9 Weeks Out: Total BADASSERY!!!

 Weeks Out: Total BADASSERY! 

Wow! So, here we are . 9 weeks out. Were into single digits on weeks remaining. This week was 9 weeks out. It was also the back end of a build. I expected this to be a bit more challenging this week. What I NEVER saw coming was what I would be able to accomplish this week. 

My only Gym day was Monday. It was a workout that I have done time an time again, IT Band Strength. The thing is, sure I have done this time and time again, but I can't state how important this workout really is. If your I.T. Bands get inflamed, your as cooked as a goose. No Bueno. So, this workout is more of an Injury Prevention type deal. I really enjoy it. Sure, it does burn, but in a good way. Building those muscles, getting stronger. 

Tuesday was a little 4 mile run in a slow conversational pace. I got a lil wild, and decided, why not. I took off from over near work, and there had been this trail I had wanted to follow and check out. Seemed like a good time, so i just went for it. It was nothing more than a nature trail, but it was really serene and peaceful and I gotta say I totally enjoyed it. 

Wednesday,  I had some personal things I had to take care of. But , I still had a short run that was my trail run. Just a chance to clear my head a bit. Kept it low key and laid back. Finally got to follow the trail all the way out, and it led to a wetlands area. Very Surenen and peaceful. 

Thursday, I had another 4 miler . Same thing as Tuesday. Just slow steady conversational running. Had a decent day out. Was starting to get tired from the last 2 weeks and a lack of sleep Wednesday but I got it done. 

Friday, I was off. Saturday I had a Half-Marathon as a training run. I was meeting up with friends close to where I work. They were going for 20 , I was headed out for 13.1 . I had talked with coach. This was a race situation. Treat like an impromptu race. Same gear except for shorts since i needed pockets to house everything. Otherwise, go for it. Leave it all out there on the line. 

Saturday , Let me talk you through this. I was up at 4 am to eat and get dressed for final prep. 5 am I left out to meet up with my pals. We were off by 6. I could tell I had decently fresh legs even for this late in a build. I had 1 goal. Go throw a 2:30 down. I set my watch for a 11:26 pace. That would get me there. It was only like 64 out so it felt fantastic. The first 5k went well. It was cool so I was crusing and following a map. My buddies had planned this out for me. I took the first mile and a half out the opposite way just to get a lil hill work in. Then came back and started the same route they had for me. It was on. I was crusing. I had lost a lil bit of time around mile 6 . I was like 30 seconds off my pace. I was OK. I was trying to stay steady and not use all my energy. It was so cool I didn't even think about water. Until mile 8. I started to cramp. Badly. I looked and saw how much fluid I still had. DUMMY. DRINK. But once you get behind your kinda in trouble. I wanted to give up and take EASY street. NO! I wasn't going to do that. I got a huge splash of water, shed my shirt, and got with it. Mile 8.5 was 90 min in and I needed to take on my GEL! This was my slowest mile at 13 flat. Sad thing was, I was bleeding time around this point. It got to 6 and 7 min slower. I knew I had to go to keep the losses at a min. So, I took off again. I kept a close eye on time. I wasn't letting this get away. I kept my legs rolling. Gritting and bearing it. Yelling as I needed too. Mile 12, as I was coming back, my buddies caught me and gave me a HUGE word of Encouragement. Huge Boost like you wouldn't believe!!

I managed to finish in 2:40:12 . That is a 5 min and 15 second PR from my best half that came last year in Oak Ridge. Just blown away.  

Let me put this in perspective for you. 2 short years ago, I struggled through my first half. It took me 3 hours + . I walked out the door after 2 hard weeks of training and dropped a PR down . I am now at the point where I really don't have to think about a half. Just go out and do it. To quote my coach, that is siimply BADASS! I am still not sure if it has sunk in yet. Just hard to get the head around. 

So, were to recovery week. I can honestly say, this is one I am so ready for more than any other. The first aggressive build left me a bit tired, but I can focus on rest this week and self care and be ready for the 2nd cycle. I know I have 2 aggressive builds left and they BOTH will feature a 20 miler to get ready for that big 26.2 distance. There is also a SURPRISE that awaits me to close out build. I already know what it is, but I choose to withhold that information maybe till the specified date. HAHAHAH! Something to look forward too! HAHA! 

So, that is it for this week. A week of BADASSERY! 

Until next week- 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John 

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