And we're off!

Destination: St. George, Utah

Arrival Date: October 3rd

Today marks the official kick-off to another round of marathon training. I'm feeling very strong about this, very determined and was quite motivated to get a solid workout in today. My buddy boB ...yeah no typo there ... he always says that when he seriously wants to go after a BQ he'll really buckle down. Train like a mofo and do everything full steam ahead (nutrition, cross training, tune-ups, etc). In other words, make your training nearly your singular focus. Nearly b/c hey, we gotsta still work.

I think about that often and the way I figure it today is then.

Today is when.

Today is always then. When.

And so I push myself off into 20 weeks of challenges, rewards, sweat and hard work. Nothing like a challenging work day to spring me into tonight's activities. I've been working in our DUMBO office for some time now and I still can't get the damn timing right on the slow ass A train. Adding insult to injury I needed to bring my laptop home for some work tonight and it weighs a friggin' ton. Oh and the subway isn't just around the block, it's a little bit of a jaunt... a nice scenic jaunt but a jaunt nonetheless. I left work a bit too late but hustled up the hill to Cadman Plaza and descended into the deep High Street stop.

Having just missed a C train. Isn't that always the case??!?!

An A wasn't far behind. Spent what seemed like forever traveling back into Manhattan and uptown to Columbus Circle. Glancing at my watch I noticed it was going to be very tight getting out of the station, to the gym and dressed in time for class. I started prepping while still on the train... earrings off and in the wallet, watches switched out, hair pulled back in a ponytail and glasses securely stored in their case. The train pulled into the stop and I was off. After a blur of a clothing change, I sweated out a challenging and hilly 50 min. spin class. Iris is sooo damn good that way. I then scored one of the sweet TMs and cranked out 3 miles in 23:59. I was worried that I was about to miss the closing of the pool at another gym location and so I hustled it a bit more to get my backpack and resurface to ground level so that I could make the call for a swim lane reservation in the morning.

How's that for an action packed first training day? Booking to get one workout done in order to assure I was able to get the next done in the morning. :-) Anywho, I'm not planning to burn myself out in record time so I'll try to schedule that whole routine a bit better next week.

As for the training I'm looking to use a couple of Brad Hudson's plans. His level two plan would be ideal except I'm not starting out with quite the base I'd have liked and I don't want to risk injury. And so I'll mix up elements of levels one and two and have a few tune-up races at varying distances to gauge where I am throughout the next 20 weeks.

Now that's what I'm talking about

I've mentioned before that I'm saddled with a monkey mind, in fact most people probably are to some extent. And although I'd like to think the pros of having my mad multi-tasking skillz outweigh those of my thoughts puked up anywhere and everywhere, it's not working out for me and it continues to affect my running [amongst other things]. You see the monkey mind is not content with existing in the present moment, but rather engages in the thoughts that pass through. This is a serious problem when running miles and miles sometimes hours at a time.

Now I've always struggled with the mental aspects of running, I'm content to live in the moment for only a period of time, most often not the entire time I'm running. And while this is fine for some training runs, come race time it's to my detriment. It doesn't matter if I'm falling apart physically or not and 9 times out of 10 I'm physically a-ok. And so this has been my focus. There was no "official focus training" kick-off but rather something I knew I'd need to get a better grip on if I ever intend to move off this plateau I'm stuck on and start running to my physical abilities.

It started with attending a 4 week workshop at Kula. And although I didn't start noticing the effects right away, progress was being made. It started in the yoga sessions themselves. Regardless of what had occurred in the day already, I was able to gently shut down those thought processes and focus on just the physical movements and guidance provided by the instructor. I didn't go to some far away land in my mind but rather further engaged in what I was doing at that moment. In other words, I wasn't disassociating but rather connecting to my inner self in a deeper fashion.

And little by little as my practice continued, more and more progress was made. All culminating this past Sunday at the Broad Street Run. Here's the set up... I'm not in race shape, I'm not worlds away from race shape but I'm not there and I know it. I am, however, not prepared to take this 10 miler completely casually either. I'm down some lbs., I haven't been completely slacking and I'm hungry. Hungry for a taste of success. I arrived ready to give a solid effort both physically and mentally.

The race starts and I'm off with the yellow corral (wave)... only a minute or so after the official start, which in a race of nearly 26,000 people isn't too shabby. Because I'm fairly close to the front there is no need for bobbing and weaving. I set up on the white line between the right-most two lanes and start ticking away the miles. First thing I noticed is I'm not scanning around as much as I normally do. Sure I take in the crowd, more by hearing them rather than seeing them as well as logging the same information about my fellow runners - who's close by, who's running an even pace, etc. But I'm here (points to head) engaged in my self, in my legs, in my core, in my heart. Mile by mile goes by, I slow at times I speed up at others. I can see my breathe traveling through my body.

I continue to live there ...here.

I glance at my Garmin just when passing the mile markers. Taking note of my splits but not going any further with that data. In fact I didn't look at the cumulative time passed until I saw something out of the corner of my eye, on one of the big clocks, around 57 mins and for one brief second my mind shifted. "I'm pretty sure that's Tom's PR ...he'd be finished by now. Wow!" And just as quickly I was back.

Here.

I was doing this. I was fully engaged in the moment. I was strong. I was capable. I was proud.

And then I was finished. Crossing the finish line in 1:22:03. Not a PR by any means but really not too far off either. In fact had I not stopped for an emergency porta-potty break I would have been within a minute or so of my PR and with plenty of gas in the tank to have gone for it.

It didn't matter.

I'd already won this race. I was brimming with confidence, with pure joy and also quite a bit of rain (it was a wet one, again!).

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Life is good

What a fabulous weekend! Despite the rain and dreary Sunday we had, it closed out quite nicely. After a loverly run through CP on the bridle path, Jason and I spent the remainder of Saturday with his niece and nephews. What looked like a supa gray day really turned around and we were able to spend a fair amount of time outside. Keaton and I took a walk down to Riverside Park where we spent some time checking out the dogs at their park and then near the wonderful community garden. I love this garden - it's always so full of life and love. Saturday it was also full of the sounds of Toby, a gorgeous parrot. Keaton immediately took notice of the squawking and demanded we get closer. Now you all know me, I'm not a fan of birds - I don't discriminate against any type either, they all scare the bejesus outta me. But for Keaton's sake I got a wee bit closer than my comfort zone allowed.





It wasn't quite close enough for this little guy though ...as he tests just how far the straps of his stroller will extend.

Toby was all "hello!" and some other gibberish but he also sang quite a lot - in opera!

We headed back to the apartment to get Uncle JJ and the other boys and headed back to the park. While they played some catch, Keaton and I roamed around barefoot. Although he's not quite walking yet, he's got it in him and he had the grubby little feet to show it.

squeeeeeeeeal

Never has a glass jar full of moss given me such pleasure!
Check out the little gifty I bought myself as an early b-day present.

Renewal

As I mentioned in the miniest of mini race reports for STL, I needed that race to be over with. My running and mindset during training were inconsistent at best. I needed a clean break and a surge of inspiration.

I got both.

The day after STL was the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. I knew many people running and through tracking them, hearing their stories, seeing images from the day and watching the race recorded on my DVR, I was dealt the perfect opportunity to renew my own running.

Renew: To make new again; to restore to freshness, perfection, or vigor; to give new life to; to rejuvenate; to reestablish; to recreate; to rebuild ...

Um YES!

Tuesday produced both a phenomenal feeling swim in the morning and an invigorating run that evening. Wednesday was all about stretching and strengthening in yoga where we focused on back bends and half moon pose.

Conditions on Thursday evening were perfect for a swift run along the bridle path around 102nd and an extra dose of motivation, courtesy of Missy (who BQed again in Boston!). After a short break on Friday, Saturday morning poured on the heat, sun and fun! A nice run up to Riverbank State Park and back followed by a sweaty bike ride to Chinatown to watch some soccer.

Overall a good dose of ass-kicking and a good move towards something more consistent. I know one thing for sure, I don't want to feel as ill-prepared for a race as I was for STL. This weekend brings the Broad Street run down in Philadelphia and while I'm not exactly in PR running shape, I feel confident that I can pour on a decent performance.

Smiles, Everyone, Smiles

Beth and Erika all oranged-up


Tim, myself and Monika getting ready to head out to the start corral


Team "drowned rats" Pfeiffer

Back in the Lou

I returned to St. Louis last weekend to participate in the Go St. Louis! weekend o' activities. Team Pfeiffer had a strong showing in the two day's worth of events with my SIL, Martha, leading us off on Saturday morning with a 5K. Beth, Erika and I headed over to Forest Park early that morning, equipped with fresh coffees, and ready to cheer her on. Settling on a strategy of catching her at the half way mark and then cutting across the course to see her finish, we moved into position. Along the way we were stopped by the dudes running the one (and only) water stop for the 5K - they needed some extra hands and wondered if we wouldn't mind setting our caffeinated bevvies down for a bit to help out. Sure, why not!

So instead of merely cheering Martha on as she ran by, we were able to provide her some mid-race refreshment. Her face showed something for sure... I don't know if it was surprise in seeing us there or Erika first wanting to high-five her before handing over a cup of water. Either way she continued on and had a strong finish. Yay Martha!!!

After she finished we spent some time hanging out near the finish line where several of the armed forces were out offering a variety of demos.



top to bottom: Ellie getting her thrills on the curb balance beam style. My big bro, SIL and nephew, Brendan. Bren operating the Navy Seal's bomb detection robot. Bren giving the robot one more look before reluctantly leaving the area.

That robot is soooo up this alley!

Soon enough Sunday rolled around and momma, was it ever a wet one! After eating a bit, slipping on some stylish disposable rain ponchos, Dad dropped myself, Beth, Tim, Erika and Monika off downtown near the race start. Team Pfeiffer was in full effect. We hydrated a bit more, checked our baggage, hit the porta potties, greeted some friends and then lined up. National anthem, shedding the ponchos and we're off. Knowing we were both severely under trained, Tim & I are ready to stick together once again, get this race done and start afresh with our training. Little bro is good like that. We picked up the pace some and then backed off, trying to delay the inevitable time in the race when our legs would poop out. See, that's what happens when you train like you're on a roller coaster -- ups, downs, and feeling slightly sick.

Not much more to say about the race - it hurt. I believe we both determined that it was mile 9.5 when the legs were just gone. We hung in there, encouraged one another and got ourselves over the finish line. It was not pretty. The rain was totally fine while running but after stopping it got cold FAST. I'd run a PW (personal worst), was completely and totally freezing, turning blue and thinking that we might have to take public transport home. And yet I was happy. Happy to be surrounded by 4 of my 6 sibs, happy to be finished and happy to wipe the slate clean and get my running back to a consistent state. Next up for Team Pfeiffer, San Francisco!