Back and Training for My Next Marathon

I must apologize to those of you who follow this blog for being absent for 2 months.  It wasn't because I didn't have any ideas to write about or anything to say.  It was simply that my life became extremely busy after the Ragnar Austin.  It is funny how that seems to happen from time to time.  I seem to remember a quote I read somewhere that said "Too busy is a myth.  People make time for the things that are really important to them."  Amen to that.

So what important things have I been busy with the last 2 months.  One, of course, is running.  I have been trying to keep my fitness base up to the level it needs to be so that I can kick off my New York City Marathon training on July 4th.  I want to make sure that I can start the hard training right away.  I am going to incorporate hill training into my normal Brooks Hanson program.  I figure it will help me on the bridges in New York City.  I have set a goal to break 4 hours in a marathon one more time.  If I train hard and the weather gods are in my favor, I think I have a good chance to achieve this goal.

While you no doubt know my passion for running, you probably are not as familiar with my second love - theater.  I started acting back in my high school productions and did a little of it while in college.  But after graduating from TCU, I focused on my career and let my love of the performing arts lie dormant.  I didn't seek out acting opportunities because I was unaware of amateur and community theater.  It is unfortunate because I would have loved to have been able to perform when I was in my 20s and 30s when I could potentially play so many more roles.  I am happy to have the chance to perform now and have had a chance to really play some fun roles over the past 7 years.

For the last 2 months, I have been rehearsing for and performing in "Moon Over Buffalo" as the lead character George Hay.  It is a very physically challenging role and one I absolutely love performing each and every time I step on stage.  It is a comedy and I get the chance to show a side of myself that I don't often get to in let loose in my daily life.  Yep, the buffoon.  The biggest compliment I have received from a friend who saw the show was "you were born after your time - between your comic timing and slapstick abilities, you would make the Three Stooges proud!" My Dad introduced me to the great classic comic actors like The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello.  I really try to emulate their timing and physicality in this role and it seems to resonate with the audience.

It is so nice to have something in my life that gives me a powerful feeling of enthusiasm.  The enthusiasm I feel about running and theater is very powerful. When I am able to have it supplement my work, it allows me to achieve true success in my life.  These passions better equip me to overcome the many obstacles that arise in my daily life.  I find that these outlets make me more inclined to work harder at improving both professionally and personally. Thus allowing me to continuously improve myself.  As I age, I find this is even more important.

I am planning to blog each week about my training for the New York City Marathon.  It will allow me to record my thoughts about training for a marathon here in the peak of summer in Arizona.  My hope is that by training in hot weather and then traveling to a cooler weather race will work to my advantage.  Obviously my body will have less work to do in cooling itself, so I think it will feel easier than my training runs. I don't know how dramatically different it will be than my hot training runs but I know that I enjoy racing in cool weather.  My best marathon in 2009 was a cool temperature day.  Maybe I will have another P.R. in the cool temperatures of New York City.  Who knows?

May 2 – 5.60 miles (59:21, 10:36 pace) - Hill Repeats
May 3 – 6.30 miles (57:40, 9:09 pace)
May 6 – 4.00 miles (42:00, 10:30 pace)
May 7 – 6.20 miles (1:00:56, 9:50 pace)
May 8 – 3.00 miles (32:00, 10:40 pace)
May 9 – 6.20 miles (1:04:02, 10:20 pace) - Hill Repeats
May 10 – 6.10 miles (57:44, 9:10 pace)
May 12 – 6.30 miles (59:07, 9:23 pace)
May 13 – 5.20 miles (45:11, 8:41 pace)
May 14 – 9.10 miles (1:22:54, 14:11 pace)
May 15 – 8.20 miles (1:17:37, 9:28 pace)
May 16 – 5.20 miles (55:25, 10:39 pace) - Hill Repeats
May 17 – 6.30 miles (57:36, 9:09 pace)
May 19 – 6.30 miles (59:03, 9:22 pace)
May 20 – 5.10 miles (43:53, 8:37 pace)
May 26 – 6.30 miles (59:03, 9:22 pace)
May 28 – 7.20 miles (1:01:58, 8:36 pace)
May 29 – 7.20 miles (1:09:01, 9:35 pace)
May 30 – 6.20 miles (01:02:41, 10:07 pace) - Hill Repeats
May 31 – 6.30 miles (59:29, 9:26 pace)
June 2 – 6.20 miles (01:00:37, 9:47 pace)
June 6 – 5.50 miles (56:21, 10:15 pace) - Hill Repeats
June 7 – 6.30 miles (57:56, 9:12 pace)
June 9 – 6.20 miles (45:12, 9:33 pace)
June 10 – 5.20 miles (45:08, 8:41 pace)
June 13 – 4.10 miles (35:50, 8:45 pace)
June 14 – 3.10 miles (23:06, 7:27 pace)
June 16 – 3.20 miles (28:15, 8:50 pace)
June 18 – 5.20 miles (47:51, 9:12 pace)
June 21 – 4.20 miles (39:39, 8:01 pace)
June 22 – 4.20 miles (35:33, 8:27 pace)
June 23 – 6.50 miles (1:01:31, 9:28 pace)
June 24 – 6.20 miles (52:55, 8:31 pace)
June 25 – 8.10 miles (1:11:57, 8:53 pace)
June 26 – 8.20 miles (1:11:57, 9:40 pace)
June 27 – 6.20 miles (1:04:01, 10:20 pace) - Hill Repeats
June 28 – 6.20 miles (57:46, 9:19 pace)
June 30 – 6.30 miles (59:04, 9:23 pace)
July 1 – 6.20 miles (55:57, 9:01 pace)
July 2 – 8.20 miles (1:20:19, 9:48 pace)
July 3 – 10.20 miles (1:39:43, 9:47 pace)

Total Miles:  248.2 miles
2016 Total Miles:  931.4 miles