish line. 

i've certainly raced in worse, and nothing i hope ever tops Boston 2012, but this was not as ideal as you would want. But that is part of the sport. always has, always will be, and equal as each person has to go through it at the same time. 

a packed school bus took me out to the start line, on a back seat beside an older locale who was quite chatty with me during the ride, telling he had done all of the gulf coast marathons (this being the 5th one). I had a bagel a took some small bites on, as the coffee i drank from the hotel on the walk to the bus started to wake me up. for the first time I had began taking sips of Maurten sports drink on the bus ride over, hydrating and getting the fuel in my body. I drank it a couple times this past training cycle before some runs, and really liked and felt good effects from it. I was hoping here, i could drink enough to get the right amount, but also not too much where i'd have to stop and pee later in the race. Wishful thinking about not having to use the bathroom.

a real race in a pandemic is rare, turns out. this had to be one of no more than a handful of marathons open to public entries that has gone on since March 2020. that being said, the start featured a 4 man wide rolling start for the folks in the first wave, where i was. i found a last second open space of 4 wide about 4 rows back, so when the gun went off i waited with my row until we were up at the line to begin. they wanted the folks in front to run about 15 yards in front before the next line went. and so it begins....

the first few miles i wanted to really stay conservative, but was surprised at the speed with which these front runners set out. in the previous 4 years of this race, a low 250 finish would be a podium spot. maybe an average of 7-10 folks were under 3 hours if im remembering correctly. so the first half mile pace of 545 where folks are speeding on up ahead, and folks close to me and right behind me, it was established this race had drawn more folks than would have otherwise in a non pandemic. the first mile clicked 6:09, about 15 seconds faster than i wanted or assumed would hit, but it was only time to settle in and let the average start accruing. The second mile the pace began to settle and hit 616, but still a little quick. Mile three i found the pace and rhythm, hitting 620 on the nose. A few runners around me had formed just behind me. I happened to be the leader for most of the folks I was able to run with. Yet, there was a lone runner running a few paces off the the right of me, about a yard in front, that i was working off of visually to help me groove. I liked this, i had my pacer and he had a good cadence and effortless stride which was great to watch and remember for my form as we clicked off early miles. 

Another thing i did this race that I hadn't in the past was start gel fueling early. I thought about taking a gel before the race, but only having 3, and having the sports drink i didn't think I should. So, about 10 minutes into the race, I opened the first pouch, the only caffeinated one, and took a small first sip. I nursed this one slowly over the next 30 minutes. The only thing around this time that caused concern so early in the race was I could feel the liquids I had earlier starting to press on my bladder. Yikes. Looks like i was going to face having to deal with this pressure and mental distraction for the next two and a half hours, of was going to have to stop and lose time. I quickly decided that while I probably would have to inevitably stop, i was going to wait so i didn't run into a situation where i emptied the fluids too soon and have another occurrence of needing to go again during the race. At Disney marathon in 2019 i stopped around mile 7 and that was it for the race, so i was going to go at least until mile 7 and then reassess. I noticed early on that portapottys were about every other mile at most, so i counted on the fact there would be a spot when i needed it. 

Cruising past the first 10k right on pace, I then said let’s get to 10 miles before we entertain stopping. Clicked that, the. Said okay let’s get to half way. Can’t let the splits look poor, thinking of the outside perspective on anyone tracking me. I was at the point though where the pressure was becoming too great to ignore despite the loss in time I would sustain. As soon as I clicked the half way point in 122:30 I ducked into the only portapotty I would hit that day (minus the one on my walk back from bourbon street two hand-grenades later nearing midnight in New Orleans). The watch rattled off about 40 seconds in the stop. Strava later would show moving time 2;50:20 compared to the official time of 2:50:59, so there you have it. 

Okay, what’s done is done. Now to see if I can get back to the little pack I was in and keep it rolling. 

They didn’t look that far away so I scooted out quick, but told myself you don’t need to get it all back at once so I settled on using incremental surges based on the road cones on the course to chip away at it. I wanted to catch them in the next couple of miles. Once I caught the first two I just kept going, back in front, and kept my sights on the other one who was holding strong seemingly while these other two were definitely slowing. 

Mile 15, the mile after the surges, I go back to the aforementioned inevitable shift, began occurring, where the first thoughts begin their attack with dull arrows signaling the body is beginning to fatigue. Easy: ignore and reset mind to the 20 mile mark. That was my endgame plan- get there with some life and see what happens. The challenge was from 16-20 keeping life and not letting the pace slip. This was going to be some work. 

I managed to finally get to 20 miles with some life in my legs, or at least the absence of total death, but it was still going to prove to be a tough test to advance the next 6.2 miles. The shutting off of the mind from negative thoughts, and constantly going back to force feeding positivity was the play these few miles. My pace was now above my high goal of 629, and i couldn't get it back down. I was in the 640s now, and at the same time trying to "save" my legs, which was brutal. after finally reaching it, the mind game began...

get to 5 to go: *sounds doable... get to 4 to go; *i think i can do this. get to 5k to go; *ive done this so much i surely can make it. 2 miles to go: *one more mile then its the last mile to go. and here, 2 miles to go, the course takes a drastic turn. 

over the last mile or two I have begun implementing various mental tricks to keep the time and distance passing. I started to look to the horizon in the distance with the tall Beau Rivage casino standing tallest among the destinations buildings, as a landmark to grow: advance towards it making the distant silhouette become larger. i needed this ultimate destination mindset at the moment as the here and now of the present was beginning more and more difficult to sit with. So luckily, the lighthouse that was featured in promotional pictures that i saw going into the race, was finally upon me. I could make it out far enough away, it provided a good object to set my sights on. Once I hit it, the daunting surprising uphill onramp to interstate 25th mile came upon us. 

On the website they mentioned they had to rearrange the finish with the recent hurricane damage, but i hadn't paid close enough attention that this caught me very unexpectedly. Part of me welcomed the change in course, with its curve, uphill, and new sights as we just had entered into Biloxi, but the incline did its thing and slowed me to my slowest mile of the day. but being inside 2 miles i was pressing on, having come so far that i wasn't going to let the days work go to waste. Thinking, "how cruel to put the only hard terrain of the course when we are almost at our breaking point, but On i pushed, cresting the hill and seeing runners come back towards me after having made a hairpin U turn...the only thing was there were two of these marks: the first for the half marathoner, which i went into, only to be course corrected by thankfully an official straightening me out-still costing me some time to regroup and get back towards our turnaround...another tenth or two of a miles ahead...ugh,

after pivoting and heel turning, i came back getting some downhill only to quickly but not detrimentally, turned my foot in a grate that went across the ramp. close call. i rode the downhill, on my last mile of the course, and seeing the around the block finish where we would be done, and just kept trying to press until i was "allowed" to be finished. At that turnaround, i saw the two guys  I caught up to after my pee break and subsequently left, nearing me, and thus spurring me on which was a welcomed and needed motivation. With less than a half mile ago, i kept expecting them to come up on me, but i guess i kept up enough...

2:50:59. I can say i'm a 250 marathoner...barely. while that is not as nice as i was hoping going in, to go earn a 249 or better, i will be thankful for it considering the wind, the pee, and the weather, etc. im thankful to get better. 

Post Cycle and Pre Race

 10 years ago this very day I had just finished racing my first 26.2

Granted I had completed a run where I was signed up for a marathon back in February of the same year, but on 12.11.10 I acquired my first 26.2mile result because I had not gone the wrong way and ran an extra 3 miles 

so where am i a decade later? well, I'm here on a Friday morning of a marathon race weekend contemplating the future race less than 48 hours away, and the last 15 weeks of my training.

The present can always seem a long way away from the future and the past, depending on how and what things you are referring it to, yet I know it won't be long until I am looking back at this future race with a lot of thoughts that might include surprise and regret. I can't change now what will happen then and I cant go back and change what occurred either. It's time to go to the line and take the test with what I have and what I can do then, in that moment.

I have hopes now. That thing that is a gift in the present to help walk into the unknown future. I have confidence from the past. That thing that is a gift for having handled the present at that time well. I'm looking to merge Hope and Confidence sunday morning in the present to produce something I never have done; a covering of 26.2 miles faster than all my previous efforts. A confident hope that it is under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and a dream hope that it is 2:45 or even faster. 

The confidence is the highest it's been to get a new PR. For the first time since college, I joined a virtual team of runners under a coaching plan for a 15 week buildup into the race. I was the most focused and consistent for that amount of time than I ever have been going into a marathon, with week after week of solid mileage and quality hard and fast running workouts. I have felt my pace lower naturally from getting fit, and have produced good checkmarks in time trials and small races against buddies during the course that have been signposts signaling that the work is yielding desired results. Still, to take off such an amount of time from my previous best of 2:53, and hit my dream goal, will be a very tough test. 

This being my 9th marathon, I am excited to have the race unfold and be in it. I know that when I come out I will be different than before I went in. Each mile will have a little tale, and the final 6 miles will surely be ones that will reach down deep and extract thoughts and wills that we typically can't access. it's exciting to have the opportunity to compete, against others, the clock, and myself. 

The tightrope walking will begin once the gun goes off, needing to hold steady in the beginning and settle in, keeping the reigns on, yet acclimating just enough to begin to groove in a pace that will set me up towards the goals and hopes I have. The first big part of the test will come in the 14th mile, when I will have to be honest with myself and check in to see how good I am feeling for the second half of the race. Staying patient over the next 7 miles while focusing in on not dropping off timewise and getting ready to execute the last 10 kilometers once I hit the 20 mile mark on the race. Because, just now, I stopped writing this and looked up splits from my last marathon which was NY 2019. Through 20 miles I was on 2:46 pace (6:21 per mile). The last 10k I dropped and ran that portion in 7:32 pace (71 seconds slower per mile). 

That last 10k, this Sunday, is where I will have the chance to make the difference. Training wise I could be faster at 20 miles and hold on and really get a good time, but I know now that I have done 20 miles in the past at this pace, now it's just a matter of holding on. 

Now through race day I'll be thinking about all the things that I can pocket in my head to inspire me to push past the body and voice that tells me it hurts, and overcome it reaching deep to know that others are behind me, that I have sacrificed a lot to put my self in this position, and that deep down there is the opportunity to realize a dream and a hope. 

A limbo in the middle of the year.

Finding myself in a liminal space. Ending July the current state seems to be where I have arrived at a fork in the road. The calendar year has been anything but normal yet up until recently dealing with it has been fine on the running front. Good and well, even. And yet I am not sure if my body is telling me to keep off the gas a bit longer or to stay steady and weather the storm.

I had climbed the ladder up to a solid 14 mile run with some good runners in Charlotte in the swampy humidity and high July temps 8 days ago, took the next day off, had a good feeling easy run at 7:10s pace that Tuesday, and then the body started acting up. I used the signals to take 3 days off in a row, and was spending a lot of time thinking about a possible pattern where seemingly after hard long runs at a few now different instances I have “come down” with a very tight and sore chest centered around my sternum. Once, I told my cardiologist about a particular episode that showed it’s head after one of my marathons and he seemed to think that running hard for that duration can cause stress to the muscle lining wall around the ribs and that that was pretty much what I was feeling. It was nice to hear a specialist in the field of hearts not seem to think it was an organ problem. But is that what is going on? And why does it seem to show up a few days later and not right after? That discomfort was accompanied by a very short bout of fatigue and feeling achy where I laid low and rested and counted my blessings that that part went away quickly while the chest pains started to dissolve too, though not quite as quickly.

The past weekend in the mountains was too much of a temptation to not take advantage of the trails to skip running so I tested the waters with some shorter runs, but was still feeling it, though Sunday was less than Saturday, so it was making its way almost totally out – which was good news.

Today, a Monday, starting a new week, coming off a 2020 low of 14 miles, I decided to lace the shows back on and see what will be. Here, enter my current mood: even with time off, the Achilles is beginning to feel like a niggle that will not go away. A turd that just won’t flush. Combine that with wondering if I still need another week off to really get fresh because the toll of 2020 with no races in the calendar and the days just still blending together, I am feeling it a bit mentally too like a ship without a course. The heat has been relentless since late June and that certainly is adding to it as well.

But what centered me today were three things, on my run: Visualization, Bodily Attention, and Bringing my mind back to the present. Running can easily be a time where the mind wonders and roams, and that definitely is part of the appeal on being out there and clearing our head. Yet that can also be a negative if all we ever do is concern our self with future uncertainties and past frustrations. Each step is a new step, each mile a different tale, and a discipline that really helps calm the whirling winds in our brain and feelings is the reminder to bring it back to the present. And so by doing, take a look down at your body and see yourself in motion and marvel at this body you have moving through space and time and conjure that gratitude of your ability to be moving. That positive will help lift you, and that will also translate to the other piece I mentioned about bodily awareness. You might be having some nagging pains, but what about the parts of your body not experiencing discomfort? Place your mind there. Explore how you are feeling from head to toe to fingertips. We are not just our minds. This whole person is along for the run, and it does well to take stock of our whole person.

Until tomorrow,

Daniel

writing + running are better together

I do have a handwritten journal that i occasionally write in, but it's rare. This blog used to be a place i would recount just about all of my runs for a season of my life. Those were good days.

in 2020, our attention span has gotten shorter, and so has our writting - if we do it all. The iPhones and the like seem to be in our hand multiple hours a day, if not almost a third of our waking hours or more if we are honest. Let's just say i'm not proud of the weekly notification on Sunday to report on my screen time. But the world is changing and so are we.

i was thinking just today, about how in the show Entourage from 12-15 years ago where Ari Gold, the agent that was on his phone more than the other characters throughout the episodes which seemed stark back then, probably would be no different than jane doe or john smith on the day to day here in 2020.

and with those smart phones, the writing has been encouraged to shrink into 240 characters, or small bits of information that we can scroll while we digest a few sentences. Hell, even reading a book in this day in age takes a lot of practice just to calm the mind and focus. And when you may read a book you'll probably notice that the chapters are much shorter than the days of old, no doubt to help keep the reader engaged. i guess in someways its sad, but we can see the future and where this evolution is taking us, which, does leave a little of the fraught behind from the troublesome worry that was happening more at the precipice of this shirt during the advent of social media and quicker smartphones.

All that to say, while the running log has been part of mans running since the quill and papyrus, the newest method of a running record, the length there has also been encouraged to become shorter. Well, with the ease of use it has also kept me from longer writing post runs, which always seems to help me unpack my thoughts that often come to me on those miles of solitude. But today, i am banging some keys and am happy to be here.

so, about that running stuff....

...today's run was cool. Always a man of adventure seeking, I left the house not exactly knowing were I was going to go run, but just knew I wanted semi flat, and some shade, and not too far of a drive. As I headed down Ballantyne Commons Parkway, I crossed over Elm Lane and started getting a better idea of where to begin. I turned on Community House towards Johnston Rd, and slid into the Hampton Inn parking lot. Figured I would track south on Community House southward and figure it out from there.

I knew i needed a run that was more than just maintenance. I gave myself the day off yesterday, and went easy on Sunday after my 5k Saturday so the legs needed a little workout, but didn't want to go too hard with a hopeful Mile TT this coming Saturday. And with doing some shorter reps last week, and realizing my threshold runs is where I needed to focus, I decided to do about a 25 min tempo, where I would try and progress from easy moderate to sub 6 min pace. Given the odd number of minutes, and that I only wanted the full run to be about 50 mins since it was already pretty hot and sunny out, after 12 mins of easy warm up i stopped to stretch and decided i would make the tempo broken up into 5 min blocks, trying to cut down each one, would add a 1 min stride turnover fast clip to give me 12 min cool down back for a perfect 50 mins. (realizing now as i type this in my heat haze mind i ended at 48 mins, lol oh well).

My Achilles were pretty sore in the warm up, but once i started picking up the pace after stopping to stretch it was fine. i succeeded in clipping down, but did kind of stall on the 4th rep (hills though).  i'll say this was a good run, and that i am handling/acclimating the heat pretty well here in Mid July.

The best part of this run experience was when i was jogging back passing the Hampton Inn, i noticed their outdoor pool (not a sole out there - it was 9:30am afterall), and being hot and tempted, i walked over to the gate, reach over to open it, slid my shoes off, and took a dip. A worker saw me and for a second thought was going to bust me, but instead asked how the pool was and if i wanted some water to drink. I at first said no, but given the unique position i was in thought this would really be the cherry on top, so i said "sure if you are offering!" .... as i walked back to my car, her was in the parking lot, and no doubt was scratching his head as he saw me get in the car and drive off. hahah. 

Where are we?

Perhaps no more a vague title than the above can be applied to more things than in this exceptional time of uncharted bewilderment. I was just watching Current Mood on Instagram - a live show that John Mayer records Sunday nights on his phone - and one of the commenters, of which there are thousands ongoing throughout the broadcast (he typically retains about 25k veiwers during his show), remarked how so many things we are all going through are all the more relate-able given how this experience of self isolation around the world is giving a shared experience more than we've had in unison to which we can all so easily share and follow along given the power to post instantly on our smartphones. That's a lot to say that, the question of Where are we - is meant to carry a few ways to answer given that our running is not spared in the newly thrust upon us way of living, that has made us a bit disoriented on the fly. Perhaps me now at the keyboard is me getting ready to share a couple ways of insight to some answers that I've been thinking about and looking for along the way. 

where we are is always a moving target, and yet it's also always a constant. where we are is where we are. it's a snapshot in time. and inventory of what is now. it's a transient state and also a fixed reality. we have control of the next "here" but that depends on where we were when we asked it previously, and how that answer satisfies based on where that place is the next time we ask. with running, distance in motion, time in space, we are always marking ourselves by a bevy of calendars. seconds, minutes, days, months, cycles, years. But maybe on a more large scale ask, "where are we" as a place of our on those scales, and the metaphysical where with running being something that we know and can identify, that even that has been called into question for some of us. 

for those in a state of improving and grading our results against clocks and competitors, this is a challenge . If we ever leave out the variable that i would say is the soul of "why" we run, it's the run against, with, and in concert to our self. The heart of all our analysis has a base that is only compared and looked at as how "we" the collective mind body soul and spirit ran in unison and with excellence together that gives us our validation of accomplishment and true judgement. A result that might have looked good on paper, but didn't go with the grain of the whole person and the drive that is measured based on only our own acknowledgement of how we came into the run and did the run, can truly be a mirror to our own understanding. 

think about your training. Each day you set out with purpose to register a run that will serve a later goal. if that goal is time or place, when we are in that race we will know if we met our self with our best that day or not, and this doesn't go without knowing what that best is on that given day. sometimes that is our best ever, and sometimes we just squeeze whatever we can from the juice that is there for the day....but we will know if we left pulp un-squeezed or if truly our hands are sore from the try. 

that is kind of an overarching way to have realized running in what we do each day, for the last while or so. Without races it has brought back to mind that running really when all stripped away, is a dialogue with our self, a conversation of inventory and output and bartering or being exposed on what we really have and what we really bring to the table each time we embark. 

yesterday was supposed to be Cherry Blossom 10 miler but here we are in week 4 of coronavirus USA. when i looked back at my training i saw that after a month of easy running and recovery from NYC marathon, i just finished 16 weeks of solid consistent running. that is a full cycles worth. In that period, i was able to race a 5k Jan 1st ( a PR, but not in peak shape),  and a solid 10miler PR in mid Feb. The plan after that was Elizabeth 8k in March (would have been gunning for a PR (post collegiate-which would have needed sub 2622, i think i could have done as i did that in Nov at turkey trot and had been sharpening up the speed.)) And then another attempt at a lowered 10 miler PR at a bucket list largest race of 20k people in DC on a nice quicker course. I would have liked to have think i could have done what i wanted to do (PR again), but one thing i did get that i didn't expect was a Half Marathon PR on a solo training run (last week---1:22:10), one which i didn't consider going after until the last mile, just was feeling good wearing my race shoes. That was a nice 'Cherry' to end the "season"....also, along the way we have all started going after Strava crowns. Have added a good bit of those, although maybe they are taking away some structure but all is fine anyway, i have now ended my cycle and can rest knowing i put in a full load, and need this easy weeks before the next build up which hopefully includes races in the fall baring no more Covid delays.