Ascension

It's not something most human beings would give a moment of consideration to, that it is actually possible to be living for years in a state of constant betterment.  To consider that you are better today than you were yesterday or a year ago, and that you will be better still tomorrow or next week.  When you're a competitive runner in training you are constantly in a process of ascending.

Captured quite eloquently by John L. Parker, this passage is the core of long distance running and what fuels my internal drive.  As a runner, the open road or the eight lane Tartan oval is not simply a surface, it is an invitation to improve yourself.  Meticulously kept workout logs give us a window into our past, and if all has gone well, what it will show us is that we would beat the hell out of our past self.

It is not an easy process, this ascension.  It requires almost unwavering focus and drive.  How easy it is to skip the morning runs required to push your weekly mileage into the 110-115 range when temperatures hover in the 30's and the sun is still a speck on the horizon.  You must have blinders to an extent.

This winter and spring, I really did put my blinders on.  I woke up one week, and decided I was going to run 100 miles a week.  One week turned into two, turned into nine as I prepared for the Vermont City Marathon.  Through this training process, I gained an entirely new understanding of what Parker was getting at when he described the ascension process.  I had run 100 mile weeks before, but never consecutively.  I began to find paces that had once felt like a max effort easy.  I think it finally clicked that I was onto something when I found myself averaging 5:15 miles for the last halves of 21 and 22 mile long runs or repping repeat miles at 4:36.  I had simply ascended to the next level of fitness.

As I look back now on my first year as a post collegiate runner I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished this year.  Leaving college with modest PR's of 14:47 and 30:48, who would have thought I would now hold top finishes at the Broad Street Run and the Vermont City Marathon and sit on the cusp of being one of the region's best long distance runners.  When I think about all my improvements so far this year, I am always drawn back to one night last spring before graduation.  It was a graduation party for my friend and teammate at Lafayette, Matt Piazza.  As we sat around the table drinking and reminiscing about all the good times had at college, another friend began talking about how my goal should be to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon.  With the bravado that comes with having consumed several adult beverages, of course I agreed right away, but it still felt like a stretch.  I was pretty mediocre in college after all.  Now looking back one year later, I feel completely different.  Why shouldn't I qualify for the 2016 Trials?  It is exciting to think about this as a real possibility and not some pie in the sky goal.

As a runner, you must have goals to fuel your ascension, and the 2016 Trials are my fuel.  I refuse to become one of those big talkers with big goals who never accomplishes much.  I know what it takes to ascend to the elite level of US marathoning, and I am ready to keep lacing up the trainers and heading out the door every day, sometimes twice, until I reach that level.

TRAINING SUMMARY WEEK OF 6/27

Monday: 3 miles very easy after the marathon.  Got a massage before hitting the highway back to PA.

Tuesday: OFF.  No way was I running today after being trapped in a car for 10 hours yesterday.  Seemed as if the entirety of New York/North Jersey was returning home from plundering the beautiful New England mountains.

Wednesday: OFF again.  Body still needs some rest.  Beginning to feel better.

Thursday: 3 miles.  Again very easy.  Felt a lot loosening up going on.

Friday: 4 miles.  Got out before work this morning to get my miles in before the heat and humidity kicked in.

Saturday: 7 miles.  Legs are beginning to feel almost back to normal.

Sunday: 9 miles @ 5:50 per mile.  Closed the last 3 miles @ 5:30 per just to give myself a little bit of a workout this week.  Overall I felt very strong today.  Stride had that nice loping feel to it.

Total: 26 miles (almost as many as I ran last Sunday!)