I've been pretty arrogant. Maybe not outwardly, but in my own mind, I've been of the mindset that a marathon is a pretty easy run. Moreover, I've been of the mindset that qualifying for Boston has become easy. When I ran at Boston, I went with no goal. But I came away with another qualifying time for 2010, which I'd already done three times over in 2009.
Suddenly, in the past few weeks, I've been shown (by my own body) that training matters!! I've seen some diminution in my performances over the past few months and my endurance has abated lately as well. I'm frustrated by this. I have never really had to work at my run speed before.
I realize that bodybuilding like a maniac for the past six months has given me strength and power, but I also realize that I am an endurance athlete, not a powerlifter or bodybuilder...and that power is replacing my endurance...so this is not acceptable. My goals are performance-oriented, not aesthetic. So, as a result of this realization, I've quit bodybuilding altogether. My strength workouts will involve CrossFit/intervals/Olympic lifting only. No more big puffy muscles. Just strong, dense, and tight. Size does matter...or the lack of it in this case. Big = slow...for me. I need to be small, light, and fast.
On my long run last weekend, which was supposed to be 15 miles but only wound up being 9 because of Achilles pain, I realized that I cannot just "wing it" anymore. I'm 35 now. My feeling is that, this year, my body has really turned on the reality check for my brain. My cavalier attitude towards my running is becoming guarded...vigilant. I don't feel that it's easy to just go run a marathon with no training anymore. I know that I can still finish a marathon at any time (for now) by just doing it. But doing WELL...that's another question now. It used to be no problem. I could just run forever. I hardly trained for the Umstead 100 and blew away my expectations and goals. But now, I feel as though without careful, diligent, purposeful, and most importantly, focused training, I will not see 2009's successes in 2010.
I am not used to feeling this way. I am discouraged by the fact that I now have to put REAL effort into my running career. I have VERY high hopes for Ironman Coeur d'Alene in 2010, but I will not reap the benefits of my fitness if I don't train correctly. The same goes for any of my running races this coming season. I was in the shower the other day, and I don't know why I thought of it just then, but I became nervous about trying to win the Bartram Forest Ultra. Last year, I was almost arrogant about my chances. I knew upon getting there that I'd leave with a first place overall. This year, I'm a little nervous that I'm gonna bonk or run out of steam.
I know I'm getting way ahead of myself. These races are all over a month away and I'm already getting faster. But I just need to stay aware that it takes work, and I'm not just building and retaining this fitness with no effort. Every year it will take more and more effort for me to stay competitive. I cannot simply outlive my competition, I need to outDO them as well.
Marine Corps Marathon will be a test of how fast I can get from injured to qualified. I'd like to be able to run a Boston-qualifying time at every marathon I race this season. For me this year, that's 3:15:59 or better.
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