For the first time this year, I've felt the burden of training in less than perfect 'conditions.' In Jerusalem over the first half of the year, time was an infinite gift but space was incredibly precious. Planning long runs and bike rides without running around the city block 75x's was certainly tricky and found me in some locations I would never have seen otherwise! I know it's difficult to picture, but just take my word for it- planning a 15 mile+ training run in East Jerusalem is not easy! The end of those countless hours of running brought me to the start line of the Dead Sea Marathon in Amman, Jordan. The race start outside of Amman at an altitude of 2493 ft would descend over the 26.2 mile course to 1200 ft. BELOW sea level, for a total descent of over 3600 ft! Talk about a fast course!!! Completing the 'Lowest Marathon on Earth' in a PR of 3:28:45 also brought me one step closer to my goal of running a marathon on every continent- Asia & North America down, five more to go!Fast forward a few months and I found myself a full time working man! With days in the Army often lasting 12 hrs or more, training for the NYC Marathon become a whole different challenge. I was forced to focus almost solely on my long weekend runs and let go of other weekly mileage goals that I normally would have met. Gone are the days of Academia when many hours of the day can be devoted to cooking, working out, snoozing, and training some more. Yet it all seemed to work out and I proved to myself that I don't have to give up on the Endurance Quest just because I have a full time job!
Following my wonderful experience in NYC (see previous post), I felt content to 'hang it up' for the year. Of course I wouldn't stop working out, but it was time to relax a bit more. And then the inevitable happened- I was searching the net and came across an Offroad Duathlon outside of San Antonio. Okay, ONE more fun race will help bring closure to the season! This Sunday morning will consist of a 3.1 mile trail run-12 mile Mountain Bike- 3.1 mile trail run, done in consecutive fashion! I am beyond excited to start racing off-road since that is where I feel most at home. Ironically, old Gary has never raced before and even though he is a dinosaur in bicycle years, I think he's up to the challenge.
And I'm additionally excited for the trail race this weekend since I just got a new pair of kicks- okay, so I buy shoes like it's my hobby. But seriously, these shoes are pretty sweet...my first ever pair of La Sportivas! Run on... Have a good one!
-Z-
1 comment:
Happened upon your blog by hitting "next blog!" In the rare occasions I've done this previously, I usually get to sites in some foreign language. What a pleasure to run across your site, in English and about running! Love the poem. I just couldn't stay silent after your comment about buying shoes being a hobby. I can definitely identify. Congrats on your NYC Marathon finish!
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