Kyle Matthies
RE--Building Miles
March 6, 2009 - Last marathon season I set out on an aggressive plan to decrease my time and hopefully qualify for Boston. Having reached 20 mile training runs and maintained the distance for over a year and a half, I wanted to cram in as many miles as possible while improving my time.
I did that, taking a few minutes off my time at each race, eventually finishing the Los Angeles Marathon in 3:34:43, more than twenty minutes faster than my time in Long Beach. Although I was very pleased with the improvement, LA was only the midpoint of my season, so I anticipated more gains by the San Diego Marathon three months later.
The problem was, all the miles took a toll on my body. My plan included running the Orange County, Huntington Beach, and Los Angeles marathons in January, February, and March respectively. Although I came out of LA with a new personal record, getting back to training did not go as planned.
Facing severe ankle pain, I was forced to cut back on training to recover. As time went by and the pain kept up, I was forced to withdraw from the San Diego Marathon and place my goals on hold, at least until the next season. Getting back into training, however, several months later yielded new pains and I began working with a physical therapist to overcome the injury.
I am now running painfree, however, my hard earned endurance has suffered. I am for the first time in nearly three years building miles to prepare for my next race. This time, however, it's rebuilding, which I am finding is much more difficult than I would have expected.
Most recently, I passed the 13 mile barrier after being stuck at that distance for a couple of weeks. Completing a difficult 15 mile hill course helped push me to the next level, but I still have a long way to go to be ready for this year's LA Marathon.
What I've found most interesting in the process is how difficult it is to return to a level you were once at. Race day has always been easy, it is the long and lonely training miles that challenge your resolve while training for a marathon. But this time, however, overcoming the physical and mental barriers is taking a new outlook and different set of goals. I have been forced to reexamine my motivation and implement new trainning techniques - most importantly, I've been seeking out new places to run.
With this in mind, I was especially struck by an article that Runner's World recently published titled "A Second Life." The story recounts Matthew Long's return to the New York City Marathon after being crushed by a 20 ton bus on December 22, 2005. Having qualified for the Boston Marathon with a 3:13:59 finish in the 2005 New York City Marathon, Long's training plans were cut short when his body was mangled by the accident.
Returning in November 2008, after 68 blood transfusions and with a titanium rod in his left leg, Long finished the New York City Marathon in 7:21:22. Matthew's story, makes my return to the marathon seem easy. Everyone faces personal challenges throughout their life, but with the right motivation and perseverance, we can all realize our goals.
Matthew Long's story is incredibly moving and emotional. I encourage all who visit my site to take a moment to read about what he accomplished.
Training in Chino