Friday, January 3, 2014

Burnt out from Marathon Running

After a 2012 season that saw a sub-optimal Ironman Mont Tremblant, a(nother) DNF at Vermont 100 and infrequent and poor marathon performances which actually had carried over from the end of 2011, I had given up on running. I was tired, sore and frankly just sick of starting my runs from the same place every time. I had been averaging over 4 marathons a year since I started running in 2007 and I was just tired of doing the same old thing.

I took off the whole beginning of the 2013 season focusing instead on attempting to winter hike all 48 4,000+ foot peaks in NH. While I was unsuccessful in my attempt, it allowed me to experience some epic days, stay fit(I didn't just sit on my butt) and afforded me time to get motivated to run again. The Boston Marathon bombings added to that motivation as I knew I needed to be at the start line for the 2014 race. So I started back into marathon racing, hobbling to a BQ at Vermont City Marathon.

Over the next few months, I paced my buddy Rich at the Bear Brook Trail Marathon and then again on the last lap of the Pinnacle 50K. By that time the weather had cooled and I was ready to run again. I signed up for the Rock N Roll Savannah Marathon where I bettered by BQ(and therefore seed) time and followed that up with a 3rd place finish at Kiawah Island Marathon the next month running my 4th fastest marathon. It took over a full year but I am definitely back in the marathon mindset and am looking forward to the 2014 marathon season which starts off in Galveston in February.

A full year to get motivated? Isn't it amazing then how consistent Amber is? She has to spend hours swimming circles in a pool(hell), and even more hours riding a bike on a trainer staring at a concrete wall(hell upon hell). And yet she thrives. She has only gotten stronger in the years since she's turned pro. And as you can see by my marathon times below, I have pretty much stayed the same since 2010 while she has just gotten faster and faster. A big part of that is her coach who she works very well with and accounts for training variability in the seasons. However, even a bigger part of that is internal. That internal fire that she has that keeps her training even when it's -10 outside, even if it means getting up before the roosters. She has got something special. Watch it continue to unfold all throughout the 2014 season and beyond. It's gonna be great!





Danny's Marathon Times Over the Years
  1. 12/14/13      Kiawah Island Marathon:                 2:52:15                               BQ
  2. 11/9/13       Rock N Roll Savannah Marathon      2:54:21                               BQ
  3. 7/27/13       Bear Brook Trail Marathon               5:03:41
  4. 5/26/13       Vermont City Marathon                    2:58:49                                BQ
  5. 5/20/12       Cleveland Marathon                          2:58:12                               BQ
  6. 10/30/11     Cape Cod Marathon                          3:04:58                                BQ
  7. 9/25/11      Adirondack Marathon                        3:10:00                                BQ
  8. 4/16/11      Gansett Marathon                               2:52:56                               BQ
  9. 2/27/11      Hyannis Marathon                              2:49:02                              BQ
  10. 10/31/10    Marine Corps Marathon                      2:52:57                              BQ
  11. 5/2/10        Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon          3:02:21                             BQ
  12. 4/17/10      Gansett Marathon(Exeter)                  2:47:45  *                           BQ
  13. 2/28/10      New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon  2:51:44                               BQ
  14. 11/1/09      Manchester City Marathon                3:33:18
  15. 10/18/09      Bay State Marathon                         3:21:23
  16. 3/29/09      Ocean Drive Marathon                      3:01:41                               BQ
  17. 12/13/08     Roxbury Marathon                           4:33:23
  18. 11/2/08       Manchester City Marathon              3:08:41                                BQ
  19. 10/18/08     Breakers Marathon                          3:25:30
  20. 10/5/08      Maine Marathon                               3:19:24
  21. 5/25/08      Vermont City Marathon                   3:26:05
  22. 4/21/08      Boston Marathon                              3:34:44
  23. 1/13/08      Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon       3:21:34
  24. 10/28/07    Cape Cod Marathon                         3:20:48
  25. 9/22/07      Odyssey Trail Marathon                   6:08:11
  26. 2/25/07      Hyannis Marathon                           4:44:46 +
*Marathon PR
 + Third Race Ever
With my 2 Ironman races, Leadville 100 and Pineland Farms 50 miler, I've run a total of 30 marathon+ races.
And in less than two months my sister Marilyn will be doing her 1st! And I suspect she will be running it significantly faster than I did my first:)
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2 comments:

  1. Ben KimballJanuary 3, 2014 at 1:43 PM

    LOL at "the years since she's turned poor"! Will definitely be watching her continued ascension this year.
    If you had to pick a favorite of the two, would you recommend Savannah or Kiawah?

    ReplyDelete
  2. a FerreiraJanuary 3, 2014 at 2:31 PM

    haha. That must have been a freudian slip right there. Or maybe incentive for her to win a few races ;) Both races have their good and bad. I really liked the town of Savannah, the finish was great but they take you through several miles of just highways. Kiawah was nice, flat and tree lined but had a lot of out and backs(which I don't like). Plus, if you're not staying at Kiawah it's a solid 45 minute drive to Charleston. Both are fun though and I'd recommend both:)
    Talk about wishy washy

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