Running With Jack

I arrived home from New York last Wednesday and have been stricken with a cold ever since. Friday I was bed-ridden with fever, but have slowly improved since then. I did get in an easy 9K/5.5M run on Sunday afternoon, but the effort left my head pounding. Today is my first day back to work and I anticipate a mountain of work upon my arrival – I hope I can shake this cold soon enough.

My race season is over for this year, other than a 10K or two that I may do just for fun. I began the year without any specific goals in mind, other than to try to improve my marathon and 50-mile personal records. I ended up improving my marathon time by over 15 minutes and my 50-mile race time by over 55 minutes.

Mid-way through the race season I decided to try to see how many months in a row I could run a marathon (or further), running 5 in 5 months before a knee injury caused me to miss a marathon. I went on to run a sixth marathon a month later, despite missing several key long runs.

I also ignored all the warning signs that my body was communicating to me and decided to try a second 50-mile race this month. I was hoping that my determination and experience would make up for a lack of training and I would at least cross the finish line under the 12-hour cut-off. But alas it was not to be and I threw in the towel at mile 42.5 when it was clear that I would not make it in the allowed time. Do I regret not gutting it out and finishing anyway? You bet!

So as I seek to rid myself of my cold, I am at least forcing myself to rest and finally let the body start to mend. The multiple marathons that I have ran since March definitely took a toll on my body, I have been feeling it for a couple months.

My short term plans include a reduction of mileage for at least a month and an increase in cross-training – primarily swimming and some weight training. Around the beginning of December I will start working on next year’s base in anticipation of a new year of racing. I have lots of ideas, but specific events will depend on how soon my wife finds work, my own job and the continuing health of my parents.