2019 Tokyo Marathon Training - Grateful for the Gains and Losses

Start of the 2019 Al Gordon 4 mile race

It was a Friday night and I’m laying down getting myself mentally prepared for the Al Gordon 4 miler in Prospect Park. It’s a race that has grown in meaning for me. It was the first race I ever ran back in 2013 to fulfill the 9+1 requirements for the following New York City Marathon. That first year, on a cloudy and mild day, I reminisced running my previous New York Road Runners race 3 years prior on the same weekend. I played hooky that Friday from business school to take the trip back to New York to run the charity fundraiser event: Run for Haiti. Also a 4 miler, I was just grieving for my aunt who fell victim to the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Port-au Prince Haiti. I carried my grief with me as I ran, and used it to motivate myself forward. The grief and sorrow wasn’t going to bring her back, but along that Central Park course I carried with me all the love, care and nurturing she gave both me and my mom since I was born.

 

Reminiscing on my first NYRR race - Run for Haiti back in 2010.

 Fast forward to 2019, last weekend of February, and I am running my 7^thstraight Al Gordon 4 miler. The weather is always a mixed bag this time of year. This last race we had 36°F, with 9 mph winds. Enough for me to bundle myself up and do my very best to avoid getting sick. But that Friday night before the race, I felt that familiar itchy throat. Every year around this time, I come down with the cold like clock work. Some years, more severe than others, but this year, I was running and training smarter for the marathon. 

Treadmill to Another Level

“Try to keep your treadmills runs to a minimum. If it’s above 20 degrees you can go out there and get your miles in…” Coach advised. “ … get your warm-up miles on the treadmill if your muscles take too long to warm-up, but than get outside as much as you can.” 

But I’m trying to make it to the starting line healthy.  That includes not coming down with the cold. Last year, while training for the Boston Marathon, I had a hacking cough and fevers struck me multiple times during my training. This time I had to do it smarter. I was going to run th

2018 Staten Island Half - kicking off training

e final marathon of my Six-Star journey almost 6800 miles away. Jet lag is going to be a major factor. Plus I feel fatigued and defeated. I’ve run 2 marathons per year since the Fall of 2016. My body was screaming for a break. Like most marathoners know, the mind is in control, not the body.  I just wanted to stay in control of my training. Not get too carried away, and like all runners say, “Listen to my body.”

“Body, you listen to me.” Because we still have work to do. Of course, we don’t want to do any more damage to what already exists. So those treadmill warm-up runs, turned into actual workouts. 

“I’m not going out there. It’s too cold.” 45 minutes, 60 minutes, 80 minutes – whenever coaches training plans called for these workouts, I programmed the random incline settings on the treadmill and just put the time in. No sense in letting my muscles contract in the cold and then burn more energy to warm up for a workout where the muscles are fully warm a third to maybe half of the time.  This is by far the most treadmill running I ever did in any marathon cycle, to the level where I am shopping around to own a treadmill for future marathon training. 

Church of the Long Run

As for my long runs, that’s a different story. Long tights, gloves, neck gaiter and winter hat: I’m getting my long runs in at goal pace every week, like religion. Whether it be along the Charles River, taking in those crispy, cold New England days, chasing the Henwood Hounds around Central Park, or running the lower perimeter of Manhattan solo to simulate the flat surface of the Tokyo Marathon course, I was getting those miles in. And they were so many miles. 

I jumped right into coach’s marathon training plan in December where he had me alternating 18 and 20 miles every week until peak week.  And on peak week, I put in 22 miles for the long run. OK, 21 miles because my hip started hurting and I didn’t feel like that last mile would do me any good It was common for me to shave a few miles here and there when my body was telling me. I made sure I listened. There’s no telling how much scar tissue I have that needs more healing time? Only God knows why I wake up some mornings and everything hurts. And my neck… oh my neck!! I can barely turn my head anymore without moving my shoulders and torso along with it.

Several long runs along the Charles River - Cambridge, MA

Long runs and workouts with the Henwood Hounds

Scaling Back on Mind Over Body When Necessary 

“It takes a lot of mental toughness to do all those runs on the treadmill” Nobu, a Central Park teammate repeated to me several times. I agree but there comes a point where the mind is exhausted.  The brain is a muscle just like everything else, and marathon training isn’t our only challenges. Sure it’s requires a substantial change in lifestyle. You tend to surround yourself around like-minded, positive upbeat runners, all chasing goals. It’s inspiring. It’s motivating. Sometimes there’s a pressure to keep up with the intensity, even when you can’t keep up physically.  That’s all stress on the brain. 

Fun stuff: Boston Marathon blog from last year featured in Boston Buddies by Vince Varallo. Get it on Amazon.

Let’s not forget in any given cycle, life outside of running goes on: an abrupt untimely change in your professional path, unexpected and overwhelming joys in your personal life that can also quickly turn to disappointment and sorrow. And all the while, the aging process forces you to figure out new ways to adjust so that you can reach your marathon goals. It’s exhausting. All mentally exhausting. I don’t want to think anymore. I just want to run. So I ease back, knowing that I have all the tools in my arsenal to make any adjustments I need whenever I need them.

Changing my Form and Shin Splints Return

Shin splints at 2019 Joe Kleinerman 10K

“Just relax, David.” Says Coach. “You already know how to do it. Keep your more relaxed and keep your hands in front of you as you propel yourself forward.”  Coach had me on the treadmill, adjusting my form making sure I was a more relaxed, more efficient runner. This last cycle, after three cycles of coaching, I was putting it all together. Everything I learned about marathon running. To name a few: Building my base in the early part of the training cycle, introducing speed work to develop form and build aerobic strength, and targeted strength training, to recover from longer runs and lock in endurance gains while giving attention to weaker injury proned muscles. 

With a new calendar year upon us, I was motivated to add in a few races to see where I was at in my Tokyo Marathon training. Joe Kleinerman 10K and Fred Lebow Half, were two early January races as I celebrated my return to 9+1. This would be my 6^thtime working towards a 9+1 entry to qualify for the 2020 New York City Marathon.  Within the first 3 miles while going all out at 6 and a half minutes per mile, my shins were burning. 

This was odd. My shins haven’t felt this pain since my Team-In-Training days when I ran with Nike Vomeros. Were my shoes too heavy, like those Nike’s were? Did the adjustment in my form have something to do with it? I realized that my go-to show, the Asics Kayanos, ran slightly wide for my feet. I bought the 25^thversion for the Berlin Marathon. I had designated them only for racing but as the New Year approached, I did a couple long runs with them along the Charles River. SO its safe to say they had about 250 miles or so on them by the time the Joe Kleinerman 10K came around. 

Officially running in New Balance 1500 version 5

When It’s Time to Let Go

It was time for a change. An unexpected adjustment and a necessary red flag to better prepare me for the Tokyo Marathon. Both the above mentioned January races were some of my most terrible times. And they are a result of a lot of reasons, with the shin splints being the reason for my abrupt stops during the races. It was 4 straight years of running in Asics Kayanos and 9 straight years of running in Asics in general (GT-2000, Gel-Nimbus, etc).  

The time was right for me to make the switch. One of the head Central Park Track Club coaches advised me to train in the New Balance 860s, and race in the 1500s. I immediately took advantage of my team discount and bought the 5^thversion of the 1500s, recommended for stability runners. Switch out the custom molded insoles from a previous Asics, and I’ll be ready for Tokyo. Breaking them in and they felt light and supportive.

The mind can play tricks on you. With all the things that can go wrong, you always have the tools to get you through to where you want to go. You always have what you need to take steps towards that next level. And sometimes, when hanging on to tools you used in the past to help you get to where you are, you can hinder your progress forward. The marathon is most certainly a metaphor for life. Like I said, the brain is a muscle. Just like your calves, your quads, your joints, that take a beating as you pound the pavement and dirt for miles, your brain gets exhausted from directing it all. 

Training runs while Assistant Caching with the American Cancer Society.

That being said, my 7^thAl Gordon. And this race I consider my New York City run-aversary. It is a time for me to celebrate new life and a path forward. Al Gordon, at 80 years old, rejuvenated his life by running his first marathon, and living a healthy life regimen until his death at 107 years old. I love to hear that story every year when the announcer says it just before the start gun. So I ran this race not only to keep my streak alive, 8 days before Tokyo, but at a smooth, relaxed pace grateful for the things I’ve gained and lost in the past year. Yes, that is right, I celebrate the losses even while I grieve, because when I lose something I thought I needed to move forward, whether it is in real life or in marathon training, it has proven itself to be a hinderance, a source of negativity that prevents that forward progress we need for better marathon running, and our lives in general. I’ll always be GRATEFUL for what I have now as it continues to sustain my path forward.