2019 Goal Setting

It has been a long few months since the Chicago Marathon. After the race, I wrote a similarly toned recap to what I've done in the past after a tough performance. I wrote about how I wasn't going to let a sub par race get me down and how I would come back stronger than ever in 2019. Ever since my blood clot in fall of 2016, I've been on a tear. I ran 4 quality marathons -- a 2:46, a 2:47, a 2:44-flat, and a 2:44-high at Boston, 2018. Somewhere in between there I ran a 1:16 half marathon. I dropped my shorter distance times -- 4:25 1500, 9:24 3k, 16:36 5k. I know there is room to improve at every distance I just laid out. The 2:44 I ran at Boston gave me a lot of confidence. That race could have just as easily been a 2:38-2:42. If you recall, it was 40 degrees, with a real feel of 25, with 20+ mph headwinds, in a torrential downpour, on Marathon Monday. I was ready for something faster but knocked it out of the park on a day that wasn't supposed to be good for running to finish inside the top-300. On paper, I should have finished 700+ going in. I recovered from the race and logged high mileage throughout a tough Chicago summer. I did not have a chance to race. The weather was too much and I was content to get the miles in. I hit a few big workouts before the Chicago Marathon. I hit a 10 miler at 5:54 pace in the middle of an 18 mile run. The week before the race, however, I thought something seemed to be off with my breathing. The race did not go well at all. I have been a consistent marathoner -- 2:46, 2:47, 2:44, 2:44, in my last four goes at the distance. I ran 2:51 at Chicago. That came after arguably better or sustained training. I should have run under 2:45, maybe even 2:40. I opened up the front half of Chicago in 1:21-flat. I should have been able to hang on much better than the 1:21/1:30 splits that I ran. I reported more difficulty breathing much earlier in the run. By 25k, I was gasping for air. I pulled over and walked for a minute or two, with some dry heaving mixed in. I was angry. I knew I was losing tons of time. I put my head down and just fought to the finish line.

I was frustrated post race. I wanted so much more but I knew I had had a good build up so wanted to play it smart. I chose to take a full week off of no running and then to jog every other day the week after. When I started the every other day jogging my legs felt great but my breathing still felt like it did in the later stages of the marathon. I figured it was just because I hadn't run in a week and that it was just going to take some time to recover from the marathon. I was wrong. The symptoms persisted and worsened on the run. I got back home after super easy runs beyond winded. I was on the ground gasping for air after an easy 4 or 5 miles. I tried a workout and ran 2 miles at 5:45 pace. I felt like I was running at altitude or racing the 2 miles. After another workout attempt, I checked myself into the emergency room. My troponin levels were elevated, up over .8. I don't know the highest point they ever got to but that was the reading at the hospital. I had to stay overnight for two days and underwent a ton of testing. My doctors think I had viral myocarditis, or a heart infection. Given my running history and my health, they do not think it was a heart attack. They did not think it was a blood clot and testing confirmed that. Viral myocarditis can be deadly if gone untreated. Trying to run and exert my heart while having an infection could have done some serious damage. I was ordered not to run and to rest. I've been resting ever since. Blood testing has since shown my troponin level go down. My latest reading in mid-December was .21. My doctor wants a 0 reading before I start running again. I go back for testing on January 2nd and my fingers are crossed that I get the green light then. I wanted to PR at Chicago and then go after PRs in 2019. Now I just want to run.

If I get cleared on 1/2, I can still be somewhat ambitious this spring. Once the infection is completely gone, I am just as much at risk for another infection as I was before. I will certainly, however, be out of shape, having not run much since October. I am signed up for the NYC Half Marathon in March. I hope to run it if I can run in early January. My big goal would be the US 25km Champs in May. This is a similar timetable to return compared to when I got the clot. I got the clot in November of 16 and I built back up in January and February of 17 before throwing down some PR race results in March, April, May, June, and July. I came back on a tear after the clot so I am hopeful I can replicate that again. So, if all goes well at the start of the new year, here are my 2019 goals:

Time:

5k- sub-16:30, sub-16:15, sub-16:00

10k- sub-35:00, sub-34:30, sub-34:00

half- sub-1:16:40, sub-1:16:00, sub-1:15

marathon- sub-2:40

Goal Races:

5/11 US 25k Champs

9/29 Berlin Marathon

Fun:

Run a beer mile

Run a cross country race

Run an ultra marathon

Complete a triathlon (any distance)

The plan is to try to run fast at shorter races until the 25k Champs. Then I basically want to go through 13.1 miles of the 25k at half marathon PR pace. I want to get through 25k somewhere in the 5:40-50 range. I think it's ambitious but doable. After that I want to dedicate my spring and summer to Berlin. I want to build up to 100-110 miles/week and really go for a fast marathon this fall. I have to get cleared first and then I have to struggle through slow 3 and 4 mile runs before I get back in shape. I'm getting tired of the setbacks but I am also ready to take on this new challenge.

Onward.

David