The Goal, the Plan and the Next 20 Months

I've come to the decision that it's time to share something that many friends know and a few family members know and that is why I'm doing what I'm doing and what I hope to accomplish. Why now? I'm not sure really... just has come around to being "that time" in my head and heart.

I'll cut right to the chase. My long-term goal is to qualify for the US Marathon Olympic Trials to be held here in Houston, January 2012. My plan is to use the 2011 Chicago Marathon to run for the qualifying time of sub-2:19:00. The full list of qualifying standards can be found at the USATF website here. I realize that it may not be all that likely that I reach that goal. I also realize the danger in putting forth the effort I'm going to have to put forth, all for one shot at the Chicago Marathon to qualify at a time I've never even sniffed. But, I just think 2 things... "What if?" and "Why not?"

My reasoning is much deeper than those 2 questions, most certainly, but to any naysayer, that's all I can really contest with. What if I CAN qualify? How awesome would that be, to qualify as one of the top marathon runners in our great country, to toe the line at the Olympic Trials with those same guys who hope to, and will, represent our country in the Olympics later that year, to run this awesome race in my hometown? Can it get cooler than that? And why not? The worst (barring injury) that happens is that I don't qualify and a few people who read this, or my facebook, will say "I knew he couldn't do it." There's only one way to really know for sure if I can make it, and that's to do all that I know to do to get there.

There's not a whole lot of history to this, but I'll get all that I can down here in blogland. I originally thought about this when I began training for Boston...when I started, seemingly, during the Spring and Summer before I ran. I just wanted to get my body fully prepared for what I'd go through trying to run a "complete" marathon. Now, I won't say my training was intense, but I definitely did things better and with more consistency for Boston than I had for my previous two Houston Marathons. It paid off in a lot of ways, but the biggest payoff I got from Boston was what happened after Heartbreak Hill. I wanted to push the pace on the downhill, but couldn't get much below 7-minute pace. What made this marathon different than previous marathons was that I did two things... I kept running through the pain and I didn't let the pain overcome me and dictate my race. It hurt worse than I had ever hurt in another marathon, but I kept going.

When I began training for Houston, I carried the lesson, the new "runner" I felt like I'd become, and set my sights on a fast Houston time. I dropped some weight, trained consistently, ran higher mileage, more 20+ milers, and just got myself really mentally prepared for this run. It paid off big-time as I ran, not only a 14 minute PR, but the most even race I could have probably hoped for... 1:19:50 on the first half, and 1:20:12 on the 2nd half. I even ran 5-6 seconds faster per mile for 5 miles up through 24 before I paid the price for that move. :-) But, the confidence was there, and after that run, I just knew I wanted more and better.

I continued to think about how and when to qualify for the trials, but maybe it just was never serious consideration. Had the trials not been set up here in Houston, there's a good possibility the effort would not have been quite as seriously considered. I might still be running like I was before...nothing too special, just running...maybe not, I don't know, but that doesn't matter at this point.

When the announcement was made on March 1st, I didn't have plans to run that day, as I had dinner plans that night...and I couldn't help but talk about it then, and on just about every run after that. The next day, I did a workout (a Tuesday morning) that totaled 9 miles. That afternoon, I ran 5 or 6 easy miles to give me a 14 or 15 mile day. I knew I had to try. I felt like this was my indication that I had to do all I could to get into that race.

I started adding up the 2-a-day running days, but didn't really increase overall mileage for a couple of weeks. I finally got the mileage up, then came the Bayou City Classic, where I really had wanted to run well. I ran on tired legs, but still ran under 34 minutes (33:59), got 10th overall, and felt pretty decent. I took forever to recover from that race, but then I did and got back on the mileage train.

So here I am, sitting in my bed @ 1:30 AM, debating on this post, and about to lay out for all to see what I plan to do.

In the last 3 weeks, I've gotten up to 94, 101 and 112 miles. This week, I'll take it down to recover and race, then get the mileage back up. All MAJOR goals right now are mileage goals, with the time goals secondary. I am shooting for 120-130 miles as my average week. The idea of 140 miles is tempting, and may be the way I end up going. But 20-miles a day, right now, seems such a long way away.

For now I want to be consistently over 120 miles, and getting at or near 130 miles each week. As I built up the mileage, I did so with no workouts...purely easy running. Just doing it twice a day. This week, I got myself in 2 workouts, one on the hills, and one 6-mile tempo/threshold run @ 5:21 pace. Three weeks out of every month, I'll be doing 20+ miles on my weekend long run. The 4th will likely be 12-15 miles. I need to maintain that with 2 workouts a week, and do so without trashing my legs. The plan will include running races on my down weeks, as well as those I race at the end of a high mileage week. All of this will be done with the guidance and coaching of Sean Wade. I figure if I'm going to have any chance of doing something this significant, I have no other option than to go to a guy who has run in the Olympic Marathon.

So, there it is... my goal... my plan... and in some ways, my heart. There's a lot of reasons this has become even more important to me over the last month or so than it was before. Right now, I'm just thankful each morning that I can get out and run that I have this ability, and in all honestly, this opportunity to try for something this big. All I really want is a fair chance...and this is one place where I have as much of a chance as anyone to really show who I am and what I'm made of.

One final thing... why lay it out here? I'm not really sure. To some degree, I kinda see that some folks can take the journey "with me", so to speak, through this blog and through Facebook. Folks can know why I am doing some of the off-the-wall things I'm doing. There are few other reasons to do this than for selfish reasons. I mean, really...it's a goal that hitting it will put my times in the top possibly 100 within our country. I'd be one of the top marathon runners in the USA. How awesome would that be? But, I do this knowing one thing, undeniably. If I can make this crazy journey and get to the Trials, it all starts with where the gift of running, the abilities and the talent came from, and that is, I believe, from God. Without Him, for certain, this wouldn't be possible.

For the most part, though, I think my hope is that when February 2012 comes, and the Trials have come to Houston and have gone, and this is all a distant memory for many, that I, and anyone else, will be able to look back over this blog and any series of Facebook posts, and can track the progress....track the journey...track the pursuit of a goal...a dream. The attainment may not be as important as the journey, but make no mistake, I'm not doing this for any reason other than to make it, and to run that race with Ryan, Meb, Ritz, Culpepper, and all the other top American Marathon runners competing to see who will actually be in London for the Olympics.