Saturday, September 12, 2009

This has been a tough training season. After my last post, I picked up a very unusual virus that took 4 weeks to get over. That put a big strain on training. I couldn't put together a decent run for almost 6 weeks. I got off schedule.

Technically, I'm training with a buddy, but he and I have not actually run together yet. It took several weeks for me to get back on schedule with mileage. Then, he suffered an injury. Fortunately, we're both back on the road and I'm on schedule.

This week's run is 17 miles. It's also my favorite week in training. It aligns with the Nascar race coming to town. My route took me down to the track to look at the craziness. New York is widely known as the city that never sleeps...but when the race is in town, RIR rivals NYC. At 6:45 this morning, people were out and about, listening to music, drinking beer and walking to McDonalds for breakfast (and looking at the wierd runner guy). Plenty of colorful characters and colorful clothes, coloful flags and colorful language. I'm a Nascar fan for sure. The Nascar crowd, however....eh.

Only 9 weeks (and 230 more training miles) before the marathon. Everything is firing correctly.

Today, Rich finished 15. His longest run ever. The man who 3 days ago said he was one and done with marathons hinted he might do it again next year.

On a medical note, 22 days from now will be the anniversary of the "cardiac event". Not a day goes by that I don't think about how much worse it could have been. I think about Jim Fixx and Ryan Shay..both tremendous runners who passed away during runs from cardiac issues; Fixx at age 52 during a run in Vermont in 1984; Shay at age 28 during the U.S. Olympic Trials in NYC in 2007. I try not to endulge in thoughts about what could happen. But it still weighs heavy on my mind from time to time. Old advice that still rings true...take it one day, one run, one step at a time. Worry only about which we can control. Have fun. Live well.

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