It's so easy to fall of the wagon when writing these things. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy writing about my running so I'm going to be making a much better effort at staying on here and writing regularly. So where did I leave off?
2014 saw a serious resurgence in my running. It started out with a very disappointing 5k in February (17:02, if I recall, one of the few times this millennium I've failed to break 17:00. I took most of the rest of the winter off running, and started back a bit in April. At the same time, I bought a house, met my future wife (currently my fiance), and marched to the end of my 3rd year of teaching.
So what was the result in all this good in my life? Great running. I ran 4 races in July, August and September, and won all 4! The first was the Oldham County Day 5k, and the win was a huge surprise for me, especially how easily my speed seemed to come back. Second up was the St. Matthews Midsummer's Night 5k, which I won and also broke 16:00 for the first time in almost 3 years. Next up was the Fastline 5k and a very easy win in my final tuneup for my ultimate goal for the summer: the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia, MO.
I have to admit, I went into this marathon really suffering. Even though I had run several great 5k's, that means nothing in the marathon. So I went into this with low expectations. However, my girlfriend (now fiance) was there watching me run for the first time. To keep this short, I went out slow, ran 23 miles absolutely alone in 2nd place, took the lead just past 23 miles and won the race by 7 minutes in a huge marathon PR of 2:45:36. That was the most rewarding win I've ever had in running. And on top of that, it qualified me for the Boston Marathon. A fine race recap can be found here.
So what's next for me. Well, Boston obviously. I'm 10 days out and feeling terrible about my training again. I've race 3 times in 2015, a 5k, 10k and 10 Mile Race. The 10k was a huge success, but the other two not so much. However, all signs point to fitness close to a 2:40 marathon. However, to be safe I've set my sights around 2:43. My training has been similar to last summer, with some good long runs and not much else. My body is usually good through about 2 hours of running, but beyond that I struggle, so I need to figure out how to get through that last 43 minutes. My fiance and some of her friends will be there, as will a huge crowd of Boston Marathon supporters, so I'm hoping that will serve me well. Right now, it's all about rest. I'll update once more before Boston and hope to have a race recap shortly after, and post regularly beyond that. Because after Boston, the real training starts: for the Louisville Ironman in October!!
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