Wednesday, February 25, 2009

No pain means a gain for this guy

Today was a good day.

No pain during my run (3 miles) and for most of the day. My leg was a little sore early in the day, but feels great post run and stretching. I have been to physical therapy and hope to continue for the next few weeks.

My priority is to run one week without any pain before even thinking about setting any goals. This was the request of my new training-adviser/coach Matt Centrowitz. I'll write more about coach Centrowitz in another post.

So therapy, stretching, icing, and short runs are the name of the game right now. I'm just glad today was a good day.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Hold on tight to your dreams

I turned the final corner towards the finish line, only 600m to go. My legs were sore and my body was tired. With close to 13 miles of running completed I wanted to be done. I was disappointed and hurt. The streets of Houston seemed quiet, but there were people all over. I exited the shadows of downtown to feel the sun on my face. I squinted and wiped the sweat from eyes. With 400m to go I could feel someone catching me, but I didn’t care. I glanced at my watch one last time, a mistake. With 300m to go I could clearly hear an announcer saying people’s names as they crossed the line. Would he say mine? Would it matter? People lined both sides of the finishing straight-away. They were cheering, but not for me. At 200m I could see a large monitor at the finish; the camera was following the lead woman. At 100m I could hear music, and as I got closer to the finish line it became clearer. It was the Electric Light Orchestra, “hold on tight to your dreams, hold on tight to your dreams.” After blocking out sounds most of the race, I heard every word of that song’s beginning. One more runner passed by me before I crossed the line, I gave no response. 1:10:18 for the 2009 Houston Half Marathon. My disillusionment turned to anger, frustration, and more disappointment as I was ushered indoors by USATF and race volunteers. I had seen this movie before, but it didn’t feel any better this time. Before the race I held out hope that it would be the end of my journey, but as it turns out, it was only the beginning.

Hold on tight to your dreams indeed; hold on tight to your dreams.


------------------------------------------------------------------


A lot has changed since November, December, and even early January. Without getting too philosophical and deep I will say that life is moving fast, and frankly, at times I am struggling to keep up. Sure, it's a cheesy metaphor, one often overused in the world of (apparent) narcissistic bloggers like myself. Unfortunately it's all too true. At some point we all have to move forward in various areas of our lives, and for me, it seems that everything is coinciding at once. I don't mean to be melodramatic, but it sucks. How many cross-roads can one come to in a day, week, month, or even a year? I don't know, but I feel like I am finding out.

Here is a short recap of everything since November. If you want more details you'll have to e-mail me.

I got in nasty shape. I got engaged. I finished my third semester at AU. I went home for Christmas. I felt like garbage on my runs. I got my first massage. I had a fantastic New Year's eve. I PR'd for 3k (8:31). I returned to DC. I got sick. I finished a short film project. I got sort of hurt. I raced terribly in Houston. I got sick again. I continued to be sort of injured. I shot video at the USATF XC Champsionships. I realized that my sort of injury is a real hamstring problem.

Welcome to today. All I could do was take a hot shower and stretch for 25 minutes, then ice for 15. Tomorrow I am setting up a doctor's appointment, thus signaling the beginning of the end for this injury. Stay tuned for more updates on that.


-------------------------------------------------------------


I remember everything I was feeling that last 1/2 mile of Houston. I can close my eyes and see the finish. After two weeks of a weird running schedule following it, I visited my fiancee Emily in Baltimore. While there I went out for a run to this private school in full winter gear (pants, under armour top, hat gloves), as the temperature was hovering between 15-20 degrees. It is about 2.5 miles out to the school and as I got to the football field I stopped. I instinctively went over to the bleachers and sat down. The campus was so quiet and the air so crisp. The sun was shining bright, but at 4:00 in the afternoon it was beginning to set. I hung my head trying to make some sense of everything. I felt uncomfortable with the silence around me. I started whispering/singing to myself. "Hold on tight to your dreams, hold on tight to your dreams." For some reason I just couldn't shake that song from my head. With it I kept reliving the finish, the emotions still hitting me hard. It still hurt. After about five minutes I got up and finished the run. I felt defeated and that feeling wasn't going away.

I know that in reality finish-line DJ's have a playlist of songs for big races. The list probably includes tracks like "Don't Stop Believing", "Living on a Prayer", "Break My Stride", and other such hits. It's an 80's pop-fan's dream, and a cliche festival for those finishing a big event. However, I see the moment I crossed that line in Houston as a sign, and I refuse to let go of it. Any song could have been playing. It could have been Bon Jovi, it could have been Whitney Houston, hell, it could have been Kenny G. Instead it was, "Hold on tight to your dreams." It doesn't get any clearer than that.

So, I will hold on tight to my dreams, and better yet, I won't give up on them either.