The Authentic Marathon

Last weekend, Athens hosted it's annual Authentic Marathon with great success. The weather, as usual, was on the warm and sunny side but that didn't stop the 28,000 participants (combined marathoners and 10km/5km runners) from coming out and each giving their own best for the day.

Now that I am personally coaching some "Marathon Clubbers" (our running club), the race had even more significance for me. I biked out to the 30km mark to cheer on all of the 62 marathoners of our club and other friends and runners along the way. The 30km is a particularly key point in the race as it is just before the end of the endless hills that distinguish the Authentic course. Giving a voice of enthusiasm and confidence to the runners, reminding them that the hills were just about over was so fulfilling as I could see their eyes light up despite the obvious challenge they faced.

As a coach, I had my first marathon runners finish their races in fine form. Irini ran a 19 minute PR finishing in 4:10:41. Meanwhile in the Cote d'Azur Marathon on the same day, Magda paced her brother to his first sub-4:00 marathon running 3:45:40. Both negative-split (faster second half) efforts.

Michael managed to finish the Athens course despite an injury that kept him out of training, but his desire to start and finish willed him to jogging and walking the entire race. A valiant effort!

Cordelia and Dora ran the 10km in 44:09 and 44:24 (a PR),  respectively, taking 1st and 2nd place in their age-group 40-44. Pavlos also ran the 10km in 47:42. Congratulations to all!

As for me, two weeks of training have passed and I've started intervals! Very exciting to be back into more structured training. Some of the more interesting workouts I've done these past two weeks include 5x1km repeats, 13x400m repeats, and a couple of tempo runs (6.5km and 8km).

As much as hanging out with Marathoners is a blast, I end up eating like one too, but without the training volume to justify it. So, its about time to put an end to marathon season for 2015 and hunker down for a winter of solid training and the promise of racing for myself in 2016.

The Joys of Coaching

A couple of years ago I started coaching some friends in their running. It started all a bit casually with passing on some basic training advice that turned into full-fledged weekly programming. For me, it has given me a great place to redirect my personal enthusiasm and motivation, particularly in times when my own body wasn't able to respond to the physical demands I was asking of it.

One of the first friends I started with was Dora. She is a mother of two and this year has started working full-time. I know that this is not a matter of much surprise as many women runners balance their training with full-time jobs and families. But for me, Dora has impressed with her blind commitment to the training (we've been doing 6-days per week this year!) and the fact that she never balks at the training plan I give her, and I'm not known for being easy!

Yesterday, we ran a 5km time trial at the track, which I paced her through. It was a windy afternoon and despite the aggressive pace, there she was right behind me pushing through the entire time. By the 4th km she seemed to have reached her limit, but in the final km she picked it up and pulled off an impressive PB of 20:45!! That is a 17-second improvement from the spring and about 3 minutes from when we first started out. Her km splits 4:12, 4:09, 4:08, 4:11, and 4:04. We ended with big hugs and both of us feeling proud and happy!

As for me, last week's training was completed as planned with a total of 29km for the week including, 5 runs, 3 strength days and a long run of about 7.4km. Last night, though, as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I kept thinking about Dora and realized that her effort was more exciting and motivating to me now than anything I had done for myself last week. So, this week it's about time to get in some intervals and take things up a notch. I'm looking forward to it and setting some real PBs for myself in the future.

Way to go, Dora!

The Frankfurt Marathon and Training Week 3

I know this weekly update is a bit late but I'll just blame it on too much bier and wurst in Frankfurt! This past weekend Coach Dimitri's Marathon Club sent a team of 9 runners (and it's sizable entourage) to race the Frankfurt Marathon, and I got to go along for the ride! It's always so much fun being part of the support group helping others reach their goals and this entourage was able to arrange support at 5 different stops along the way at 5km, 10km, 15km, 27km, and 35km! I must say we had quite successful results: 6 PRs, one near-miss (1-second if you can believe it!!!) and two more very strong efforts. Actually, there is one more PR that is worth recognizing (thank you Matthew for following "the Plan").

Getting goosebumps as the start neared and watching so many runners push themselves for 42 consecutive kilometers is always motivating...although, personally, it did not make me feel like doing it again any time soon! Ha!

On a personal note, I was able to get in all five of my scheduled trainings (honestly I didn't do my two strength days, though) and my long run was 40' running along with Spyros who broke 4 hours for the first time and ran 3:46! Now that was fun!

Almost the whole group: Me, Verena L., Nikos T., Matthew N., George S., Spyros K., Dimitris G., Petros T., Coach.

Missing: Xavier L., Kostas M., George P.

Training Week 2: Check!

I've been so up and down these past few years, in terms of consistency with training and feeling good in my body, so it feels really good to be able to successfully complete week two of training as planned. Now granted, I haven't set up an aggressive training plan but I think it is important to have a conservative, attainable schedule and to build up slowly, both for my body and mind.

Fortunately this fancy watch keeps the motivation high as I set two more records: 5 km in 20:36 and a long run of 7.2km! Again, I trained 5 days including two 30' runs and a short hill workout. I totaled 27 km for the week, up from 22 km last week.

I think posting these workouts in my blog also helps to keep me consistent so that next week I'll have a full report to give again!

New Beginnings

The best thing about getting one of these new fancy GPS-and-track-your-every-movement-and-vital-sign watches is that you get to set new records! I just finished my first week of training after some time off with a new watch and new hopes of feeling strong and in control of my body again.

I'm running five days a week and no double-days. Just short stuff that makes you feel good to be moving again. In the process, I set two new "records": a 5k in 20:47 and a Longest Run of 4.39 miles. Clearly far off actual personal bests but I'll take it. Now I'm looking forward to setting more new records this week. Here's to New Beginnings!

Running Log: Week 1

I am so happy to report that I was successfully able to make it through my first full week of training! Woohoo! Last week, starting Monday, I trained for 6 days straight - something I haven't been able to do since December 2013. I got in a long run of 50 min - also something I haven't done since last December. And, I got in some tempo intervals of 6x800m.

The big takeaway for me at this point is that I was able to get through the training without feeling completely exhausted afterwards. In late October, 5 months after my thyroidectomy and working with my doctors to adjust my Synthroid dose to meet my needs, I finally felt I came out of the woods and could handle life's demands and training again.

The biggest challenge last week, and I'll admit a bit unexpected, was that I wasn't as good about putting the time and focus into the training process that used to be my hallmark. It was as if I had gotten used to giving excuses about not feeling well or being tired or not having a set goal or reason to focus, so I was more lax about everything - which meant that getting in those 6 runs wasn't as easy as I expected it would be.

But now, as I am in the midst of week two, I notice that I am getting my edge back. I still need to work a lot on making time to stretch as much as I need to, to put in the strength work that will pay off in the long run, and to regain my more disciplined nutrition habits, though. But I am confident that as each week builds and I feel stronger, my competitive edge will start clawing at my door again, I'll be able to put the pieces of the complex puzzle of training at a high level together. I'm excited about what my future holds and where this attempt at a "comeback" will take me!

Bring it on Week 2!!

Good Luck Bad Luck

This is a Taoist story I've been sharing with dear friends for years ever since I first came across it.

There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"
Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?

And now it is time to put the preachin' to the test.

Exactly two weeks after surgery just as the last steri-strip bandages are peeling away from my skin and I'm excited to be adjusting to my fabulous new "tattoo," I find out the pathology report from the material excised from my throat. And it's a bit of "curveball", as Dr. Holsinger so delicately put it! Although the two biopsies I had done had come back clear (there were smaller nodules that can not be biopsied if they are under 1cm), it turns out that I did have papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) which actually had metastasized to a lymph node. Yea, I would definitely call that a curveball.

Needless to say it was unexpected. A shocker. Ok, and honestly, a tearjerker. But then conversations were had, I took some courses at Google "university" and a couple of days have passed to let it sink in. The good news is that at my YOUNG age (that always feels good) and my good health and as early as it is with such a small amount of cancer cells around, it is something that is treatable without major cause for cause for concern. The treatment seems pretty straight forward - swallow a radioactive iodine pill and let it do it's thing killing off the unwanted intruders and with minimal side effects - and I'll have to monitor it for the rest of my life with blood tests but hey things could be worse.

And here is Perspective again biting me in my arse...for all the stress and frustration and emotional angst I experienced trying to make it to the Olympics and running that race that felt like the worst thing ever, what do you think I would prefer to experience again?