Only 10 days to go until the Chicago Marathon and I am thrilled with the way my training has gone in the last 2 months.  Today marked my last tempo run and the official beginning of tapering for the race.  Although I still have a couple quality workouts to do, my mileage will reduce considerably.  I have been running about 115 miles a week and will reduce to about 80 the week leading up to the race.  Tapering is when we expect to feel exuberant with energy, but our bodies have something else in mind.  Tapering never feels as good as we want it to.  My week usually consists of restless night’s sleep (from not taxing myself in training), a mild headache (endorphin withdrawals) and a sudden feeling of loosing fitness (a five mile run doesn’t feel as easy as it should).  But our bodies have a self-preserving mechanism when it comes to marathon preparation.  We train for months to condition ourselves and then taper to store energy.  Race day arrives and we have all the tools to accomplish the distance.  When you add the buzz and enthusiasm of 45,000 people on the starting line, I consider this the special ingredient, the added boost that drives us.  Tomorrow is my last day at altitude before heading to sea-level to rest. 

I’ll be lounging in Southern California for a few days before heading east. We call these interim days “Camp Oxnard” since the sea-side town calls for a leisure existence.   I look forward to arriving in Chicago next week.  If you are there, please visit the ASICS booth at the Marathon Expo on Friday, October 9th from 1:30-2:30.  I’ll be there to visit with runners and running fans, sign autographs and enjoy the camaraderie of so many fit people on a 26.2 mile mission.  I look forward to sharing the experience with all of you.

Today as I was out running the last 20 miles on The ING NYC Marathon course I felt like I re-learned a very important lesson and fulfilled my purpose for coming to New York City this week.  I was having one of those days where I was tired and my run wasn’t going as well as I hoped.  All I could think about was how off my body felt, how tired I was from getting up at 5:30 am, how hard it was for me to navigate the city roads and traffic, how I wished I was back home in the forest. Really I was reaping frustration because I had let my heart become too self-focused.  As I ran along, God was telling me this is what it is like to be running with an inward focus, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  Though I heard Him, it didn’t make it from my head to my heart until after the run, as I lay on the massage table, still irritated by the morning, God impressed on my heart, get outside yourself.
 
It’s ironic that I am writing about lacking an outward focus less than two days after Sara and I launched our foundation, the Hall Steps Foundation.  Its goal is taking small steps towards the marathon goal of ending poverty.  The vision for the foundation came from one of my personal heroes, Mother Teresa, who said, “I can do no great things, just small things with great love.”  Out of this quote our slogan was born, “small steps, great love”.  Marathoners know best about taking lots of small steps towards accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal, whether it’s to break 2 hours or 8.  Through the Hall Steps Foundation our aim is to encourage runners to take their own “small steps” by focusing outside themselves on others both in their community and around the world living in poverty.
 
Yet, despite my excitement about starting this endeavor and belief in its mission, somehow I had lost focus.  This morning I woke up with the wrong perspective and forgotten my life and running is not all about me. I had forgotten that the truly special moments that I have experienced in running are all when I was outwardly-focused.  When I set my mind on God and praising Him through my running, thinking about my wife, family, and all those who I love, and remembering the people I am impacting a positive force in my running and is how God designed me to ideally function.  The more I reach out to positively impact others, the more my motivation and focus changes when running.  After visiting Zambia with World Vision in the fall of 2008, the faces of the kids we were to bring clean water to became burned in my mind’s eye.  I often go there when I am hurting on a run finding new strength that I couldn’t find in myself. 
 
The goal of today’s run was to preview the last 20 miles of The ING NYC Marathon course, but I accomplished so much more than that.  I learned an important lesson about what enables me to really fly: focusing outside myself by focusing on others I love.
 

I just came home from the gym which means I am “clocked out” for the day.  Although I still need to make dinner, I can’t help but get my blog out on the computer.  With the marathon quickly approaching, I guess I was feeling a little sentimental as I went for my second run through the meadow Andrew and I got married in and through a grove of changing Aspen trees.  The leaves on the wind sounded like rushing water and their color was magnificent in yellows and oranges.  On the run I reflected on this morning’s tempo run.  It was my fastest 10 mile tempo in about four years which, given my leap of fitness every week, has me excited and confident for the Chicago marathon just two weeks away.  I was excited during this tempo because I dug down for something greater when I needed to.  This run was important and I gave myself a little pep talk half-way through the workout.  I needed to find some form of strength right then or I would not have the tools to persevere during the marathon.  Although I was beginning to fatigue, I knew there was something greater inside of me.  Andrew was shouting encouragement from the van.  My teammates Mike McKeeman and Josh Cox had shorter tempos runs because of their half-marathon races in Philadelphia last week.  That is where my answer came.  Although it was going to be my strongest tempo in some years, Mike and Josh jumped out of the team van and ran my last mile with me.  They pushed me.  Hard.  I have never been able to close a run with my fastest mile but my teammates brought the best out of me.  They were the strength I was searching for.  I have always been grateful for my teammates, but this morning moved me.  Literally and figuratively.  This morning will be imbedded in my mind when the going gets tough in Chicago.  At the 20-mile mark, I expect to pull out the image of Mike and Josh and let them help me the last 6.2 miles of the race.  There is strength in numbers and there is nothing like a team when you are trying to accomplish a difficult task. 

 Another great week of workouts under my belt and another week closer to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  With the announcement of more elite runners joining the starting line, I get more excited for the race.  I love the thrill of competition so much that I tried to break away from Andrew, who was  riding the bike, during a 12 mile tempo run this week…what was I thinking?  In my pursuit, I ran my fastest 12 mile tempo run, so I guess it worked out even though I couldn’t shake him going up the last hill.  As I think of the marathon coming up and the 45,000 people I’ll be sharing the starting line with, I can’t help but think that the October 11 race day may be a little extra special for all of us.  Why? Because the 2016 Olympic bid will be announced 9 days prior.  On October 2, the International Olympic Committee will announce which city will host the 2016 Games.  If Chicago wins the bid, there will be extra electricity in the air.  Besides fully supporting Chicago’s bid, I think the timing of the announcement will elevate this year’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  Chicago and its people are great hosts to the world I learned when reading Devil in the White City.  The city pulled together for a great World’s Fair, and being a sport fanatical town seems a perfect host for the 2016 Games.  I have always loved running and racing in Chicago because of the sport-friendly fans that line the lake front.  Whenever I run there, I always receive encouragement from runners and cyclists getting in their morning workouts.  Now, we wait to hear if this great city will be hosting the world in the Olympic Games.  There will be quite a celebration on Marathon weekend if that is the case.  I’ll toast to that!

This week brought the first signs of fall and with it the excitement of increasing fitness as the ING NYC marathon draws near. For the first time this summer the shirt is staying on unless we are really running hard and I have already begun craving pumpkin lattes from Starbucks. There are many parts of fall that I enjoy, but the best part of fall is the feeling of being weeks away from top form.

Marathoning is much like cycling. I look up to Lance Armstrong as an athlete who has not only done what I would like to do the equivalent of in the running world, but also because he has used his physical feats to help others. I have read a couple books about Lance where they talk about the timing of peaking for the tour. It’s all about coming into peak form at precisely the right time to win the tour. I remember in a race leading up to one of the tours that Lance won he responded to a reporter's question about what was his goal for the competition and he replied, "to not get last."

It's really hard to go into buildup races for the marathon not in peak form but I know that if I really want the best shot to win NYC this fall I have to be so focused on that goal that I am willing to suffer in the races leading up to the competition. It is a bit ironic that I am writing this less than a week out from my last race, The Philadelphia Distance Classic, before NYC. It is not like I am not going to try and run fast at Philly or that I am expecting to get destroyed (I always go to the line with the expectation that something special could happen), but my point is that focus on the big goal and sacrifice is part of the price of being great.

It’s been a fairly typical week for me: intervals on Tuesday, Tempo run on Thursday and 20 miles hard on Sunday. However, last week was a significant week in that it marked the end of the initial buildup cycle for the marathon. From the time I arrived in Mammoth in the beginning of July till now it has all been about getting a good base level of fitness. Now it is time to go get one last indicator of where I am at before the real work begins. Along with the change of weather this week marks the winds of change in my training fast approaching.

On Sunday I race in Philly, then take a train to New York City where my wife and I will spend the next week. Not only am I looking forward to a week out of altitude to recover and gear up for the intense training awaiting me, but I am also looking forward to announcing some very exciting news that Wednesday. Additionally, I will get to preview the ING New York City Marathon course, which will give me some good images to visualize. On Saturday I will get to watch Sara compete in the 5th Ave mile and then we’ll catch an evening flight back to Reno that same day.

Monday the storm hits. If I am going to win the ING NYC marathon it will be as a result of what is done in those last 4 weeks of hard training before backing off for the race. An exciting season is on the way.

There is nothing like a disappointing race to light a fire under my feet.  Last weekend at the New York City Half Marathon I thought I would have raced better since I had finally put in three good weeks of training.  In what was my worst half marathon time since trying the distance in 2001, I finished so far back from the winner that I stopped counting places.  I can’t blame my performance on the weather, lack of desire or a sore foot.  The truth is, my foot felt fantastic and I am just lacking fitness. Today was my first hard workout after the race and was the best speed session of my season so far.  I have seven weeks until the Bank of America Chicago marathon and nothing gets me going in practice more than the pressure of getting ready to meet my goals.  After this half marathon test, I have a sense of urgency to make every day count.  My focus in workouts is one thing, but I also know I need to focus on resting well, eating well, getting in good weight lifting sessions and believing in my ability to get in shape quickly.  It is easy for me to round into fitness now that my foot is completely healed.  I had a scary setback in June and July when my foot was inflamed and had to take a few weeks off.  It was the same foot I had broken last summer, so I took it very seriously.  My training came to a screeching halt and I rested with some acupuncture and ice baths.  Once the inflammation was down, I did some balance work and strengthening of my feet.  Since returning to running my foot feels strong and my workouts are getting better.  I have less than 2 months to pull everything together.  I have the mind for it and my body is pulling together just in the nick of time.  I look forward to sharing the intensity of the coming weeks with you.  Let’s get going!

Thanks to all who of you who have been keeping up with me on my blog during the lead up to yesterday's Boston Marathon.  It was a great experience to run in the oldest continuous marathon in the world and my podium finish proved my training is heading in the right direction.  Under the guidance of Coach Terrence Mahon, we feel a win at a Major Marathon is definitely in my future.  Every race provides me with lessons which I will take to the next one and soon you will see me on the top of the podium.

Aside from the race itself, there were many memories from my first Boston experience which I will always remember.  One that will always stand out is being on the mound at Fenway Park.  I've carried the baseball around with me since throwing out the first pitch and I even had it in my backpack as we went to the starting line yesterday morning.  The baseball is now one of my good luck charms!  Lastly, I want to thank all of you who lined the streets in yesterday's cold and windy weather to cheer on all of the runners as we made our way to Boylston Street.  You kept us going when the hurt started to set in especially in the last 10K.  

I look forward to my return to Boston next year!

Went on a 35 minute run this morning followed by some strides and drills so all the preparation for tomorrow's race is in the books!  Excitement continues to build so it was great to have Sara with me on the run this morning to make sure that I kept everything easy and not push the pace or intensity in my run or strides/drills.  All of my workouts for tomorrow's race could not have gone any better.  They were better than what I put in last year when I ran in London so I am hoping all will translate to a good run tomorrow.  Thanks to all of you for your kind words and prayers.  Now where did I put my singlet? 

Arrived in Boston on Thursday afternoon and was excited to finally make it to the city.  I'd put in the all the miles, tempo runs, drills, weight training, etc. and in 4 days I will be on the starting line for my first Major Marathon in the US.  Sara and I went for a light run with Coach & Jenn, had dinner at the Village, and then went to our room to unpack and get ready to call it night.  As I slowly unpacked my bags, I realized I had left my singlet (and other items) in Mammoth!  Had to give Ben from ASICS a call to let him know.  How dumb do you think I felt having to make that call? He told me not to worry about it and that he would have one for me by race day.  Never in my entire running career had I ever left my singlet at home.  This morning, Ben gave me my singlet so I am ready for the race tomorrow.  Glad I won't have to run shirtless; it would have been hard to figure out how and where I was going to put my race bib.

Growing up wanting to be a Major League Baseball player, tonight was a dream come true and one I will never forget.  How cool is it to throw out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game in Fenway Park and getting the ball to home plate without hitting the dirt first.  Truly a sweet experience!!