27 Weeks Out :

That's Right... Last week was 27 weeks out till I take to the streets of Washington D.C. for the Marine Corps Marathon. Last week was pretty low key and uneventful as I was preparing for a Full weekend of racing. I did have a couple of taper runs, but even then they were low intensity and short.  

The goal for the weekend was NOT to go all out at all. Stay controlled, stay healthy, and understand this is a step in my journey. 

The week went well. Both runs I felt extremely strong. I stayed optimistic, but it was constantly reinforced stay within yourself, behave, and just have fun. 

So, lets review this weekend: 

  Saturday: Dogwood Classic 5k

Saturday was the Track Clubs Dogwood Classic. It's an event I try to run as it is through Seqoyah Hills. I was very focused Saturday. My buddie, Daniel, who is in Drill Sargent school, was so kind enough to join me. 

As soon as we left, I knew I felt strong. The first mile was solid. I let Daniel fly where I could run my race and let him run his. He told me he would be back at the end to pace me in. I honestly didn't know whether we would see each other again or not. I was in my zone. I was determined to stay controlled . I did just that. I finished in 34:33. Daniel actually did find me and paced me the last half mile. I never pushed at all, even though I knew it was there , until the end. When you catch site of a finish line, its an incredible boost. I cut loose momentarily and knew i had it.

I felt REALLY strong. I knew the bigger distance was on Sunday. So, I headed home, took an ICE BATH , and recovered the rest of the night. 

Saturday night, I didn't sleep well, as normal before a big race. I never do. My mind wouldn't shutup either. It was one of those deals. 

Sunday: Farragut Race 13.1

Sunday was a struggle. I woke up with a knot in my stomach. I had to force down my breakfast even though I didn't want to eat. I knew better from Knoxville when I didn't eat enough. My stomach really never settled down till we got going. 

I put in a solid first mile as I wanted revenge on the start. Last Thanksgiving, I ran my last race over the roads we started on. It was a 10k. I  had a 5 min cushion on a PR and lost it when my stomach turned over. I hadn't forgotten that and I wanted to show the roads who was daddy. So , I put in a solid, but controlled first mile. 

After the first mile , HEAT STRUCK! It got so hot so fast. I immediatley came outta my shirt and relaxed and got off the throttle. The next few miles were just standard getting going. 

Mile 7 the going got tough. I do better as a runner when I know where I am . By this point we had been all over the place and I had no clue where in town I was. Then I started feeling woozy. Light headed. The heat was on. I was out of water, and only had my 45 , 90 min, and extreme emergency fuel on board. I was doubling up at every water stop with gatorade and water. I stopped for a momentairy pit stop around mile 7.5 . Thats when I knew it was gonna be a fight the rest of the way home. 

Mile 8, I was sure I was dying. It was so hot, I was sweating profusilly and was battling cramps. I had stayed on course for my nutrition at the 45 and 90 min mark, but I was still sucking air. It was at this point I let my head get to me. I was ready to quit. Done, call it. But then I started to realize, I have NEVER quit. I would be letting myself down, my teammates over at KRendurance down, everyone down.I had sent a text to coach saying I was struggling mightly but I was gonna finish come hell or high water. Period. This dog dosen't quit. 

I finished, at 3:02:31 officially Sunday. The last 7 miles I stayed in Low zone 2 and even that hurt. There were some Zone 1 miles, but I never quit. 

I got home Sunday, took my foam roller, and spent an hour on a full body roll out. Then I jumped into my favorite post race activity, ICE BATH!!!

I then cooked up some food and passed out. 

Overall, the weekend went according to plan. Sure I was pretty upset with myself after Sundays race, but as I cooled off and reflected, I did what was needed. I stayed healthy, I remained in control, never officially pushing hard at all, and I completed all 16.5 miles this weekend. Yes, I was upset with myself for trying to quit, but I didn't . I stayed in there and finished. There's a lot to be learned from this weekend. I am going to get stronger, better, and continue to improve. That's a GUARANTEE! 

This weekend is why I held back so much this week. When I first signed with my coach, I told her one of my major goals was this weekend. It's a 5k at home. Literally the same 3 mile loop I run ALLLL the time. The last 2 times I have ran, I have placed 3rd and 2nd in my Age Group. I told her, I really wanted to try to win my A.G. this year. She told me ok, but understand, you have to cool it the weekend before. So, that's how I went. Cool. The training this week will still be some short runs, and a shakeout, but its light and geared towards Saturday. At the gun Saturday, All bets are off. Its katy bar the door, Do it or die! Puke or you ain't trying Hard. I intend to do what I setout to do and to try to win the AG. I'll have to dig so hard. So so hard. Its going to be a great checkpoint for me to see just how strong I am. Im excited as I know the roads. I know every crevice of them. I can and will give my all. Everything gets left out there this Saturday. I am going after it!!!! 

So, that is about it. That's the review of this week. 

Until next week- 

John 

IRC #2148