A Year of Running Dangerously

Steamtown Marathon October 2015

2016 started with such great promise. I was coming off the last quarter of 2015 where I had PR’d a 5k, 10k, Half Marathon (twice) and a Marathon. I was likely in the best shape of my life and in consultation with my Dr. was no longer taking any medications. I was running fast, enjoying myself and felt unstoppable. I set lofty goals for 2016 – a marathon in May to continue my improvement and then one in August to qualify for the 2017 Boston Marathon. This would mean dropping my marathon time by around 34 minutes – more than a minute a mile but my trainer, Eric Eisenhart, and I believed it was possible.

January was supposed to be downtime and for the most part it was. No races – just running with my peeps for BC*AC. In late January, NJ was hit with a blizzard that dumped 30” of snow. Of course, I ran during the blizzard and in the fresh snow afterward – why not?

'Cause we made a promise we swore we'd always remember

No retreat, baby, no surrender - No Surrender, Bruce Springsteen

February was when training for the NJ Marathon on May 1 was to begin in earnest. Unfortunately, I had an IT band issue possibly caused by running in the snow and ice. This was my first “maybe I shouldn’t have done that” moment of the year. After some PT at Pro-Activity, training started about 2 weeks late with the goal of biting off about half the time I needed and a stretch goal of getting close to a BQ. Since I was already in shape, the miles ramped up pretty fast, along with speed training and going to Eric’s 6 AM strength and conditioning class twice a week. It was intense, but I was enjoying myself and seeing improvement.

Run O' The Mill 5k March 2016

March and April brought continued hard training with the occasional local race thrown in. Since the Run O’ the Mill 5k goes right past my house in Clinton, I hosted an after party. Beer and green bagels at 9 in the morning! Fun events like that and the support and friendship in the club helped make the intense training easier. By mid-April I really started to feel the effects though. I was feeling worn down and my quads were not happy. Eric cut back my miles and added some stationary bike training. I also pretty much ran on flat routes (as flat as Hunterdon County offers) since the NJ Marathon is down the shore and flat. I thought the pain was all physical, but in hindsight there may have been some mental element as well.

About 3 weeks before NJ, I ran the Rutgers Half Marathon. It was a BC*AC Race Series event, we had a private pre-port-o-potty and seemed like a good idea to see where I was. I decided to go out an 8 min/mile pace which was what I needed in NJ to qualify for Boston. It may not have been the best strategy – I lasted about 5 miles at that pace and wore out my quads pretty good. On a positive note, it help refine my goals for NJ.

On race day for NJ, I knew I had put in the work but still had some lingering doubts due to my aches and pains. The predicted weather, cold and rainy, didn’t really help either. My stated goal was “leave everything on the road”. It may sound strange that I never had that goal before, but I guess I was always running for a PR or to finish, in the case of my first Half or Full. Yes, I had been spent after races but never had the experience I saw other runners have of being completely and utterly wiped out at the end of a race.

NJ Marathon May 2016

As the race started, the weather was actually better than predicted. Since I wasn’t feeling completely confident, I did something I had never done in any race before – I jumped in with a pace group. I found the 3:45 group and figured I’d see what happened. By mile 5, the weather fell in line with the prediction, and the rest of the race was high 40’s and steady rain. I felt good running with the pace group – there was conversation, but best of all I didn’t have to think – I just followed the guy with the 3:45 sign. I hung with them through about mile 20 when I started to have quad pain. I got a boost as I ran thru Asbury Park and Springsteen came on my playlist and then a little later when I saw Dave McCaffrety, a fellow BC*AC’er in the crowd. The last mile was up the boardwalk into Long Branch. I ran as hard as I could, ignoring the pain, and finished in 3:48. Yes, a PR by 13 minutes, but more importantly I felt I had left everything on the road. My legs were jelly, and I barely made it to the changing tent. It was a good feeling.

Ogden UT May 2016

The rest of May and beginning of June were supposed to be downtime. However, I ended up running a bunch of local races and a Half in Ogden, UT. In Ogden, I met up with my running friends from San Diego. We had a great time and Ogden is strikingly beautiful. It is also in the Wasatch Mountains, so race day was cold and rainy – an apparent theme for me. The difference was, I let myself just enjoy the scenery, as the race would down through a canyon and even let myself enjoy the absurdity of being soaking wet and running a Half marathon. For all the fun I had racing during this time, especially in Ogden, it was another “maybe I shouldn’t have done that” moment. I wasn’t training per se, but I was running hard when I went out on group runs.  And my personality wasn’t going to let me not run hard in races.

Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, Or is it something worse? - The River, Bruce Springsteen

As the time came to start really training for the Via Marathon on September 11, Eric warned me that it would be more intense and harder if I wanted to BQ. Not that it wasn’t an attainable goal; it would just be a lot of work. I truly believed I was ready and up to the task. So, Eric devised a training plan with high mileage from the start and hill and speed work, as well as 2 days a week in the gym. In the beginning, it was great – I imagined this was what it felt to be a “real” athlete. Unfortunately, after about a month of training, I was physically sore, but worse, I was mentally burned out. The breaking point came on what was supposed to be a 16-mile run. The group stopped at Camp Carr for water, and if I could have called a cab, I would have. I just didn’t want to run another step. I knew my dream of BQ’ing for 2017 was done.

Could I have rested and recovered physically and still run a great race at Via? Maybe. But, I was also mentally spent. I felt like my entire life was work-run-sleep, repeat. There wasn’t any downtime, and it was like a crushing weight. I think if I had continued, I could have lost my love of running and the joy I get from it. I had been training hard for a year straight. First for Steamtown, then NJ and now Via.

Eric suggested just running with the group on Wednesdays at the track and Saturdays from Basecamp31 since the social aspect was important to me. This did help some; but I still had Via sitting out there like the proverbial white whale. I decided that I would run the Half at Via rather than the Full. When I went to the Expo for Via, I felt…nothing. Then on race day, it was the same – I felt none of the usual pre-race excitement. I started out fast on a warm humid day, but by mile 5, I was spent. I realized that I really didn’t want to be there. I ran and walked to one of the worst Halfs of my (albeit short) career. If I had seen a BCAC spectator along the course, I would have gotten in their car and DNF’d. In retrospect, I never should have run even the Half at Via. It was just too emblematic of my failure to achieve my 2016 goals.

At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe -         

                   Reason to Believe, Bruce Springsteen

Ken Lockwood Gorge September 2016

I actually can tell you when running became fun again…I went for a run on a Sunday in late September on the Columbia Trail and decided to run the 5 miles out to Califon on the Trail but back through the Ken Lockwood Gorge, which I had never done. The Columbia Trail is one of my favorite places to run, and the beauty and quiet of the Gorge just spoke to me. I think I finally let go of the disappointment of what the year had become and could just run again.

I was lucky enough to “win” the lottery for entry to the NYC Marathon, so now I had a couple months to be ready to run 26.2 miles. I had originally thought NY would be a topper to an awesome year, but with my renewed mindset, I just decided to run and enjoy the experience. Of course, anyone who knows me knows I had a goal in mind. I hoped for 4 hours but didn’t obsess over it. I put my miles in with my longest run being around 18 miles.  Completely opposite of how I felt mid-year, I knew I could complete NY and, more importantly, enjoy it. 

NYC Marathon November 2016

Race day was warm for November but great running weather. I just took in the experience – from the bus ride to the corrals to the 26.2-mile party that is the NYC Marathon. The crowds in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Central Park were awesome, as was seeing my friend and fellow runner Louan Minzner at about Mile 14. I knew NY was a bucket list experience, and it lived up to the hype. I finished in 4:14 and couldn’t have been happier. (OK – breaking 4 hours would have made me happier, but I was happy, and that’s what was important.)

So I had my mojo back; I was back in the groove; choose a cliché – running was fun again. Heck, I ran the Turkey Trot within 30 seconds of my PR in a Santa Hat! So a happy ending to the story of Mark attempting to crush his own spirit and rise like a phoenix from the ashes, right? Well…maybe….

Where the way is dark and the night is cold, One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know

And I'll meet you further on up the road - Further On (Up the Road), Bruce Springsteen

Pushup Challenge, Clinton, NJ September 2016

In September, I was doing a 25 pushups for 25 days challenge and felt a pain on my left side near my hip bone. Like a typical running knucklehead, I continued to run and train in the gym. Core workouts and long runs made it hurt, but nothing was stopping me from running NY or risk losing my re-found love of running. After Turkey Trot though I knew I needed to do something. Luckily, it turned out not to be a hernia but instead a sports hernia which essentially a muscle strain or tear where the abdominal (in my case) muscle attaches to the pelvic bone.  The treatment is rest, ibuprofen and beer (OK – I added that last one). So, I finally get back in love with running, and now I can’t run? What kind of messed up world is that?

Now I rest. I’ve been able to run a little but know that right now I cannot train for a race. 2017 is a mystery – I have plans and goals, but they are on hold until I either heal or figure out what’s wrong.