Breaking the Wall

Today is a great day.

You might be wondering how that can be possible, seeing as I woke up at 0500 with a mild case of food poisoning after watching the Sox please drunken fans everywhere, thus denying me of any sleep.

Well, I'll tell you.

For the last year, I have been running on a plateau. I've peaked in terms of speed.

The army requires I run two miles in 15:54 or less. For the last year, I've hit 13:40-13:49.

Never faster.

Today, all that changed.

I woke up and felt as though someone had placed a sizeable chunk of uranium in my gut. It hurt to bend over and tie my shoes.

Still, I had to be at first formation, lest terrible things happen to me.

My push-ups and sit-ups suffered from the intestinal disorder, and for the first time in a year I did not hit the maximum number of push-ups (75 in two minutes) settling for an unimpressive 73.

When it came time to run, I was almost ready to quit. I wanted to puke, my stomach hurt so bad.

But I marched onto the track, stretched my legs, and prepared for my worst run in years.

And then the whistle sounded and I took off.

I mean, I took OFF.

I hit my stride and didn't feel any pain. Sure, the dry air in the building gave me a severe cough afterward, but for the moment I was flying.

One mile in and I felt OK, hitting a 6:40. Usually, this is where I would hit my wall and slow down.

But today, I brought a friggin' hammer.

I busted the second mile in 6:55, my first sub-7 for a second mile.

Overall time: 13:35, a personal best.

Not only that, it made up for my lackluster push-up score, so I remain a 290/300. If I can cut seconds from my run, this means the training is working.

This means 13:00 is well within reach.

This means that, come December, I will hit that two-mile run like no one's business and max the PT test.

Oh, and along the way I'll run 26.2 miles.

As I said, today is a good day.

Run fasterst, ya'll.

On the Road Again

It's so good to be running again.

After a few weeks of hitting small sprints and six milers, I finally got in a nice long run.

This Saturday, one the behest of the Army, I ran to Bunker Hill, a distance of about 11-12 miles.

I led the pack of 14 people, keeping an easy pace of 8:50 the whole time.

What made it all worth while was watching the sun come up over the Charles River while jogging my ninth mile and realizing how much I missed that feeling.

The endorphines alone rocked my world.

I would have gone on longer, but my body was recovering from some serious illness and needed rest.

But now I have motivation back. I remembered that great feeling I got from running, and the great fear of the marathon that looms over me.

Today, more than ever, I feel like I will make this marathon with a solid time.

For now, I'm going to heal up and get ready for a PT test in the morning.

Keep up your own programs, and remember...

Run fasterest.

In Limbo

Hey all.

I know it's been some time, and I know you're all very curious as to what has happened to me.

Well, not too much.

I've kept up with my running as best I can, given the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the last fwe weeks.

I met with the Colonel of my Battalion, but he has so far made no decision regarding my position.

This irks me.

I'm still active with ROTC and the National Guard, which means my time is always in flux, but I have been running moderate disatnces for the past few weeks and feel pretty good. My only complaint is that I have not been able to get in a good long run in some time.

I plan to hit at least five long runs before the marathon, with one 20 mile run. This will prepare me as best I can for the 26.2 that lay ahead.

One could say I have not been adhering to the plan as I set out originally, but I will get back on track. There are still weeks before the marathon, and I have every intention of hitting Vegas like its never seen before.

I want to thank all of you for the encouragement over the trying weeks. Your words of inspiration have made the stress a little less grating.

Thank you all, and remember:

Run fasterest.