Running For Boston

How lucky am I anyway? My family puts up with my running schedule. I have wonderful running friends who support and inspire me with their own active lives. I have a best friend who can kick my ass on the road every day but instead stays back with me, setting the pace and helping me see the road ahead. And a coach, whom I have never met, who has for years never failed to send an email each Sunday night with his plan for me for the following week.

With all this help, all I have to do is... run.

My coach... I never take John's help for granted. The most meaningful thing I can give him in return for all his caring, dedication and rigor is running his plan with...well...caring, dedication and rigor. If he's going to take the time, so am I and with heart felt thanks.

So it was late last July when I sent him a quick note from my phone asking if he would help me get ready for Boston. I knew Patriots Day was still more than 8 months away but I just had to know if I was coaching myself or if John would want to make the huge sacrifice and start helping me again. If he said yes, I expected it would be sometime after the calendar clicked over to 2011. That would give us 3 1/2 months of training.

John did say yes and that was a huge relief. But what shocked me was that he wanted to get started not next year but right away! By the first of September we were in full training mode with weekly plans. John wanted me to sign up for a couple fall races, a 10K and a Half, and made two big changes to my running since qualifying for Boston the previous December--slow down but run more miles each week.

A magic number emerged, a heart rate of 140 beats per minute. Early on most runs needed to be run under this rate even if it meant walking. By the end of the month I was up from 20 miles a week to 25, and then to 35 miles and eventally up into the 40's in November. My average HR was 20 BPM slower than a typical run in the Spring and Summer.

The new year has brought with it an increase in quality runs, meaning a mix of tempo, speed, strength and long distance. The challenge of these workouts comes at me from two different directions. Not only do I have to commit to meeting the intent of the work but I also have to do it in the cold, wet and dark of winter.

Some of the toughest barriers in these workouts have been seeing my watch in the black of night while it poured rain. My Garmin has been irreplaceable during this training cycle but there are times when it gets so wet when it's raining that it cycles through its different screens every time a rain drop hits it or the bezel no longer responds at all. To avoid it going into this lock up condition I'll lock the bezel before it starts wigging out. But that limits it's function and doesn't allow me to use the light when I need it most.

The road to Boston. By the time I get there I'll be lean and mean and ready to run. Well, with a little luck.