When I was first starting out as a runner 13 years ago, I wondered what it would be like to be a professional runner. At that point in my career I was only running 5 miles a day and had a hard time comprehending what a pro runner does all day. If I could have only foreseen into the future to yesterday I would understand that it is more than a full time job, it is a lifestyle.
My alarm clock sounded at 6:45 am. This would give me just enough time to get dressed, have breakfast, make my pre-long run cup of coffee, make my bottles for the 20 mile run I would be logging, pray, and read my Bible. At 7:40 am I was in my Nissan Titan pulling out of the driveway, headed to my full-time massage therapist house to get a pre-run flush. My mini-massage went till 8:15. I spent the next 10 minutes doing a daily dynamic flexibility routine, then off to practice.
After some small talk with the team, we headed up to 9,000ft to run around a couple of lakes in our backyard, Mammoth Lakes. From 9-10:55 I ran my progressive long run, in which the goal is to pick up the pace every 5k throughout the run. It was a beautiful day to run. I couldn’t ask for a more scenic and inspiring place to train.
Over the next half hour I stretched out my tired legs and refueled with my typical post-run Cytomax shake. Then it was back into the truck to drive down into town and get some more fuel, in the way of Mexican food (carne asada torta), for a quick lunch and shower. At 12:30 my daily 90-minute massage began, followed by 15 minutes of icing in the cold creek. I ran a couple of errands over the next half hour and headed home to grab a quick snack (yeah, I eat all the time), this time a salad and cup of cereal with a couple of spoonfuls of Muscle Milk Cake Batter.
By this time it was 3:30 and I was heading to the gym to hit the pool for 15 minutes of light kicking. I try and get in the pool for hydrotherapy after hard long runs and hard tempo runs. It does a great job of loosening the legs up. By the time I got back from the gym it was 4:15 and the physical part of my day was complete. Now I just had to catch up on dishes, cleaning the kitchen, and helping with dinner before our dinner guest arrived at 5:15.
Walking into The Lighthouse Church at 7:00 pm, I told Sara I was going to need a wheelchair to get into church. The coffee was well out of my system by now and I was finally feeling the fatigue from the run, not so much in my legs as I had done plenty to get my legs recovered from the effort (massage, ice bath, kicking in the pool). It was more of a total body fatigue that usually puts me to bed early. However, as I stood in church worshipping God I could feel my spirit being restored and my body being replenished. It was amazing. All of the sudden I didn’t feel that bad anymore and I felt a new motivation and drive for the coming hard week of training that I certainly did not walk in with.
Running is more than a job, it is a lifestyle. I have to be conscientious of what I put in my body, when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed. I have to train not only my body on the runs, I also have to spend a lot of time recovering from them. But I can’t just train my body. I have to train my body, mind, and spirit. Professional running isn’t for everyone, but it is for me. I absolutely love it. Sure it makes for some busy days but when I am feeling overly busy I just remind myself that I am busy with running in the forest, taking naps, and getting massages. Life is good!