Time to refocus...

Eminem- Cinderella Man

When you are young you feel invincible.  You can predict the future, you know exactly how you are going to do in whatever it is you choose.  This is how I felt going into the Grandma's Marathon.  I was going to run somewhere in the ballpark of 2:16 and I was going to qualify for the Olympic Trials and I was going to be something special.  People were going to love me and think of me as a hero.  

Well, you can feel invincible and you can be in the best shape possible.  Then, an iceberg sinks the unsinkable, the hero gets slayed by the dragon and you are back to square one.  Back to the drawing board.

My last two years at Eastern I began to despise the track.  My Junior year I had issues with the flu that took me out of many key workouts leading up to the spring season.  My Senior year I had a bone bruise on my left knee that took me out of running for about 5 weeks.  I ran poorly because of these two issues and did not achieve my goals.  I felt burned out and was ready to move on to the roads.  I decided that I would take a year away from the track if at all possible to try and possibly recharge my batteries and fall back in love with the sport I once loved so much.

Fast forward a year.  Things have changed.  I had my time away from the track.  It was nice.  No 25 lap extravaganza's for me.  I was happy, I enjoyed it, but something was missing.  I was watching friends and teammates run PR's and stellar times.  Something was itching at me.  I watched the USA Track and Field Championships this past weekend and decided that it was time to return to the rubberized circle of dreams.  

I talked to my coach, Chris Zeller, today and let him know my feelings.  I honestly feel like I have unfinished business to take care of on the track.  I only ran 3:54 for the 1500m, 14:09 for the 5k and 29:44 for the 10k. These are times I know I am better than.  I can run faster, I can be stronger than these times show.  I also feel that my track PR's do not compare to the guys I am competing against in my road races.  Many of them have run under 14 minutes for the 5k.  Many have run well under 29 for the 10k.  I feel that if I am going to be able to compete in the marathon and be able to fight for top places and money I need to lower my track times.  Do not get me wrong.  I still plan on attacking the marathon and qualifying for the Olympic Trials here.  I have decided on the Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Half Marathon as my goal race.  But it is also time to stop being afraid of the track.  Its time to find that fire that I had so often when I ran for Eastern.  It is time to show what I am capable of.

Another thing I have found to be a problem in my running recently is a lack of racing.  In college I had to race so often that I feel I became afraid to race once I graduated.  I honestly feel that racing so often did not allow me to become unfocused.  If I wanted to win or place highly I had to keep focused and keep pushing.  I am not saying I will race every week or every two weeks, but I plan on racing more than three times in six months.  This way, I can keep that edge.  I can keep that focus and I can push myself to reach my goals.  Failure will no longer be an option, because I will not have enough time to think about failure.

Let the new goals help take me to my dreams.

Grandma's Marathon: Disaster and a new outlook

Middle Class Rut- New Low

"To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind."
Jerome Drayton

To put it simply, this past weekend I reached that agony.  I do not know if I can put into words what exactly happened or how, but all I know is that I had to withdraw at mile 15 due to leg cramps.  I was devastated. To put six long months of training for one race to only drop out at mile 15 is rough.  I just wanted to catch the next plane out of Duluth and never come back.   

The weekend started off right. My flight to Minnesota went by quick and upon arriving I felt great.  I went for my after flight jog and besides the humidity I was feeling pretty damn good.  I drove up to Duluth that night with my friend Jenni Houck (who ran a great race and got a new PR).  The next morning I went running with a couple of people for a shakeout run.  Once again I was feeling really good.  The weather was the perfect temperature and the wind would be at our back for the race.  This was perfection at its best.  Eat your heart out Boston Marathon, Grandma's was going to have even better weather.  Well, not quite.  I woke up race morning to do a little shakeout run and it was pouring down rain and freezing (ok 40 degrees isn't freezing, but when you are expecting 50's its cold).  I ate breakfast and then walked down to where the elites would catch the bus for the race.  

The problem with a point to point course like Grandma's Marathon is that you don't realize how long the course is until you drive for over 30 minutes just to get there.  You get to sit and think about the task at hand.  Not quite what I call fun.  When we got to the start I decided to put the drive out of my mind.  I had one task at hand sub 2:19 for the marathon.  In other words, get my ass to the Olympic Trials in Houston.  I had met a few guys who were all aiming for the same goal so we decided we would run together for as long as we could.  

We had to wait for a few minutes at the start line which did not help my mood.  I had been nursing a sore hamstring since before the 25k Championships, and it was not getting looser by sitting in the cold of the starting line.  Once again, I was trying to put these negative thoughts out of my head and focus on the task at hand.  Finally, the gun went off and it was game time.  To prevent myself from doing anything stupid (like at Bloomsday) I decided to sit a few rows back of the starting line so I would start out slower.  This worked and for once I felt calm for the first mile of a race instead of worrying if I had gone out to hard.  The first mile was a relatively (slow) 5:22.  The goal pace was 5:18 per mile in order to hit the 2:19 standard for the marathon.  However, more people go out too hard and fall apart then go out to easy and finish strong.  I liked where I was at.  A second mile at 5:14 put us back on pace as I had settled in with a group of guys who could talk to each other and focus on the task at hand as well.  Mile 3 proved to be a pain in the ass as the water bottles seemed to be scattered all over the table and I couldn't find mine. I even slowed down to find it, but just kept going and grabbed water from the cups instead.  At the next water station at Mile 5 I was able to find my bottle and GU Pack.  We were a little behind pace but only by a few seconds.  It was a slightly rolling course to this point so I wasn't too concerned.  Plus a lot of guys had made the mistake of going out too fast and were already coming back to the pack I was in.

We came through 10 miles in 53:01.  5:18 pace.  Right where we wanted to be.  I was feeling good.  I was feeling strong.  It was turning out just the way I wanted.  Then it happened.  It really came out of nowhere.  It started with my right hamstring.  A little tightness.  Ok, nothing to worry about, you have had this before and been fine.  Its creeping all over my legs, and my hamstring is getting worse.  I told myself to take five deep breaths, and then refocus.  It helped a little.  But my hamstring was twinging.  Half marathon point, gotta be tough, stay strong, five more deep breaths kid.  I told myself to get to Mile 14 and reevaluate.  I did, it wasn't getting better.  It was getting worse.  I was trying to get back on pace, but each time I tried to pick it up, my leg would cramp worse.  At mile 15 there was a sign for medical and I decided that it was as much as my leg could bear.  Yes, I probably could have gone another 11 miles and finished the race.  The problem would instead be that I would have ran 2:30 for the marathon and probably pulled my hamstring.  

The decision for me was tough.  I had paid a good chunk of money to go to this race.  In return I DNF'd and had leg cramps that I hadn't felt before.  The disappointment of dropping out might have been the worst feeling I have had.  It was not something I pride myself on doing.  Especially not when you head to a race with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials.  I got back to the finish and grabbed my gear.  My friend Chelsea VanDeBrake had just finished so I waited for her.  Her legs were not in much better shape then mine.  The difference?  She finished the race and PR'd.  I walked back with her and her mom and went to my room where I stayed for the next 6 hours.  I wanted nothing to do with anyone on that day.  Talking to people just made me feel more shameful for dropping out.  Answering texts just put more into perspective.  I was shocked.  I was so confident coming to the race that I did not fathom such a thing could happen.  It's what I have decided to call "The Beauty and the bitch" of the marathon.  Sometimes, you just can't win against this race.

Now it is time to decide what is next.  I still have to talk to some people and figure some things out.  I would like to take a stab at the half-marathon and get my PR below the trials qualifier of 1:05 which I honestly feel I am capable of.  Where I will do this I do not know.  I also have to decide if I want to try and race this summer or just train through.  In my personal opinion, part of what went wrong was that I only raced twice before the marathon.  With six months of training and two races prior to this race, I don't think I was ready for it.  It's time for some changes and trying to figure out what works best for me.  Until next time, keep on running!

One Week...Can you feel the antcipation building?

The Offspring-Come Out and Play

Well friends I am one short week away from the marathon.  The training has been great and I feel more confident than I have in a long long time.  I have done a couple of workouts that have made me feel as though this is going to be a much different race than when I ran 8 months ago.  I had a little scare with a tight hamstring earlier this week, but that is now a distant memory.  My taper is going well and I am feeling it start to kick in.  My 9 mile run this morning felt like a walk in the park.  I can feel it in my step that I am ready to go.  This is my time.  2:19 for the marathon is what I need to run.  A solid 5:18 per mile.  Do that and I will have accomplished a goal that I never could have dreamed of 10 years ago when I began my journey as a runner.  I have come a long way since Paul Limpf the hockey player.  I am now Paul Limpf the runner, and if things go right, I soon will be Paul Limpf, Olympic Trials Qualifier.  Its incredible how things can change.  Growing up all I wanted to do was play hockey, now all I think about is running.

I have had a lot of time to think this past week on my runs and just time to myself.  This journey has had its ups and its downs.  It has had twists and turns.  In one week, my running world can change forever.  The beauty of running is that until you step on the line and go, you never know what will happen.  I have been to races  and been beaten badly, and I have gone to races and made people ask "who is that guy?"  I like the latter.  Its kind of exciting to be an unknown.  You don't have the pressure.  You don't have the interviews to deal with.  You go to the race and you do just that, you race.  Next Saturday is going to be a great day to race. 

I leave Thursday morning from Spokane and head on a direct flight to Minneapolis.  From there I will drive with my good friend Jennifer Houck and head to Duluth, home of Grandma's Marathon.  Friday will be a day of preperation and just calmly waiting for the race.  Saturday morning at 7:30 am Central time.  Or for most of you that will be reading this 5:30 AM Pacific Time. 

I hope to make you all proud.

Paul

Grandma's Marathon preperation...its go time.

Bloc Party-Flux

I will start you off with one of my favorite songs to listen to before I go to workout or even just go for a run.  Bloc Party is pretty chill and their music is in my opinion quite rad.  Not much has happened in the weeks since the 25k.  I have been training and working which has basically become my lifestyle.  I had back to back weeks of 100 miles (100, 105) and this past week hit 90.  It was the first time in over a year that I was able to hit 100 miles in back to back weeks.  This is not a huge accomplishment considering I was able to string together about 6-8 weeks of 100 mile weeks back in college, but it is a sign of my return.  The confidence is still high and my strength gets better each day.  I have had a bad run or two during the last couple of weeks, but the next day I bounced right back.  

Grandma's Marathon is less than two weeks away now and the anticipation is starting to build.  I am more excited for this marathon than I was my last.  I have a much better support crew with me this time and for the last two months I have actually had a training partner, something I did not have while living in Seattle prior to my race.  I am looking forward to getting some redemption from the last time, but I know it will take a smart race in order to accomplish my goal of a sub 2:19 marathon.  I will leave you with a quote from one of the all time greats: "We are different, in essence from other men.  If you want to win something, run 100 meters.  If you want to experience something, run a marathon."  -Emil Zatopek, A Czech runner, and winner of 4 gold medals.

Good Luck with all of your running.  If you have any questions about my training or anything else feel free to ask.