Also looking at my Garmin connect I have done racing wise quite well the last five years. Here are the personal records from the last year which I think have been some of my peak performance.
12/7/2019 Irving Frost 5k 16:47
11/28/2019 Turkey Trot 8 miles 45:36
2/1/2020 SAGU half Marathon 1:15:27
1/19/2020 Houston Marathon 2:42:54
Some of the things that have really helped was slow long running. The Corona Virus Epidemic since March has also helped me be consistent and not racing for the moment.
Other highlights that I can remember from the last 5 years has been the most significant which is the birth of my daughter Ruby who was born 1/22/15 and has been the catalyst to continue to run. When she was first born that summer I remember being stressed and cutting my mileage drastically. I gained about 20 pounds, but then realized that I needed to regain the mileage. I slowly went back to the mileage routine and really since 2016 I have been consistent with mileage.
For me the magic weekly mileage has been around 80 miles. I came to this number through sheer experimentation. When I was doing around 50 miles a week that was when I gained 20 lbs. This made me realize that the routine wasn't working. I then bumped it up gradually and even tried 90 plus miles as week. I quickly realized that 90+ was too high and my fatigue was too much. I was constantly tired and felt like I had to lay down all the time. Then I stepped back and went to 80 mpw and this has helped me address some of that fatigue. I still get fatigued especially with allergies, but have now find that I am able to be consistent which is what I want.
I want to be a example for my daughter and my family, as I get older now mid 30s I realize how it is much more important to have an activity that keeps momentum going.
This 2020 has been quite different from the rest. First the pandemic has caused the races to be canceled. Boston 2020 would have been my 8th Boston marathon but it was canceled after being postponed. In 2018 it was in the 30s with strong wind and rain and I ran a personal record on that course with 2:53 time. In 2019 after the wonderful pacing and help from good friend Tatsuya, we ran a 2:50 mere seconds from one another. This 2020 I was reading to run even faster, but the pandemic has halted those plans.
Also at the end of June I was planning to go to Tangamanga Marathon in SLP Mexico. Last year I had run a 3:04 and placed 22. I didn't know how to run it as it was 6k in altitude and ran it evenly paced and under my marathon heart rate. Plus the same day my mom was to celebrate her 60th birthday and I didn't want to be worn out from the race. This year would have been different as I knew the course now and was ready to run. They postponed the race till November but I'm not sure if I will be able to travel at the time and how the pandemic will play out.
Moving forward my plan in to continue to remain consistent and just try to enjoy running. A couple of weeks ago I was running with Licho and Kankis and one of our discussion was training. Kankis made the comment of why should one train if all the races were canceled? I responded that I didn't run for races but more for the love of the sport. Since I started running around 15 which was 20 years ago it has taken me to multiple cities, countries, and I've met many people through running. Regardless of races I enjoy running for running sake. If someone were to tell me that all races will forever be canceled would I stop running? Likely not as that is a time that I meditate, think about my plans, clear my head and it has inspired me to do countless things. I will try and keep an update more frequently now that we are in the summer and there is more time to train. Thank you for reading!
June 8-June 14
M-12 miles
T-15 miles
W-rest
TH-16.5 miles
F-16.6 miles
S-10.2 miles in Menard weekend trip
S-10.1 miles in Menard weekend trip
80.5 week miles
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