Six weeks, six races

So I got a wild hair this year, and decided to do six races in six weeks and see what happened. Five were half-marathons, one was a half-iron tri. The race schedule was this:

Indy 500 Mini-Marathon	May 7
Rev3 Knoxville half-iron tri	May 15
Geist Run Around the Reservoir	May21
Boston's Run to Remember	May 29
Hospital Hill Run (Kansas City)	June 4
Carmel Half Marathon	June 11

Overall, things went quite well. I did a PR at the first race, the Indy Mini, beating my previous best by 30 seconds. Not much, but I'll take it!

The second race, the half-iron triathlon, was a bit of a challenge but overall went fine (see race report here). While it was tough, it felt good to gut it out and finish strong, and it didn't beat me up too badly.

Unfortunately, I caught Paula's kennel cough, and woke up sick the day of the third race, Geist. (Geist is a suburb of Indy.) However, knowing that running stops the coughing and clears the head temporarily, I did the race anyway and felt ok. I just took it easy with plenty of walking, and did a respectable 2:23.

The following week I was going to see a dear friend in Boston and do the Run to Remember. However, I was so sick that I lost two days just sleeping it off and wanting it to end. Thankfully the crud abated enough to travel, I had a good visit with my friend, and was able to do the race without really suffering. Of course, I backed off even more and did a 2:27.

Race #5, the Hospital Hill Run, is notorious for its hills. However, it was not the hills that were challenging so much as the horrendously hot and humid weather. (Blow-by-blow race report is here.) By mile 2-3, pretty much everyone had thrown out their time goals and simply wanted to finish. I walked a great deal of this one, and finished with a 2:43.

Week #6, must be Carmel. The inaugural Carmel Half Marathon was in my neighborhood, and it was a treat to be able to walk out my front door, pass up the car, and walk to the start of the race. The day was humid but mild, with temps topping out in the high 60's. It was also a treat to feel well-rested and not vaguely sick. I did a respectable (for me) 2:19:38. A sign of improvement was a PR at both the 5K and 10K distances - I averaged around 9:30 miles, which for me is huge, and to be able to maintain that pace for just under an hour is a milestone. Progress! The course was interesting, volunteers terrific, and a very well-done inaugural race.

The tri training took a hit, mostly due to being sick/traveling for the better part of two weeks. Up through Knoxville, I was able to keep training pretty well and regularly. The week between Knoxville and Geist I trained, but not as much and definitely backed off, trying to recover. Little did I know that I was trying not to get sick. The entire next week was lost to getting well, and the following week was lost to traveling back home then traveling for work (while still trying to get well). However, it seems the hot-as-blazes Hospital Hill run finally cleansed the system, as that was the first time I felt like training hard since getting sick.

Throughout all of this I have been concentrating on modifying my running form, focusing on a mid-foot strike instead of a heel strike. I think the results vindicate my efforts: race #6's time really wasn't any slower than the typical race for me, and the first part was actually faster than ever. I didn't go into it expecting to PR, yet was well on track for the first 6 miles. I've remained injury-free. The backs of my legs are definitely tighter than normal, as my body adjusts to the changes in foot placement, but that's to be expected and is relatively easy to manage with massages and stretching.

And I can't forget to mention the ongoing adjustments by my fabulous chiropractor, Dr. Drew Hoffman, and Dave Reed's magic MAT (muscle activation technique) work! Those two guys have kept me intact.

Conclusion? My body can indeed handle this schedule. I got sick not because I was over-tired, but because I was in close quarters for several days with someone who was ultimately much sicker than I ever got. Would I have gotten sick anyway without the racing? I don't know for sure, but my gut says most likely yes. Did I lose some valuable training time? Maybe, but I don't think so, not really. I have ADD with some things, and training is one of them. If I don't mix it up, I quickly get bored. I'm feeling surprisingly refreshed by the hiatus from tri-training, and now feel ready to hit it hard through Ironman Louisville.

And heck, I got six pretty cool medals too!

This weekend, three days of tri camp...