Momentum didn't take a few months ago. Since my commentary on Second Chances, the reset button has been hit. I revisited my chiropractor and massage therapist to fix the pesky right hip issue. There’s a new coach in the picture, and a new view on what needs to be done. Much of the past month has been spent reflecting on the training for Chicago and what needs to be done differently.
 
Coach K is more than qualified, but her program had me pushing too hard (see right hip issue above). The new coach is a former co-worker from when I worked for a law firm in New York City just out of college. We both went on to law school, and neither one of us is practicing law. She left the life of lawyering and started a fitness studio in upstate New York. A few weeks ago I reached out for suggestions on how to find a coach in Orlando, and learned she coaches runners and triathletes. She offered to help and for the past few weeks, what she’s put together has worked well.

The “road to Boston” also took on more focus, with lessons learned from the experiences of others. I read the book Running Away by Robert Andrew Powell and his attempt to qualify for Boston on his first try, similar to what his father did in the late ‘70s. The Runner Academy podcast by Matt Johnson is also a recent addiction. Matt regularly interviews different guests and offers tips for runners of all abilities, and his podcasts have been played daily for the past couple weeks.

With all this new knowledge, it’s obvious why the Chicago Marathon finish was somewhat a disappointment. The pace for the first half was fairly impressive, but the second half kicked my ass. My body wasn’t ready for it after taking an entire month off the training program because of my Achilles issue, the result of poor running form.

So now I’m on a plan that makes good sense, and already has me stronger and more flexible since before training for Chicago. The workouts aren’t as fast as January, but that was too fast too soon. Along the way there’ll be a focus on cadence, speed work, hills and other things that were not any part of the training for Chicago. But between now and then, the mission is to quit competing with ANYTHING and just log the miles to get a solid base. It’ll mean running with the snails, but that’s the only way to keep moving and run injury-free. Slow and steady won't win the race, but it'll set a strong foundation for speed.

I have a saying. Momentum is magic. It's true in every facet of life. When you have it, you know it. You also know when you don't. It's related to the state of flow proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, and in its purest form is physical. It takes energy, and it's easier to stay moving when energy is high. It's easier to keep moving in the direction you're headed once you've DONE something to get you started. That THING is called Activation Energy, according to Shawn Achor. Again applying physics, it takes SOMETHING to get momentum. That SOMETHING can be as basic as keeping your guitar in the middle of the living room instead of in the closet so you'll see it and practice it instead of having to walk ALL THE WAY to the closet to take it out (Achor's example). And while these principles of momentum and activation energy are from physics, the keys are all driven via psychology.

A week ago I met with Coach Katherine for the first time. She's a running coach with experience running and coaching. She's run Boston, and about half of her clientele consists of triathletes. We met at Panera Bread in downtown Orlando and the first thing she told me is she's 8-months pregnant. We spent an hour talking about running, goals, my history, her background, etc. We talked about my goal of running Boston in 2016, which she mentioned is aggressive (which I know). She said some of her clients have trimmed :30 minutes off their first marathon. I told her by the end of the year, my goal is to run in four hours or less. That's a LOT more than a :30 minute improvement.

The next forty-five minutes were spent stretching, doing drills and evaluating my form. She made a few tweaks, and I'm convinced solved my Achilles / calf problem.

We left agreeing that the week of the 13th would be our first week, and my initial mission was to get out and run a few days this past week. Nothing bold and daring like 5 or 6 miles. Just a couple miles at most, and work on my form. I walked away energized and ready to get 2014 started. Boston or Bust, right? And 1.5 to 2.0 miles is NOTHING.

Then the week hit. Hard. The picture above is where I spent the past five days, many nights not getting to bed until 3 and up at 5. The things in the upper right corner were my sources of energy - coffee in the styrofoam cup (we had breakfast at Perkins yesterday, celebrating my youngest son's 13th birthday) and my mug of green tea. The two screens were where I focused my eyes. What a mess. 

At the end of the week, I did have a sense of accomplishment, but was worn out. As a result last night was slow, hitting the pillow early and up easy around 8am. Running hasn't been a ritual since the Chicago Marathon in October. So today, I took my first steps.The weather was warm, and I took our dog Hank with me. The first thing I realized is I am back to being OUT. OF. SHAPE. So is Hank. The good news is I'm not feeling any pain in my calves / Achilles (although my right hip is tight). And the better news is I have momentum. No injuries. No pressure. Just some energy headed in the right direction.

Here are the stats:

Distance: 1.5mi.
Start Time: 12:41pm
Duration: 14:33
Avg Pace: 9:44

Well, run that for 26.2 miles and it won't be my 4 hour marathon. But I don't have to run a 4 hour marathon today. I DO have to put the right habits back in place.

The goal for the month of January is to run 2 miles in 14 minutes. That's a lot of work in 3 weeks when I can't even run ONE mile at that 7:00 per mile clip. Momentum is magic, baby. Momentum is magic.