What injuries, if any, have you encountered?
THANKFULLY NONE AND I ATTRIBUTE THAT MAINLY TO THE STRENGTH TRAINING THAT I HAVE BEEN VERY CONSISTENTLY DOING FOR TWO YEARS. YOU CAN'T BEAT THE FLEXIBILITY AND MUSCLE DENSITY THAT YOU DEVELOP IN A WELL-RUN OLYMPIC STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM. ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, I BRUISED MY SHIN ON A FAILED BOX JUMP DURING A CROSSFIT WORKOUT. I WENT TO THE ER BECAUSE I FEARED THAT I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN A STRESS FRACTURE. WHEN THEY X-RAYED ME, THE ER DOC TOLD ME THAT HE WAS AMAZED AT MY BONE DENSITY AND THAT HE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYONE MY AGE WITH SUCH STRONG BONES. TO ME, THAT WAS A BIG ENDORSEMENT TO CONTINUE WITH THE WEIGHT TRAINING.
I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY DISCOURAGING IF I GOT HURT. I'VE BEEN SICK A FEW TIMES (USUALLY WHEN I'VE STRAINED MY IMMUNE SYSTEM TO ITS LIMITS BY OVER-DOING IT) AND THAT WAS BAD ENOUGH. THERE'S NOTHING MORE FRUSTRATING FOR ME THAN TO BE CONSTRAINED FROM WORKING OUT FOR LONGER THAN TWO DAYS. WHEN I HAVE TO WAIT A WEEK OR MORE TO RECOVER FROM AN ILLNESS, IT IS AGONY FOR ME.
How did you overcome these injuries?
BOUNCING BACK FROM ILLNESS IS ALWAYS A BUMMER BECAUSE I DEFINITELY LOSE CARDIO FITNESS AND HAVE TO WORK REALLY HARD TO GET IT BACK. NOT SO BAD WITH STRENGTH FITNESS THOUGH.
What advice do you give someone getting ready to run their first marathon?
RUN A TRIAL MARATHON FIRST. IF YOUR GOAL IS A JANUARY MARATHON, RUN ONE IN OCTOBER AS A TEST. I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF VALUE TO DEMYSTIFYING THE MARATHON. THERE IS A LOT OF SPECTACLE WITH ALL THE PEOPLE INVOLVED AND IT CAN REALLY CONTRIBUTE TO PRE-RACE JITTERS. IF YOU DO A TRIAL MARATHON BEFORE YOUR "REAL" ONE, YOU CAN ELIMINATE A LOT OF THOSE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT WHAT THE RACE WILL BE LIKE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO FINISH IT. JUST RUN ONE TO SEE HOW YOU DO IN RACE DAY CONDITIONS. IF YOU FINISH IT, SO MUCH THE BETTER. THAT IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT I DID. I HAD THE GOAL OF A JANUARY RACE AND DECIDED ON A WHIM TO RUN ONE IN OCTOBER JUST TO SEE HOW I WAS PROGRESSING IN MY TRAINING. AT THAT POINT, MY LONGEST RUN HAD ONLY BEEN 18 MILES. I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO HAVE RUN AS FAR AS I COULD DURING THE RACE AND DROP OUT, BUT I JUST KEPT GRINDING AWAY AND I WAS ABLE TO FINISH IT. IT WAS A SLOW TIME TO BE SURE, BUT IT GAVE ME A TREMENDOUS CONFIDENCE BOOST, SO MUCH SO THAT I DECIDED TO RUN ANOTHER RACE THE NEXT MONTH AND IN THAT ONE, I WAS ABLE TO IMPROVE MY TIME BY TEN MINUTES. THE THIRD ONE I RAN WAS THE "REAL" ONE I HAD BEEN TRAINING FOR ALL ALONG AND I WAS ABLE TO IMPROVE MY TIME BY ANOTHER 30 MINUTES! SO, IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT A CONVENTIONAL MARATHON TRAINING STRATEGY, BUT FOR ME, IT WORKED.
Have you done any other events recently?
What did you think about it?
I JUST FINISHED TWO TOUGH MUDDERS IN EIGHT DAYS - NOT SOMETHING I RECOMMEND FOR ANYONE. I'M REALLY SORE RIGHT NOW AND HAVE SCRAPES AND BRUISERS EVERYWHERE, BUT IT WAS FUN AND CRAZY. THE RUNNING PART OF THE MUDDER IS PROBABLY THE EASIEST THING FOR ME OBVIOUSLY - ITS TEN MILES. THE BIGGER CHALLENGE WERE THE THINGS THAT REQUIRE UPPER BODY STRENGTH - THE MONKEY BARS, THE WALL CLIMBS, HAND WALKS, ETC. I WAS ABLE TO CONQUER EVERY OBSTACLE HOWEVER, THANKS AGAIN TO MY CONTINUING OLYMPIC STRENGTH TRAINING. TWO YEARS AGO, I NEVER COULD HAVE ATTEMPTED ANYTHING LIKE A TOUGH MUDDER. NOW HONESTLY, IT WASN'T THAT PHYSICALLY CHALLENGING - MORE OF A MENTAL CHALLENGE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. WHEN YOU HAVE TO DO OBSTACLES CALLED "THE ARCTIC ENEMA," "ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY," AND "FIRE IN YOUR HOLE," IT CAN BE A LITTLE INTIMIDATING. BUT IN RETROSPECT, NO OFFENSE TO MUDDERS OUT THERE, A MARATHON IS A LOT HARDER.
What are you training for now?
AFTER I REST A FEW DAYS, I'LL GET BACK INTO THE GRIND OF MY TWENTY WEEK MARATHON TRAINING PROGRAM THAT I'M CURRENTLY DOING. MY NEXT MARATHON WILL BE IN OCTOBER AND I HAVE A SPECIFIC TIME GOAL. BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO RUN AS MANY SHORTER RACES I CAN. I'LL PROBABLY END UP RUNNING 3-4 5K'S, A COUPLE OF 10K'S, MAYBE ONE HALF AND AN OBSTACLE RACE.
Thanks Dave! Great story!
