Flaster than hoped

Over four years ago, I was entering my second year with the University of Montana's Triathlon team. I was severely injured...again...with shin splints. The year prior, I ran my first...and only...marathon. I was addicted to the concept of "my marathon time", and I immediately slated my year to build up for the same marathon and earn a new time. It never happened. For the next two years, I only continued my trend of shin splints, patella tendonitis, or plantar fascitis every six months.

Sometime around there, our foreign exchange friend Swiad (Svee-At) always wanted to hang out. John was a relatively new staple in my life (thanks to UMTri), and each night I spent with John was typified by a text ,"what is your training tomorrow?" Typical German.

But Swiad was a binding force. He showed up early for core with the team, swam faster than Ed, and (still) inspired us by his inclination to travel. I will never forget the night he followed John and I back to my home in the brick oven. I had been raging about my shin splints, and he was convinced a poultice from home would work for me. I don't even remember the germanic word the original recipe called for, but we decided cream cheese would be a good substitute.

It didn't work.

Rewind to over five years ago.

I ran the Two Bear marathon in 3:39:42 in September, got shin splints in October, and officially joined UMTri in November. John asked me to go with him and Ed on their second annual training camp to Arizona in January. We joke it was our first date, although it was probably actually our second or third. As a break from the rigors of swimbikerun, John had been training judiciously for the Phoenix Rock n' Roll marathon. Before our departure, I drew a picture of him crossing the finish line in 2:44:--. Thanks to this early act of love, I influenced his finish time to be 2:42:--.

So, I haven't run a road marathon since September 12, 2010. In many ways, I never wanted to. Trail running brings freedom and frolic to my life in a million more ways than marathon training ever could. It also helps I haven't been injured in two years. Nonetheless, all this time, I still imagine "my marathon time" floating invisibly over my head. I knew it wasn't 3:39:42. I've gotten older, stronger, and run thousands more miles since then. Many days of 4+ hour runs in the mountains, I would still entertain the thought that this digital clock of "my marathon time" was infinitesimally ticking down over my bobbing head as I cruised down the trails.

For all my religious road run training, my taper was a little silly. Early in the week John and I backpacked ~7 miles into the Superstition Wilderness for some quality unplugged sleep.

Due to my superstitious fear that speed work precedes injury, I hadn't done consistent workouts since UMTri days. Definitely no long work outs. John coached me through a two month training block leading up to the marathon, and the weekly prescription was tough to swallow. Most weeks had three work outs of max efforts, tempo, or marathon pace work. Most work outs were 13-16 miles. Most Tuesday workouts I would go straight to the weight room for over an hour.

During all these years of picturing "my marathon time" ticking down over my head, I finally had the opportunity to imagine it ticking up as I ran to the finish line.

A happy five year anniversary trip, rounded off with deja vu at the Phoenix Rock n' Roll. My new marathon time: 3:17:30. May it tick down unseen for awhile, for I miss the trails.