A1A Marathon - 2015 - a post TBI personal record

My pre-race rant
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Well, I am up. I went to bed early (8:30 pm). It is now 12:10 Sunday morning - The A1A Marathon starts in less than 6 hours - I cannot sleep; I am restless and awake. A predictable post traumatic brain injury continuum. Still, I feel like I slept solid for about 5 hours, so I am happy about that. A few minutes ago, as I walked to the bathroom, I could feel some soreness in my ankles due to my aggressive training schedule. I have averaged about 65 miles per week. Not too bad considering it has has not included a single effort longer than 18 miles. This leaves me unsettled because during my faster running days, every marathon training schedule included at least three or four 20+ mile runs. Last year was no different. I had multiple 20 mile runs leading up to this race; and even though my race time was still 35 minutes slower than my typical pre-TBI marathon, I did run my fastest post injury (3:23). S T O P  -  here I go again - I am starting another pity-party… Just stop Mr. Dime! Be grateful that you are toeing the starting line. It has taken countless years of combined medical expertise, millions of dollars and 5 years of healing - not to mention my personal dedication and consistent training commitment to get this far. Don’t be such a pussy. You are ready. Relax for a few hours, get up, lace up and shut up. Then, go run. Mostly, just stop being such a pussy. Yeah, that is what I need to do. I need to allow myself to experience this fantastic joy because everything is awesome. I am living my life they way that I want to and and  I am over-the-moon about heading out to Ft. Lauderdale in  a couple of hours along with my hottie, Mimi Reeves, our svelte running buddy, Irma Robinson, and The ambassador of running himself (via Vermont), Mimi’s Uncle Fra (Frank Fahey). I am so lucky. I am with the ones I choose to be with and doing what I choose to do. Regardless of the outcome of this race, I am a happier and a better person today than at any other time of my life. Indeed, that is it, that is the ticket. Ah...

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To be continued…
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A1A Marathon - Race - Run - 3:16:24 - 26.22 miles - 7:29 Pace - 143 avg hr

A great day at the races. Not a personal PR but it is a post TBI best. I actually took 8 minutes off last years time. It was good enough to qualify for a return to the Boston Marathon. I am pleased. It is great to see all of my hard work beginning to pay off. I don't know if I will ever return to my sub-three hour standard, but I am a dreamer. 

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My post race rant

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I want to finish this rant with a little bit about progress with a traumatic brain injury and my happiness today. At the time of my accident I was peaking athletically. Yes, I worked had and I raced often. Placing in my age group and even winning some races overall was not uncommon. After the accident, the long sleep (my coma), the months of hospitalization and my new life which mostly consisted of doctors, drugs, lawyers, and life-guardians - I aspired to recover my lost self. Me, Dick Dime, the only guy I knew. Unfortunately, the road was long and poor direction choices were frequent. I immediately took on challenges; many of which I was not capable of and I failed. I have been injured and hospitalized on multiple occasions as I journeyed to find Dick Dime. Still relentlessly, I moved forward. F O R W A R D is my theme in life.
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This is getting long and wordy because it is important to me. It is after all, my blog; that I hope a few people enjoy reading. The thing is, everyone measures success differently. Running has always been my cocoon of measurement. Simple as it is.
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Next
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Cut to today. I am happy. My race went well and I was indeed, relentless. The journey has been slow, but today I am enjoying the pay-off. Now, to relax and then lock and load and set my sights on the Dances with Dirt Green Swamp 50K (31.7 miles). I ran this race last year, got lost and my Garmin read 38 miles. Obviously, I have a chance to improve my time in the swamp too. 

#running #marathon #Fort Lauderdale #Florida #traumatic #brain #injury #TBI #race #training 

Premarathon run

A1A Marathon at 6 am tomorrow. No predictions -  I just want to keep it together and run smart. Until then...
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Run - 30:52 - 4.2 miles - 7:20 Pace - 143 avg hr
with 7 x 30" tempo bursts

honest, real, compelling

My friend, Steve Cruz, shared this with me on Facebook today. A very moving two and a half minutes.

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No run on the schedule today; a needed rest day. I'll probably do a 20-30 minute jog with a few tempo pick-us tomorrow. The marathon is Sunday at 6 am. 

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#healthcare #transplants #intolerance #racism #love #faith #hope #kindness

Florida is for LOVING

I have been a resident of Florida for nearly 3 years and that makes me an almost-native. I like how weird this state is and how peoples interpretation nearly always wrong. The swamp sucks its people in from all over the world. Yep, I certainly got sucked in... and I like it. Florida likes really hard too, so come on down and visit us. We only feed the haters to the sharks.

Run - 39:47 - 5.15 miles - 7:43 Pace - 129 avg hr
Taper run to keep the legs loose.

A1A Marathon - Nervous - Am I Weird?

Well, Sunday is closing in FAST. I am really more unsettled about this marathon than any that I can remember. In the old days I toed the starting line, well trained and confident. It didn't matter if I reached my goals or not - I was happy and I vigorously attacked each race.

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Since my accident my mental state has changed. I do not have the abilities that I once had and even though I train passionately (more than ever), I just haven't regained my old fitness. I know that I should just relax, but one thing hasn't changed about me: I fight - and even though I am only competing with myself, I still fight to win. Ha! I must like beating myself up.

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I don't get it. I really don't know why my running hasn't returned to levels comparable to before my traumatic brain injury. I run more miles than I ever did before - I work hard! In the big picture, it should be a small aspect of my life. Unfortunately it is not. For some unidentified reason, I have not stopped searching for Dick Dime. The person I remember and the version of me that I liked best.

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Since recovery began, I have run 4 marathons. My fastest was last year at A1A. I made big improvements over my previous post injury marathons and even though I was still 30 minutes slower than before my accident, I was happy and charged up to continue my forward progress. Since then, I haven't let up and my training has improved. However, my confidence has not returned and I swim in a swamp of doubt. I really struggle with this.

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Is this a common mental dilemma for brain injury survivors? Is it normal - I do not want to be weird? If somebody out there who has suffered a TBI or know someone who has, and happens upon this rant, please comment and give me your opinion. I don't know what is normal. Did I say, I don't want to be weird?

Run - 1:01:07 - 7.31 miles - 8:21 Pace - 126 avg hr
Got out fairly early today. Unfortunately the wind was howling and I worked harder than I wanted to because I ran into the wind for the first 4 miles. Luckily the cruise home was nice and easy.

Strong run with some tempo

Today I ran with some tempo; probably my last hard effort before the A1A Marathon on Sunday. I felt good with miles 6, 7 and 8 my strongest (low 7's). I am making progress and I don't have any false expectations for this marathon but as I build the year up I believe some faster running is in my future.
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Run - 1:00:20 - 8:22 miles - 7:20 Pace - 142 avg hr
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Run - 40:00 - 5.0 miles 8:00 Pace
World of Beer fun run 

Trash Heap - 1 week to go

Ran the Trash Heap trail today at an easy pace; including 730' of elevation gain. Just one week to go before the A1A marathon.
Run - 1:39 - 10.28 miles - 9:37 Pace - 111 avg hr
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Randy is almost too big and Mimi too small for this type of activity - I suppose a photograph is necessary evidence. Randy and I are most definitely two lucky dogs. — with Mimi Reeves.