Last Chance Workout

   

     We have all watched Jillian, Bob and Dolvet push their contestants through the last chance workout.  They act as though what they do that day will push their "number" up and over the top so they will be safe.  This is not the case since it is a culmination of their entire body of work that week.  The drama is what sells in that final workout.
 

     If you consistently workout whether it is with weights, running, crossfit or whatever flavor you are going after this week.  The “last workout” is usually your culmination event.  This is where you will show the improvement on last week.  Many athletes utilize their event as their guide to see how far they have advanced.  With this they use the last day prior to get their “last chance” in.  During this last ditch effort the kinks are worked out and marks are set in motion for their event.  

     I usually run 3-4 miles the day before a half-marathon.  During this session I make sure all parts are working correctly.  Are there any pains showing up?  Am I hitting the times I need during this small scale test?  It is like the final checklist to be successful during the event.  

     This week I will run in the Country Music Half-Marathon with my wife.  I am running for the Wounded Warrior Project with many other WWP Alumni.  Should be a fun weekend.  Will post the race wrap after.  

The Culmination

     Two Hundred and Seventy days seems like an incredibly long amount of time.  When injured and attempting to rehab for comeback in the sport you love.  Time flies.  When you are going 10 MPH for 180 of those days while in the mountains of Afghanistan, the rehab is even more compact.  

     Having a support system of friends and family made it more like an extreme test.  I started seriously hitting rehabilitation in January.  That was my best month in years for mileage running.  Work was not letting up, so I had to be creative in my training.  If I was going to be working all day into the night I would hit the gym at 5 in the morning and run, work on my core and then hit work ready.  Most days I was able to basically do two a day’s which were right after each other.  On others I would work out in the Am and PM.  

     As most will be able to attest, when you want to accomplish something really bad, stuff happens.  The month of February was horrible for training as I had some Upper Respiratory issues that would not go away.  I still trained but not like I wanted to.  

    Tune races are all part of a comeback as I see it.  On Feb 23^rd I ran in the love your heart 10K on Fort Campbell.  I ran with my wife and pushed her to her PR in the event.  I felt great that day.  Over the next couple weeks the miles started to add up but I could not increase my speed.  

     Now a year and some change ago another man got injured playing the game he loves.  Adrian Peterson was interesting to me when he played college ball and even more as a pro.  He did not let the fact that he tore his knee up stop him.  He has been called superhuman for his rehabilitation.  His team doctors all say he was the best patient.  So he went from having what would be a career ending injury just 10 years ago to winning the NFL rushing title (2097 yards) and the League MVP.  What was his motivation?  He is a top tier athlete and above all a strong willed man.  He pushed himself and came back hard. So could I (minus the high paid Doctors and staff)

     My inspiration heading into the Run the Bluegrass Half-Marathon on 30 March was proving to myself I can still go 13.1.  I had crazy dreams of a 1:45-1:50 time however; I knew my speed was not there yet.  On Feb 27^th my wife had to have her Gallbladder removed.   Three days later she wanted to get out and run.  Four years ago she would not have thought about running since she hated it so much.  Now she is so into it she fears missing some training.  So now we had about a month for me to complete my comeback and her to put on a show of strength.  The week prior to the Bluegrass my Unit had a 12 mile road march in full combat gear.  I did that on the 20^th then ran the USO 10 Mile race with my wife on the 23^rd.  She rocked it again.  We now had a week left till Bluegrass.  

  

     Of course like every busy family we packed the week with activities.  On Monday the Wounded Warrior Project hosted us at the Nashville Predators game.  On Tuesday and Wednesday I was on missions at Ft Campbell and my brother arrived from New Jersey.  Thursday was our travel day to Lexington.  It was a scenic trip with lots of Horses and farms driven through.  We hit the expo first.   The race became a local event instead of a Rock and Roll event.  This of course made the expo a more quaint event.  In other words there were not thousands of people milling around with vendors hawking their fare at you.  Even though it was not big they had a very big name there to sign books and speak.  Mr. Hal Higdon Himself was there.  It was very impressive to meet this man.  I have used his training plans for a few years now and was able to thank him.   

     We then ate at Shakespeare’s restaurant in downtown Lexington.  The place was very artsy on the inside.  The food from appetizer through the main course was outstanding.  If you stay in Downtown I recommend eating here.  

    We of course toured the local area for Friday and then had a bad dinner experience on Friday night.  We ate at a sub-par over rated restaurant (Suttons in Lexington) and wound up paying for it, in more ways than one.  They of course were rated high by the hotel and its guide.  Do not recommend this one.  

     Race morning was foggy and cool.  We drove the five miles to the start line from downtown Lexington.  Parking was in a grass lot on the grounds of Keeneland.  We walked up the hill to the registration building and warmed up in there.  Once the 10 to go call was made we headed to the corals.  Since when I signed up for this I was still on crutches I put a 2:30 time.  Of course as athletes we know that most runners do not put the right time on their registrations anyway.  Usually this is for the thought if they start in a fast coral they will not be in traffic.  As we ushered up to the start line I said farewell to my wife, pressed start on my Garmin and took off.  The course was listed as Beautiful with rolling hills.   Well the hills were there but not rolling.  The worst hill was after mile 9.  It was the biggest one with switchbacks in it.  This slowed me down a bunch.  The final three miles were painful with the knee throbbing.    I knew I came this far I was going to finish.  My dreams of a fast time or PR were out the window.  As I turned to the finish I knew I was right near 2 hours.  I ducked my head got my medal and went through the finishing shoot.  I grabbed chocolate milk, a shot glass of M&Ms and a banana.  Found my daughter and handed my bib and then ran to find my wife.  I ran back until I found her and ran with her in.  She finished in under 2:30 on a very tough course.  She did awesome.  

March Madness Band at the 13 Mile mark

    We then went to a local distillery since we were in Bourbon country and had a tour.  The Woodford reserve distillery was very interesting.  Yes we tasted it and it was smooth.  They also served some Bourbon Balls very good and addictive.  We then linked up with friends for dinner at the third on our list of restaurants DeShas.  It too was highly rated.  I will have to say the food was not horrible but it was pricey.  Service was hit and miss.  If you are in a bind eat there. 

     The comeback is complete, but the journey will continue.  Thanks to all those who stood with me along the way, You Rock!!!!

Progress

How do we define progress?

 Is it by finishing a run and having something left in the tank? 

Is it by winning a race or hitting that elusive PR?

I used to define my progress by both of them.  If I ran 12 miles in training and was able to talk most of the way, man that was progress.  When I place in my Age Group or hit a new PR at any distance the excitement was always there.  Now I still get excitement out of both of those I just define progress differently. 

Currently I am coaching a Team of 10 to qualify for the Army 10 Miler team representing Ft Campbell.  They are a mixture of raw talent and running studs.  The raw talent can and will run their hearts out simply because they can.  The studs have not been tested at speed past two miles but have the confidence to succeed.  My job with this group is not that hard.  I know each of them will fight to make this team and be in the top 5 come May 2^nd.  I have no doubts in their abilities to make it the distance.  To define their progress will be to get them to make improvements over their start times and see how close they can get to the 65 minute qualifying time.   (Yes some Soldiers are very fast)

My team ranges in age from 18 – 42.  I have short members and some around 6 feet.  The ones who are middle of the pack are the ones that I look to pull the biggest gains and fastest times.    Is it because they have experience?  No, not at all, it is usually these guys who want to push themselves harder to prove they are better than the rest around them.  

Yesterday I ran with my favorite training partner, my wife.  She has been there for me and the family throughout my career so dedicating the time to help her through a race is no problem.  She is scheduled for surgery in a few days and full of the stress that comes with that.  The race started and the corral to leave was tiny.  People were pushing into each other before heading down the hill.  I ran a bit in front of her just to keep her moving.  By the end she PRd in a 10K without knowing she was doing it.  We crossed the finish, which was on a pretty good incline at 1 hour and 49 seconds.  I slowed and let her run in front of me through the shoot.  I did not tell her the time for a while until she cooled off a little bit.  The smile on her face, when I told her, defined progress for me.  She was able to PR without trying.  

I am getting closer to my first Half-Marathon since being injured and progress for that day will be defined in completion along with pushing myself through to new heights of fitness along the way.  

Is progress the clock?  Running New Distances?  Pushing others to new heights?

In my humble opinion they all sort of equal progress however, each goal we make for ourselves ultimately defines the progress we are looking for.  

Now as you go out and run or whatever endeavor you delve into, what defines your progress? 

A year flies by

     For the past year I have been going 100MPH. In December 2011 I was informed of an upcoming mission I was being considered for.   Being selected to be part of a new strategy in Afghanistan encompassed the majority of my time.  This was the best training I ever received prior to deploying.  This also meant being away from home for long hours while there and of course completely gone for over 9 of the 12 months. 

Family is number 1, but when you are a Soldier you have to train and be away a lot.  This does not mean you forget them.  You have to be creative when making plans during the free time you will have.  I think we made the most of our free or down days.  

 Trying to keep pace with my running during this was a challenge.  This was the least of my worries.  I knew I would be able to work out during my journey but of course did not make any concrete plans.  They would not have mattered since as I got my feet on the ground in Afghanistan I was getting a medevac ride to remove shrapnel from my knee.  A solid 6 weeks of zero training followed.  This was horrible for me. 

Now as I am finishing the trip portion of this year I am focusing on my running a lot more and making plans for races in the future.  I am only signed up for one at the present time but will of course sign up for at least two more majors and many local events throughout the year ahead.  

I already have plans for a family vacation in the Smokies after Christmas.  This will be a good outing for us all.  Now I have to establish my training regimen to get back into peak fitness so I can endure all challenges in front of me.  

My biggest training challenge is proper nutrition.   As my blog title states I am not your everyday runner.  I find myself looking around on race day and thinking wow how do I fit here.  I am sure the people to my right and left are looking around and see me and think wow where did he get dressed? Or does he know what runners wear?  My wife calls me the anti-runner runner.  I am not into the tank tops and short shorts of running,  but have learned to use some of the tools like bottles and gels.  I tried a Fuel Belt for my Marathon and it was a bad experience, might never wear one again.  When you see me I am most likely wearing gym shorts and a T shirt running.   However, I do jump head into good footwear.  I am trying the Brooks PureConnect shoes now and it is a learning curve for me.  

Back to nutrition:  When I first started running 5Ks and 10Ks I would eat an entire frozen pizza the night before to “fuel” and would have no problems. Then when I upped the mileage I realized it was a horrible idea.  I realized it was bad but I still did not make any significant adjustments.  The one time I attended a pre-race pasta dinner turned into a disaster for me.  I was in pretty good condition and felt good going into the weekend.  The drive to the race near Memphis was uneventful.  The Expo was good and I found a good pair of post race shoes.  The dinner would be my first ever and most likely my last.  We got up and went to the starting area.  The air was thick and it was hazy , hot and humid.  I was not worried about the heat since I just came from the high desert in Afghanistan.  When the starters gun went off the heat index was 105.  By mile 3 I was losing my dinner and had to let it go.  I slowed for about a mile and a half before regrouping.  This was the first time this had happened to me during a race and I am sure it will not be my last, just my last pre-race past meal.  Yes I know it was not all on the meal, the heat had something to do with it as well, the meal was the only thing different in my race prep so it takes the fall.  

I have been reading about the proper amount of Carbs and Protein an endurance athlete should take in up to 72 hours pre-race.  I also know in my line of work this is where I fall short because of the training on my work side.  I have to use the carbs I should be storing and the proteins are getting utilized as well.  This year I am going to make it so I can functionally do both be an endurance athlete while being a professional Soldier.  This will include a better diet not just for me but for the entire family.  

While I was away at training getting ready to deploy my daughter decided to become a vegan.  I was angry with her, but in the end supported her as long as she understood she needed a proper balance for her to be functional on the Soccer field.  She has stuck with it for 10 months now and is doing well.  I am planning on incorporating some of her dishes in with mine to make my diet a much better one. 

It  could be overwhelming to a person new to running or endurance sports to try and learn how to eat right and budget it out to be able to afford it.  Being new you are trying to beat those mile markers in your head , now you have to watch all the nutrition guidelines.  It is rough but not impossible.   Here is a free tool on training peaks you can use:  http://home.trainingpeaks.com/products-web/trainingpeaks-athlete-edition.aspx

I will keep you posted on my success in becoming a well rounded athlete, let me know how you are doing.