The realization that I had hit a rut in my life also applied to my running performance, which has not advanced at all since the high-water mark of breaking 4 hours in the '06 Spinx Marathon. In fact, my 5k times had been slipping for about a year prior to that, and nothing that I tried seemed to reverse the slide. Of course, most of my training revisions focused upon speedwork, and were rewarded with shin splints and piriformis. And while I have read that regular speedwork is necessary for a masters runner, speed did not seem to be my problem. I could turn on the speed when I needed it, as long as my legs hadn't gone lactic or my core wasn't crying "enough." Sure, my breathing wasn't great, but it never is, and it was getting better even when I was not doing heavy speedwork.
What I needed was more endurance, and the best way to get it was to build an aerobic base by running lots of long, slow distance, adding more and longer tempo runs as my weekly mile totals slowly increased. So I made a plan: after the Sunrise Run in early June, I would take a few days off and then start a program of steadily-building easy miles that would last through the summer, until it was time to start training in earnest for Kiawah Island in December, which I figured would be around Labor Day. By then I hope to be up around 50 miles per week, and to be ready to fine-tune for the Spinx Half at the end of October and the marathon on December 8.
That is still my goal, although I have not built miles at the pace I had hoped due to the heat, my inability to get up early on weekdays, and the stress of my job. But I'm still pretty much on track, and will get around 30 miles this week once I complete a semi-long run of 10-12 miles tomorrow. I've begun to mix in some tempo as well, including a 30-minute long tempo at 8:19 on the rubberized marshmallow track in downtown Greenville the morning of the fourth. That felt good, as have most of my other runs over the past few weeks, indicating that my plan is working. The rest has been good for my legs: my piriformis is practically gone, and even my left achilles tendon doesn't bother me much anymore. And I can fell my endurance slowly building.
Despite all that has transpired, I feel an unusual surge of energy, as if something is dying and something else is being born. I'm going to ride it, and see where it takes me. No matter what, the ride will be interesting.
