Back With The Team

Old Barn Along The Highline

Time To Get Serious

I’m back training with the team after a few weeks away. The morning run today was the longest yet of my training runs and some of the soreness that resulted from my morning workout persists as I type. We gathered at the First Church of The Nazarene which has a generous parking lot and access to the Highline Canal Trail. The trail, winding for miles through Denver, is no secret to the running community as evidenced by the many early-risers  on the trail today. Other athletes biked and walked the trail. There was even a guy wearing all terrain roller skates and ski poles getting ready for the ski season this winter. Coaches Rick and Greg had a specific plan for me today. I would go for fifteen miles starting out about a minute slower than my marathon pace and then every 25 minutes I’d pick up the pace to test my abilities on tired legs. The first couple of miles were easy and I ran along with another teammate, Lauren, who also has ambitions to qualify for Boston. Rick pedaled his bike nearby to provide more details about the plan today. After a couple miles when the pace quickened, Rick stayed with me to help monitor my pace. I continued on the gravel trail, crossing over or under a road every few miles until I reached my turnaround point. My pace quickened again, but without a way to monitor my speed too well, I picked up the pace too much. I felt good for a while, but the excessive speed of the workout after my turnaround caught up with me late in the run and I struggled to meet my pacing goals. As I neared the finish I caught up with Cathie, one of our team managers that works at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She filled me in on the latest statistics-we have 90 runners that have made the final commitment to raise the money and race the miles that will help end blood cancer. When I reached the finish, I turned around to jog back out and meet Rick and Lauren as they finished. We talked about cadence, the rate of each stride. We’re going to try to speed up the turnover of my running stride which should mean I’ll have more efficient movement and ought to better reach my goals. The three of us spent some time conferring at the end of the run to plan a strategy for the next week. The race is in sight at this point so the training will continue to get  more intense and focused so that I’ll be healthy and ready to accomplish my racing goal.