2014 was a year that I definitely wish I could have had back. I finished 2013 with new PRs in the 5k (16:37), half marathon (1:19) and marathon (2:47). My marathon progression was going very well, going from 2:54 in 2012 to 2:47 in 2013. I was optimistic that there was still a lot of room for improvement with the way training had gone leading up to my 2013 fall marathon. I thought I was much closer to 2:40-low shape and I attacked that race aggressively. I went out in 1:20:48 and faded hard. At the very least, more even pacing could have probably netted something in the 2:43-45 range. I was ready to hop into training again and work hard to set a PR at Boston, 2014. A hamstring injury sidelined me for the rest of 2013 and in the winter of 2014. I finally started to string some training together in January. Towards the end of the month I did a 10k tempo in 35:58 (5:47 pace). I felt at ease after hitting this workout with a few more months to get race ready for Boston. In February, however, my body had other plans for me. I was doing some 200m repeats on the indoor track at my college just to get my legs turning over after an easy run and during my third repeat, my vision started to get blurred. I stumbled down the homestretch of the indoor track and collapsed. The world was spinning all around me. I sat for 10 minutes until the dizziness subsided and called a couple of friends to help me get home. I had my blood pressure checked by the on campus EMTs and everything was fine. I took a day off from running and then the next day I could not make it more than a couple of minutes without feeling lightheaded and dizzy; I had to walk home. I kept trying to train all winter but each attempt was met with the same symptoms. I saw every doctor imaginable and crossed off a wide array of what the problem might have been. In spite of my frustrations with not knowing what was wrong with me, I decided to give Boston, 2014 a go. This was a clear mistake, I had gotten in a little bit of training but not enough to feel confident to go after a good time. Moreover, I still felt lightheaded every now and then from running! After about 10 miles or so I called it a day during the marathon. I was both lightheaded and dizzy. Another few steps and I would have went down. After this, I took some time off and then started running shorter distances. I focused on 1 mile to 5k training during May and June. I was running the fastest training intervals of my life and my head issues seemed to be going away. I only got an opportunity to race once and it was a 17:15 5k to place third in some lovely 80 degree weather- it had been in the 50s and 60s in training before the weekend of that race. I started training in July with Ryan Vail, who is one of the top marathoners in the US. We chose a fall marathon and put in a great block of training. I nailed some key workouts: 8 x 1 mile, 4 x 2 miles, 3 x 3 miles and a 25 km marathon simulator averaging 6:00 pace. I was ready to run under 2:40 and salvage something from 2014. The week of the race, I developed a sharp, shooting pain in my left hamstring while simultaneously feeling pain in both achilles. Of course. I train through most aches and pains but it was too much to put in my easy runs that week. I felt cheated. I put in some hard work to be ready for a sub-2:40 time so I toed the start line for the 2014 Mohawk Hudson River Marathon anyways. It was a perfect day, in the mid-40s with a nice point to point downhill course awaiting me. I never should have started this race. The pain was too much and I pulled out after the halfway mark. I started going to PT and have recently been able to build my mileage back up to the 50s per week in 2015. My hamstring injury has still not gone away but is much more tolerable and has not affected training. So what are my goals in 2015 after a year that resulted in one completed race?
2015 Goals:
1. Stay healthy- obviously (time to do the little things).
2. No DNFs- no excuses if I am not ready to compete I will not be on a start line.
3. Race MORE- shouldn't be tough (gotta beat 1!).
4, Build mileage- my best training has been done with my mileage up over 80, 90 and 100 miles a week.
5. PR
2015 will be a year of PRs. I have serious goals for every major distance and I am ready to set out to take them down.
Marathon- PR- sub 2:47:18, sub 2:40, sub 2:35
Half- PR- sub 1:19:56, sub 1:17, sub 1:15 working down to or better than 1:12
10k- PR- sub 35:58, sub 35:00, sub 34:00
5k- PR- sub 16:37, sub 16:00, sub 15:50 working down to 15:32
mile- PR- sub 4:57, sub 4:50, sub 4:40
I honestly believe that, in the past couple of years, I have been within some of these ranges for goal race times. With that being said, 2015 is a year of doing. No excuses. The mantra for 2015 is still Never Going Back. It is time to think hard about what this means and what I can do to find success in the New Year. For me, that is found in getting the best out of myself in competition. In order to do this, I need to be cognizant of my health and make sure I am in a position to succeed. Running is a sport in which you pretty much know where you are at based on training. There is no cheating yourself. You either put in the work or do not. I am going to train hard but train smart in 2015. The lessons that I hope I can share with others is to always maintain self care in something you care so much about. I go pretty hard on myself and put a lot of blame on myself for dropping out of marathons in 2014. It would have been better to not put so much pressure on myself in the moment and take some time to ensure that I am in a good position to race when I am on a starting line. 2015 will be different. I know what I have to do to get to where I want to be. I know I have to take care of myself in order to do this. I have some long term goals with running and 2015 is going to be a turning point for me. I am ready to put everything together and really test myself. I put it all out there in what I hope 2015 brings. Now it is time to stop saying that I want to get better and go out there and do it.
Cheers,
David
