One Year – and Counting

Been a while since I last posted; was away on vacation (a working one for me, in LA< while the family played). But on April 7 I hit a milestone that I've been working towards for, well, a year: the one year mark of my running streak, in which I have run a minimum of one mile per day. It's been quite the interesting endevour and it's certainly had its moments. Finding ten minutes a day to do something that's important to you is a bit easier said than done. I've had some very early morning and a couple of late nights. All in all, it's been pretty gratifying, in an obsessive/compulsive kind of way.

Shortly after I hit the year mark I hurt myself pretty good. A hamstring injury compounded itself via overuse/overcompensation and ended up manifesting in my back. It laid me out on my back – literally — for two days. I hobbled a mile both of these days – and I mean hobbled. Probably not my brightest move, all things considered. Anyway, it's nearly ten days later and it's probably at about 80 percent. Much better, but I can definitely feel it. I saw a physical therapist on Friday who I honestly believe is a miracle worker and he seems to have fixed me. This guy will merit a separate post when I have more time, but wow was I impressed with all that he was able to do in one hours time.

So, a long winded way of saying: I am back and the streak lives on.

Marin County 5k and Half Marathon

Another day at the races on Saturday: my sixth race of the year. I ran the half marathon while the Young Dude ran the 5k. There was good news and bad. Let’s start with the bad.

I think this was the worst race I’ve ran in years. Truly. It was a strange race from the standpoint that it was half road, half trails. As you’d imagine the road part was relatively flat while the trails were hilly. From the very first minute of the race I knew I was in for a tough day. I was just not feeling it at all’; in fact, I wasn’t feeling it all week. I have a nagging hamstring injury and that was definitely a limiter; it is really bugging me and it forced me to really dial it back when we hit the trails. But beyond that, my heart rate was all over thew place and I felt like I was on tilt. Not that I am a front of the pack guy by any means, but come mile seven or so I was moving absolutely backwards and there was nothing I could do about it. It was humbling, to say the least. I came in at 1:53 which has got to be among my worst half marathon times ever. I am hoping that I’m simply over trained, which could very well be the case. I haven’t had a day off in a year and combined with all the Crossfit, I am feeling it. Anyway, the plan is to take it easy for a few days and see where we’re at.

Let’s move on to the good news. The Young Dude won the 5k outright! I saw him waiting for me by the finish line and based on his smile, I knew it before he said a word. I thought he was going to do well – my guess was top 3-5 or so. I truly did not expect him to win and I couldn’t be more proud. In the process he set a PR by about 25 seconds or so – he ran a 17:49. He’s really on form right now and it’s fun to watch all his hard work pay off. The awards ceremony was great; the 

 says it all. And on top of it all, he won a really cool prize. As a dad and someone who loves running, I really couldn’t be more proud. He’s a good Kid who works very, very hard and it’s a nice to see him reap such a cool reward.

Lastly, to my good friend Hope, who frequents this blog. Hope, as I said in my email you are an awesome person and quite possibly, an even better assistant race director! That was one hell of a fun, well run race and you should be very proud. I know you put in a ton of work into this and it really showed. Well done to you guys. And ps – trail shoes were the right call! :

   

     

4:51!

The Young Jedi Warrior had a track meet yesterday, which I had to miss due to a business trip to LA. So of course he had to go out and have the best meet of his life. Argh – I hate when I miss things like this.

Anyway, the day started on a great note when he beat his mile PR by an astounding 8 seconds, coming in fourth place overall in 4:51. I thought he was capable of running that pace but didn’t think we’d see it until the end of the season. The last two weeks though, he seems to have broken through some invisible barrier. That is a very good time and makes me wonder what his cap could be this season. Should he be able to get into the 4:40’s – which is now well within striking distance – well, I’d say that would mark a successful season.

What was even more impressive though is that he came back less than two hours later and ran a 10:50 for the 3200 – and his first overall win on the track. Super impressive that he could come back after a mile PR and run pretty close to his best time in the 3200 too. That means both his recovery and fitness are high, which are obviously good signs. Ah, to be fifteen again and recover like that!

Anyway, I am very proud of him. Like his sister, he’s very passionate about what he does and he trains very hard. I tell both of them time and again that nothing in life is achieved without hard work. In track and swimming, there are no shortcuts. It’s nice to see them paying attention to this lesson and it’s even nicer to see their hard work rewarded.

If you happen to be reading this, great job, Z Man. I could not be prouder of you.