Bret

Week starting Dec 30, 2018

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Location:

Milton,GA,USA

Member Since:

Jul 27, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

PR's -

Mile - 4:38    (High School)

2 Mile - 10:12 (High School) 

3 mile - 15:51 (High School)

10k - 35:19 (High School)

Marathon - 2:59 marathon (London -2013)

Half marathon - 1:25:18 (Deseret News 2013)

Completed all 6 of the World Marathon Majors 2024

Completed each of the 5 majors (NY, Chicago, Boston, London & Berlin) at least twice.

8 x Boston Marathon (1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2020 (virtual due to covid) 2021, 2022)

13 x NYC Marathon (1997, 1998, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)

 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub 3 hour marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

Continue to enjoy running and racing as long as my body permits me.  

Personal:

Old guy - (grandfather even) been running for 40+ years.  

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 23.75 Month: 113.20 Year: 382.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
21.000.000.000.0021.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

PM - 3 miles on the treadmill followed by some yoga. 

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

 

 

PM - 3 miles on the muddy Milton Trail in a light mist/drizzle with Riley and Finn - who was completely filthy after we were finished.  Yoga after giving Finn a good scrubbing.

So - my quick year in review for 2018:

I had a decent year of running and training and racing starting off with a fun USATF Cross Country race in Tallahassee FL with Rob.   I had a couple of good 5k efforts and a nice 10k effort in Dunedin over St. Patrick's Day weekend.  

I ran 3 marathons - Grandma's, Chicago and New York.  I was only really trained up for Chicago and ran reasonably well after Richie dropped from the race - and ran a time that would have theoretically met the Boston Qualifying standard for my age at 3:27 but Boston was already full by then, and I am not certain that would have even gotten me in this spring anyway.  I will need to go a couple minutes faster with the new qualifying times next year.  My goal for next year is to get a qualifier for 2020.

I covered just over 2000 miles of training this year which is slightly down from last year, but I did have a significant health issue in November/December that contributed to that decrease with a 90% blockage in my LAD artery requiring a heart stent.  Thankfully I became aware of the problem with symptoms (jaw pain and general malaise in as little as 8 mins of effort) whilst running - and was persistent with my doctors who were thorough in their efforts - rather than being dismissive.  Really felt as though I dodged a bullet - especially when I happened to pick up Jim Fixx's Complete Book of Running one evening (at our family Christmas dinner - in a restaurant waiting area with a library) and recalled through a Google search that he died at age 52 of a heart attack - with the post-mortem noting blockages in three arteries including one of 95%.  He had a family history - father died at 43 after a heart attack at age 35 - but he never followed his doctor's recommendations to have a cardiac stress test even within a few months of his untimely death.   

I don't have a family history, never smoked and none of my annual physicals or labs gave any indication of a potential problem.  Given my over 40 years of running - I never even considered (and neither did my doctors) that I would be a candidate for coronary artery disease or a potential heart attack.  I guess you just never know...

But now nearly 2 weeks since my procedure - I feel great.  I have improved on my diet - which was not terrible to begin with - and I have been released to return to running (no more than) 3 miles per day for the next 8 weeks.   Barring anything unexpected - upon fully release from my cardiologists, I hope to resume my routine of training for at least 1 or 2 marathons later in 2019.  

Happy New Year!

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

AM - 3 miles on the treadmill this morning to start off the new year.  

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

AM - 3 miles followed by a Yoga session before heading back to work for the first time since the holidays.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

PM - 3 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime at work.  Yoga in the morning before work. 

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

AM - 3 miles on the treadmill in the morning before work, followed by a yoga session. 

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

AM - 3 miles with Finn and Riley at Bell Memorial park.  Yoga afterwards.

I re-read my doctor's orders and was pleased to see that I am only restricted to 3 miles per day for the first 30 days (instead of 8 weeks - as I had previously thought) - so by the end of next week I can increase my mileage to 5 miles per day. 

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
21.000.000.000.0021.00
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