Boston Bound

Sadly, it’s not what you think. The powers-that-be still refuse to accept my BQ first-place finish in the Pandora Marathon, where I narrowly edged out Santa Claus, Lord Voldemort, and Sasquatch (a surprisingly nimble runner) at the finish line, then enjoyed a recovery drink from the Holy Grail while soaking in an ice-bath in Hef’s Grotto. Every race teaches us something. That one taught me that I’m too old to come anywhere near Jagermeister before going to bed, or really any time of day.

We will soon be loading up the Family Truckster for a 13-hour fun-filled drive for an extended family vacation in Boston and several spots in New Hampshire. Most all of my wife’s relatives are from areas around Boston, so we’re going to give the kids a chance to meet some of their relatives and see the places where my wife spent much of her youth. Should be an interesting trip. I’ve been so busy at work lately that it has kinda snuck up on me, and although I won’t be battling the Kenyans on the trip, I will be needing to fit in my training runs. I’ve never been on a vacation in a place that I don’t know in the midst of a training plan. A little concerned about finding the places and the time to run (want to avoid the treadmill if possible), but also looking forward to the challenge. Should make for some new and interesting maps to add to the Garmin collection.

Assuming I survive the remainder of the day, week 1 of training is in the books. So far the right foot (Plantar Fasciitis) and the right knee (IT Band) are holding up pretty well. Lots of stretching and ice seem to be helping. There definitely is some soreness involved, but so far just sore, not pain. My day 1 run, according to plan, was supposed to be 10 miles, but since I hadn’t gone more than 6 miles since rehabbing my knee and foot I thought that was too much of a jump and too much of an injury risk, so I cut the run off at 8 miles. Otherwise, I’ve pretty much stuck to plan.

Mixed in my first-ever tempo run during training on Thursday, with the middle three miles at 7:24, 7:20, and 7:12, which is pretty fast for me. Already seeing that it will be a challenge to work cross-training into this plan if I’m going to keep a fairly consistent lifting schedule. Need to get some swimming and biking into the mix – still working on how I’m going to pull that off.

Tomorrow’s long run is 12 miles, and I’m going to go ahead and do the full 12 and see how my wonky leg responds. I’ve taken the advice of Jeff at Dangle the Carrot, my recovery-drink Mr. Miyagi, and ordered some Ultragen recovery drink which I’ll be trying for the first time after tomorrow’s run. Went with the cappuchino flavor, so I’ll be the one in the parking lot sipping from my water bottle with the beret, black turtleneck, haughty affectation, and questionable hygiene. Basically just another Sunday.