Week 1 Results..

Oh, I so quickly forget the dedication it takes to get all the runs in. Week 1 goal was 25 miles. Just a measly 25 miles, but I need to appreaciate the fact I am doing this only after 3.5 months after ACL recon...so 25 is impressive. The thing is it requires me to run 6 days...including days over the memorial day weekend. The problem is that I needed to get the yard ready for a holiday get together at our house....which included finishing our back patio. 'Finishing' required laying the last 3,500 lbs of patio stone. Very hard work, to say the least;probably something I shouldn't be doing...but that is me pushing the limits. Spent Friday and Saturday doing that. Too tired to run on Friday and only got half the miles I needed to on Saturday. End result: 2.3 miles short of my goal. Lesson learned: no more slacking and better dedication and scheduling.

Monday - 3.6 miles / 8:03 pace
Tuesday - 3.6 miles / 8:20 pace
Wed - 5 miles / 8:08 pace
Thursday - 4.5 miles / 9:49 pace
Friday - Off. 6 hrs Cross-training in preparing yard for the laying of patio stone.
Sat - 3 miles / 8:46 pace. After 8 hrs of cross-training (laying 3,500 lbs of patio stone)
Sunday - 3 miles / 9:15 pace.

Week 1 total - 22.7 miles

So week 2 didn't start off the best when I skipped the 4 mile Monday run. But I felt better when today I ran the planned 6 miles.

Mon - Off
Tues - 6 miles / 8:15 pace. Last 2 miles where 7:35 and 7:34 respectively.

Calf is very tight after this run. Seems the stress of a faster pace is too much for the calf at this time. But it is good to see I have the ability to get in a faster pace. I need to focus on getting in the miles, and not paying attention to the pace. The speed/confidence will come...I just need to keep telling myself that.

Off to dream land...

The Master Plan

So I came up with my first draft of this years Chicago Plan. I am truly insane I think. I mean I can't run yet (with looking like a complete weirdo) and I have a plan that totals 1200 miles between now and 10/7 (Chicago marathon). Crazy.

My overall plan is this:

• Begin a Base Phase (slow miles) on 5/21 (less than 3 weeks away) Get up to 40 miles/week
• Begin Endurance/Stamina Phase (still slow) on 6/11
• Begin Marathon Phase 1 on 7/9 (exactly 5 months after surgery) Start to incorporate lactate threshold runs.
• Begin Marathon Phase 2 on 8/6 (6 months after surgery). Pick up the pace phase.
• Begin Marathon Phase 3 on 9/3. Long miles and hard runs.
• Begin Taper on 9/17
  

Peak Mileage during Phase 3 will be 86 miles/week. To do this I need to focus on strenght, flexibility and staying injury free while I rack up the miles. Typically any weight training I do does not involve my legs. This marathon program will until the start of Phase 2.

Could it be my endurance is not that far off? That would be nice. I guess I will findout soon enough...in the mean time, I will give it my all until then.

"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift!"

Week 1 Progress...

So week 1 of 20 has started off well. I was lucky to be able to start running again while on vacation. Post-op rehab and running stinks. But I have to do it. Running will be slow for a while...but if I stay focused and on track; slow will progess to moderate, moderate to fast and in a few weeks I will have a solid base to start the maraton program / goal pace training.

Goal Mileage: 25 miles. All slow and controlled.

So far I am right on track.
Monday - 3.6 miles / 8:03 pace
Tuesday - 3.6 miles / 8:20 pace
Wed - 5 miles / 8:08 pace
Thursday - 4.5 miles / 9:49 pace

The only concern at the moment is I get calf pain in the right leg (injured knee). Is it from the DVT? Or is it calf strain from the lack of strenght? Monday - Wednesday I could hardly walk for a couple hours after the run. So needless to say I have been watching it closely...in a worried way. But, Today's (Thursday) run felt much better. So I will continue forward as planned. I really felt I could have gone another 2-3 miles today.

I am getting excited. I think I can do this. Goal is stll - Chicago in sub 2:50.

Reflecting on the past year...

So as I begin the next cycle of training to prepare for another run @ Chicago, I wanted to reflect on the past year. I accomplished a lot, even though there was a lot changes. One, I trained hard while taking a Grad. School class. Two I pushed forward with my job while it was really advancing my goals/career. Three, I got married in September. Four, I ran a PR in Chicago last year (2:57) which I was estatic about. Five, I switched jobs in December. Six, I have been making some major enhancements to my house. But the thing I have a hard time adjusting to the most was tearing my right knee's ACL, the surgery that followed on Feb. 9th, and then the DVT blood clot I got post-op. As part of my Chicago Marathon plan was to get back to Boston and redeem myself for a poor performance in 2004. The knee reconstruction obviously held me back...but in many ways it was a blessing. The night I tore my ACL, I remember going down on the turf and immediately began to pity myself. Why me? Why now? Why...why...why. I knew at the very moment what I had did, for I have been through this before with my other knee. But the next day my faith pervailed. I let my worries go, and I pushed the unto God...for I knew He has a plan. I wasn't that worried about surgery and I knew if I could rehab well, I could be back to my old self in no time. 4 days after surgery, I couldn't understand why my calf hurt so bad. Afterall, the operation was on my knee. Thinking about it, I said...'This sounds like a blot clot.' So I called my doctor, and they suggested I get an ultrasound done to be safe. Good thing...it was a blot clot. DVT can kill. This was a scary moment and the next few days were concerning. But I did not faulter. I quickly realized...again...this was all in His plan. For the first couple of weeks, I had to give myself a shot twice a day. Ugghh, I hate needles. But it was funny for as I was mostly lethargic since the ACL tear and because it was winter, I was putting on the pounds I lost from all the training. This helped when I had to give myself my shots, for a had a gut that could handle all the injections. This is funny to me, for I realized His plan was for me to gain weight for this very reason. At least that is how I am looking at it.

I have since migrated from the shots to a coumadin pill (blood thinner) that I take daily. The problem is I have to go to the lab frequently to get blood work done to monitor the blot clotting levels. Ugghh. So now it is 3 1/2 months since surgery. I have been attacking therapy as aggressive as I can. I have been given clearance to begin running again (albeit slow) and I hope to be off the Coumadin soon. So I have developed a training plan that starts May 21st that will get me to Chicago in the best shape of my life, and ready to run a sub 2:50. That's right. All this only after 8 months since surgery. When this happens, I will have really surprised myself. So I have a new found outlook on opportunites. I truly believe we should never take things for granted and give everything worth doing your best effort. You just never know if the opportunity will be around 'next time'.

So here I go again...can I do this?