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To do what I do

This week was the highest mileage week of my training for the Hamptons Marathon on September 27th. Nearly 50 miles was the goal for the week. A week that I certainly went into with plenty of apprehension.

My goal for the LSD that I ran today was 4 hours or 24 miles whichever came first. As I expected the 4 hours came first however I wasn’t to far from 24. I ended the run at 23.2 miles and the time was 3:54:20. That would be just a shade under 10:30 pace.

For the week I am quite pleased and confident with my progress. I believe I have a very good shot at getting close to or even doing better than my PR of 4:37. At this point I am really looking forward to the marathon.

In addition to the run going so well it was also very scenic. I even thought of titling my entry as “Mutaul of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. Yesterday’s run there were 3 deer that bounded onto the trail I was running and than quickly disappeared into the woods. Today I saw two trophy bucks just off to the side of the trail I was running. Also today there were three wild turkey hens with their brood on the trail. Being a country boy I savored the sightings for the entire run and certainly shared what I saw with my family.

The marathon is 5 weeks away. This next week I will take it easy and keep things slow and simple. Than the following week I will get the mileage up again to near 40 miles one last time. That week will be followed but what is called taper time. Those last 3 weeks a runner winds down a bit and allows the body to recover. So for now it’s going to be one week at a time and that will be doing my best to focus on sticking close to the schedule.

During my run today I listened to a song on my I pod that gives me inspiration. It’s a song by Alan Jackson and that is the reason for today’s title “To do what I do”. I relate it to my running. It’s basically about him going through rough times and becoming a singer. It’s near the end of the song that I change the lyrics a bit to fit into how I feel about my running. Here is my version:

So I hope the critics and skeptics alike
All came down to the finish line on this day
And they’ll see firsthand that I have survived
And what doesn’t kill you makes you more alive
And I am one of the fortunate few
To do what I do

There’s so much joy that running can bring
So I count my blessings when I step up to the line
Cause they’re so many people who would give anything
To do what I do.

Have a wonderful week.

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