I'm not going to write here that I was once a great runner and I'm trying to get back to that. The truth is, I was an average runner, perhaps above average on a local level. I was fortunate enough to run on a scholarship at a Division II college, and after college I had 2 1/2 years of success on a sub-elite level, mostly in Louisville. I was fortunate (though I didn't really realize it at the time) to not have to work much in my early twenties in order to get by, so I had plenty of time to train at a high level. Looking back, I really regret not taking my running more seriously. A quick look at my training logs from 2005-06 shows a disturbing trend of inconsistency. I may have run several weeks in a row of 60-70 miles, only to follow it up with 1-2 weeks in the 20's and 30's. I took for granted what talent I had, and ran some decent races off of this type of training. I was self-coached and irresponsible with my running. However, I did have some success, starting at the end of 2005.
I look at my running and realize my VERY best days fell between New Year's Eve of 2005 and Thanksgiving of 2006, so really just 11 months of my life were wholly successful. In that time I ran PR's at every distance I raced from 1 mile-10 miles. It started on New Year's Eve with a 54:08 10 mile race, which was significant because I was apparently running that race with strep throat and the illness cost me nearly a week of training. I then ran the Louisville Triple Crown and finished high in every race, most notably a huge PR of 32:01 for 10k, which got me 2nd place in the Rhodes City Run (earning $350 in the process). I also ran 15:22 for 5k in a massive downpour and 54:21 for 10 miles. My season ended a few weeks later when I ran a 5k PR of 15:18 at a track 5k organized by a close friend.
I spent the late Spring and Early summer doing general 5k training, with the occasional speed workout thrown in at the Clarksville Summer Series (hopefully more on that this summer). While I didn't think I was doing much speed work it turns out that I had set myself up to run a great mile, and I ran what I consider my last really great race in July, finishing second at the Southern Parkway mile, running a surprising 4:10. This race ended up being a mixed blessing...
I followed that race up with a new motivation for training and a long-term goal of running a sub-4:00 mile. I set a goal of the summer of 2010 as my time to break 4:00 (hopefully taking 3 seconds off my time each year) and hopefully running at an elite level from 2010-12 before moving up to longer distances. I began an aggressive training plan that fall, which saw me run near my PR for 5k, as well as a PR for 5 miles (25:40). I had set myself up to race every 3-4 weeks, with heavy training going in 3 week cycles leading up to my races, with a week down. The problem came when I didn't plan to race in November, giving me 6 consecutive weeks of heavy training, which eventually led to a stress fracture in my shin, which ended up derailing my entire running career.
So that's where I've been. I have now spent the past 7 years trying to get back to a high level of training, with mixed success. I'm now 32 and hoping to have a few more seasons of great running, but my recent history has shown that is much easier said than done. More to come...
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