Now what?

What’s in a comeback? Is getting back up enough? Attaining levels you reached previously? Or surpassing those levels? I guess it depends on what you’re coming back from. For me I guess it has always been a struggle to define what “back” is. After a lot of set backs physical and mental I had to ask my self this question, what would I be satisfied with? Will I ever PR in the 400? Probably not. Will I complete a marathon? YES. Will I break 2:20? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Recovering from injury or sickness affects different people in different ways. Some embrace the time off, focusing on missing pieces of their lives, or trying to enjoy things they missed during training, most of the time they comeback whole, refreshed, hungry. For others it’s more like going through withdrawals, they are sick, miserable, irritable and nearly obsessed with getting back out there. These are the people who struggle, they feel less than whole, less than worthy, they become depressed and moody. If you've ever read Once a Runner, you know how I know this. Becoming healthy and returning to the things I love doesn't have end of the world implications to me anymore. This doesn't mean that I do not strive and work for that, it's more about perspective. I used to lose sleep and obsess thinking about missed workouts and down time. It owned me. For nearly 9 years now I have been on the edge of "coming back", I've accomplished a lot in that time, this is where perspective comes into play. I'm no longer a college athlete with one goal in mind, covering ground as fast as possible without the benefit of internal combustion technology. I'm a more whole, complete, athlete. I see athletic endeavor as the goal, being able to do damn near anything, 50 second quarter speed doesn't define me, being an athlete, not just a runner does defines that portion of my life, it makes me whole and happy. I'll run again soon, how far and how fast is still yet to be seen. I'm not done, but I'm not "back" yet either. In the mean time I'll be eyeing that 2:40.

Moving ahead

Coaching is always something that I wanted to do, ever since my college career finished up I wanted to provide others with the same sense of camaraderie and fitness that I enjoyed. There is nothing quite like the feeling of being hunched over gasping for breath, lead legs, fuzzy vision and a sky high heart rate, and looking at a  friend who shares the same sweet misery.All with a smile and a laugh to your self thinking about how these feelings are universally communicated, without words.
Towards the end of my college career there were a lot of negative events that shaped the way I view training and coaching. Having a narrow minded coach who held fast to the old school philosophy of racking up hundreds of junk miles a week was eye opening for sure. This "training" plan consisted of a long, sometimes up to 3 mile warm-up daily, very light stretching (if any at all), no discussion regarding the up coming workout (there was nothing to say, you'll see what I mean later), ABSOLUTELY NO motivation, then a VERY long run at varying intensity. Did I mention no cross training, we would do 1 session of plyometrics per week that involved wall sits, stepups and calf raises. Once per week! There were 3 quality workouts a week, 2 interval sessions and a long run. The 2 interval sessions were erratic and spotty, quality was always sacrificed for quantity. When questioned about the intention of a workout our "coach" would respond with "this is designed to build fitness." What a load of BS! Needless to say this all came from a man who qualified for the Olympic Trials twice in the marathon and never competed at the trials due to injury. Think about this, it's very telling that a guy who trained in the manner was often injured. I guess it depends on goals. If your goals are to be a national champ, then you better be running, a  lot. However, what kind of running is much more important than strictly how much. Having a few people that listen to me regarding training, I take that task very seriously. I hope that I can grow this thing I started and help others in places where my mentors failed me.
Cheers!

JMTR

Well the Jemez Mountain Trail Half Marathon was interesting to say the least, I finished, not as fast as I had hoped, however considering I was limited to 1 run a week for the 3 weeks prior to the race, not a bad outcome. The first 3 miles were easy, gradual rolling hills alternating road and trail, the single track portions could be frustrating trying to get around people who took off way to fast and payed for it only 3 miles into the event. Around mile 4 the climbing started, well not really but there was some elevation gain. It is worth mentioning that this was a cupless event, meaning that if you are like me and thought you could by a HydraPouch the morning of the event you were mistaken and would be running with a water bottle in your hand for the duration. The first substantial aid station was around mile 4, I would soon find out why. The climb. Before I go any further let me be clear, I love a tough race, my fondest memories of X-C involved river crossings and mud pits with single track trail climbs in Jackson Hole, this will not rank among those fond memories. The majority of the climb took place between miles 4.5-6, if you like inhaling hot dirt while shuffling up switchbacks trying not to vomit, this place is for you. I know how bacon feels. Beyond the never ending climb the entire course is the the burn area from a few years ago, the surrounding area is beautiful, the course it self, not as much. Returning back to starting elevation was a relief, miles of rolling hills made for easy trucking on the way back, by mile 6 however I thought I had torn my hip flexors (yes plural), I could not stand up straight and the down hill pounding was not all together enjoyable. To make matters worse the course was long, only by 1/2 mile, but I was well ready to be done before 13.1 let alone 13.7. In all it was a great race, very well organized with a ton of support, it is part of the La Sportiva Cup, a brutal series of mountain races all over the west. It was a great day, my wife Anna supported me and was amazing, she fed me tried to stuff me with food, even stole a few post race Pilsners for me, thanks babe. With all that being said my goals have now shifted, I believe that I still have a few fast 5k or 10ks still in my legs (maybe not my back). Running a little shorter and faster will be my next M.O. for the next few months with trying to attempt a fast 10k in september. I feel good about that, I know it and I own that type of training, forcing my body to cooperate with me accept the sometimes brutal nature of 5 and 10k training will be a hell of a challenge. I'm up for it.

Black Box Running Group / Jemez Mountain Trail Runs

I'm pretty happy to announce that Black Box Fitness (Home of CrossFit Caliente) and Ellis Endurance have aggreed to start a running group. This group will be open to any/everyone, it's free and will meet weekly. Sunday, April 7th will be the first run at UNM North Golf Course (Law Library) @ 8:00AM, we will meet every sunday following, same time, same place. I hope this grows into a competetive club that will have a large, competitive and visible presence at area races and events.
Also I signed up to run the Half Marathon at the Jemez Mountain Trail Runs, and have been running more consistantly over the last few weeks, I've spent a lot of time and Black Box lately and am feeling a lot more fit, I just need to translate that to running fitness and put in a few more miles. Hope to see everyone on Sundays.