Surf City 26.2

The Surf City Marathon was on February 7, 2016.  Leading up to the race I had a solid 20 week training program consisting of 50 miles per week.  Spending two days a week on the track going fast, my run form definitely improved as I move away from my ultra shuffle.  My pacing also improved as I held a solid 7:20 avg. through mile 14 in my attempt to qualify for Boston.  Mile 14 on the course is headed back on the PCH before turning around to do another out & back on the beach trail.  This section of the course gets dehydrating from the ocean sun and my engine went redline with my heart rate spiking, my legs cramping and my pace taking a nose dive as I started to unfold hitting the wall at mile 18.  After this occurred, it was no mans land until the 3:30 pace group picked me up to bring it home for a brutal 3:29 finish.  Looking back on my training log, you get what your trained for.  My long runs were perfect 16-18 milers at pace but I lacked inserting the 20-22 milers in the build up.  My other item was diet, I ate healthy but weighed in at 175 where as my ideal marathon race weight would have been 160.   In summary, building into that longer 20 mile marathon pace long run & achieving race weight are the two key improvements I will pursue to succeed at my next Boston attempt.  The back third of the race is all about efficiency so coming in lighter is definitely more efficient and with diet just as important as training, I think that is the side of the equation where my next change will be.  Looking at the Strava results, I had a lot of company with other people going for 3:15 hitting the wall at the same time and finishing with the 3:30 so this is a common stepping stone in getting to that next level.
http://www.strava.com/running-races/2016-surf-city-marathon

Self-awareness

I like to start with an honest perspective.  In development this is the base we measure against before the change or transformation is applied.  It’s important to appreciate where you are at today and be grateful for how much you already have at the start of your journey.  Perspective is important to put change in context when going from point A to point B.

 

For runners, point A is the results of your last race.  The practice of assessing your last race results is the perspective you need as the new baseline.  It’s important to look at both the positive and negative aspects and ask yourself what believes are driving them?  The recipe is simple, your beliefs drive action, and action drives results.  Your beliefs are at the helm, driving what you achieve.

 

Let’s go deeper into this pattern.  First, what you believe leads to how you feel.  Second, how you feel leads to what action you take or avoid.  Third, the actions you take are responsible for the results you get.

 

If you want to be results driven look inward with an honest perspective on how your beliefs make you feel about your last race results, what actions you took or did not take as a result of your beliefs leading up to the race and what believes need to change to improve.

On the Road to Surf City

Taking on the marathon is not popular.  In America, only 550 thousand of our 318 million population takes on this annual goal making it far less than 1%.  As a point of reference, watching the super bowl is considered popular even though only 35% of the population watches the big game (111 million of 318 million).  Therefore, to complete the goal of taking on a marathon, you must be willing to change your perspective and not be influenced by what’s popular. 

 

A clear goal is set the moment you register to take on the marathon.  It’s a time bound goal and the clock starts with a countdown to the big day.  A heightened sense of things moving more quickly is awakened as every day spent leaves a smaller percentage of the total time left to train for that big race.  Therefore it is key when training for a marathon to reset life’s cadence.  What are you willing to say no to in order to regain focus on what’s important? 

 

The unpopular choice of saying no needs to be based on logic, not impulse.  Impulse keeps us in our comfort zone to escape for a moment.  You will have to learn to listen to your mind more than your cravings or desires to escape for a moment.  The struggle is real in the battle between logic vs. impulse.

 

Impulse is like an addition to what feels good & makes us comfortable.  But choosing behaviors based on what feels good is not the same thing as choosing what’s right to logically get out of your comfort zone in pursuit of life’s greater goals.  When I run the Surf City Marathon next weekend, I will be thinking about the popular comfort zone of 111 million watching the super bowl and celebrating with a unique culture I share with that small LT1% percentage of our population stepping outside that comfort zone of the average spectator to live life’s rich experiences to the fullest in today’s marathon.

 

If step 1 was signing up for a date, step 2 is scheduling the training leading up to that date.  Logically, I need to commit 50 miles a week to train for this marathon which means setting aside 7.5 training hours a week.  Blocking off 4.5% of your weekly calendar to train is not popular and there will be many impulse distractions that compete for this time to say no to.  The way I see it, I will need to reset life’s cadence to focus on what’s important so my daily rhythm is as follows (4% training, 33% work, 30% family, 33% sleep, and repeat).  As some say, get your priorities straight then embrace the daily grind.  My schedule is sacred, training is for training, work is for work, family is for family and sleep is for sleep so I’m prepared to say no to keep this pattern in alignment.  I am driven in a relentless pursuit to exceed expectations in my race, in my job and with my family time.  By allocating separate time to focus on each I find balance in my life.

 

Now I’m ready for step 3, spending that 4.5% of my week with intent focus to nail every workout to the best of my ability.  I surround myself with friends with a shared goal to race Surf City together.  We meet on the track every Monday and Wednesday and for a long run in Yokohl Valley on Sunday with the remaining half of our easy miles on a more flexible schedule as long as they get done.  We dub our time together as the lost boys because we get to play again like we did in our childhood.  We adapt to our environment as we see progress week over week running the same Oak Tree route in Yokohl Valley.  This life experience training with friends will be known as the Lost Boys of Yokohl Valley.