PUBLISHED 11/06/2007
My competitive drive is another strength. I've tried to run a marathons like a time trial, worrying about what is on my watch instead of my fellow competitors, but my results never reflect what I'm looking for. My fastest times come when I don't worry about the time but instead about just being competitive. I still wear my watch, but I don't always look at it. The watch helps me keep things under control, but it doesn't dictate the race strategy.
The thing about the marathon, is that your body chemistry changes so much during the race. In 100 feet, your whole world can turn upside down. Your body can say, I've had enough, and I'm going to shut down earlier than you expected. I mean, it's a race that lasts for over 2 hours. I'm not sure that distance was what the human body was meant to do. A lot of times while I'm running a marathon, I just feel awed: 26.2 miles? I think, What am I doing? Why am I doing this?
I think I've figured out the half-marathon, but I'm definitely still working on cracking the marathon. I'm just hoping one day I do figure it out. I'm all about the challenge of it. If I can't figure it out, I won't stop doing it until I have it figured out. I guess you could call that another strength: hard-headedness, stubbornness. I started marathon racing, and I'm going to keep doing it until I maximize my potential. Right now, I don't feel I have.
It takes me about 14 weeks to train for a marathon, and I typically run about 140 miles a week. I've been up to 160+ miles in one week. Physically it feels the same to run 140 miles between 7-8,000 feet as about 160 miles at sea level. I've done both and they feel about the same. Neither is more effective. Altitude training is tricky, because it's specific to an individual's ability to adapt to it. I haven't seen the results I'd hoped for with altitude training. But I train hard no matter where I am.
I do a pretty regimented core strength workout, as well as plyometric drills and hill sprints. I try not to do all of them too frequently. Within the same week, between running the high mileage, plus core strength, plyometrics, hill repeats, I find myself burned out really fast. So I'll do core strength twice a week; plyometrics. once. The next week, plyos, twice a week, core, once.
I'm off and on with the weight training. I put on muscle mass really easily. Weight is always an issue with me; I'm bigger for the marathon than most of my competitors. If I'm fit at 5% body fat, I weigh155 pounds. Meb [Keflezighi] weighs 125 pounds. If I do any weight training, it's specific to my needs, like to even out a muscle imbalance.
In 2005, I strained three ligaments in my foot after the NYC Marathon. I couldn't even walk, couldn't put any pressure on the foot. That injury interrupted most of my spring training and into the summer. I ran the Twin Cities marathon last October [in 2006]. I had only 8 weeks to train, so all in all, I was happy with it. I came out of the marathon with no injuries, and I'm ready to get back into my training now. Anytime you're injured, you feel down. I was just happy to get back into training.
Does running hold the same joy as it always has for me? Yes, it does. At the heart of it, it's still the same. I have the same goals now that I did when I was running around AAU meets: I still want to make an Olympic team, then do the best I can at the Games. There are still time goals I still want to hit.
Goals? Well, I want to run 2:14, 2:13, I want to see a significant jump in my times. The marathon is my priority. Next year, I'll be 27, so I have the best chance of making an Olympic team. But I keep in mind that in Athens, Stefano [Baldini, of Italy] was 32, Meb was 30; I'll only be 33 in 2012. The Brazilian who was leading for most of the race was 35 or 36.
I race completely differently now than I did in my first couple of marathons. Coach Vigil told me I had to learn emotional control. You come in out of college, and from the gun, you just want to go, go, go. Go all out from the gun. You want to be pumped up, excited and jacked and explosive and ready for surges. But you can't have the same mentality in marathon, because pretty soon that energy gets spent and you're out the back door.
I've learned a lot about emotional control these past couple years by talking with different marathoners. I was a training partner with Meb and Deena [Kastor] and the Mammoth Group. Meb is one of the most level-headed guys I know. I went and lived with Peter De La Cerda his family for three months for one summer to get ready for a marathon. He's a very stable and under-control guy. By surrounding myself with people like him, I have a better chance of getting a hold of my hot headedness. I'm learning how to harness my competitive anxiety.
I'll probably run my whole life, and I'm going to be competitive as long as my body will allow. I like cycling; I bought a nice road bike and got into that. I'm always going to stay active, maybe do some triathlons, or an Ironman. I love being outdoors, and I love running, cycling, whatever.
