2013 Spring Marathon Season: Eugene
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“You must not only aim right, but draw the bow with all your might.”
Henry David Thoreau
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I’m not a New Year’s resolution kind of person. There’s nothing about the calendar hitting January 1 that drives me to make changes. When I see fit, I change. When I need to, I change. And, when I’ve a big goal to reach, I make changes to make it a reality. Welcome to 2013: the start of spring marathon training, and my renewal to be Boston-bound via Eugene Marathon.
I’m making some adjustments to my marathon training this cycle. With the guidance of some experienced runners and trainers, I’m learning to relinquish some control and trust the process. More strength training, building endurance by slowing down, building speed by running up hills…lots of hills.
In the past, I’d followed training plans from books and made great progress. In three marathons I decreased my finish time by 32 minutes. And, have come away from each injured in one form or another. I know how to train hard. Now it’s time to train smarter. Last cycle I struggled with emotional obstacles; but now my mind’s in a good place. And, it’s my hope that aligning all these pieces – my head, my plan, my goal, my approach to training – that’ll land me at 3:35 (or faster) in April. Injury-free.
Only one way to find out, really. Back in training: that’s something I like immensely. I’ve got a fantastic support crew with me – new and old alike. And I’m grateful for them all.
I’ll consider Emerson and Thoreau part of the army. Those quotes above, they’re the theme for this training. I’m ready to run Eugene with my heart; I’ll set it aflame and make great things happen. And all that strength training, it’ll help me draw the bow with all my might.
LV runs NYC 
Love that quote! All the pieces will come together this spring!
Yes, yes! We’ve got the experience – now to make it come together…through the finish line this time 🙂 x
I’m glad to hear emotionally you are in a better place. I think that is a bigger piece of the puzzle than we think in rgds to performance AND injuries. Lots of wonderful things coming ahead…
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Man, this blog post is like a teaser for the intense journey you are about to tackle. Good luck and can’t wait to read the updates…you are going to set Eugene on fire with that flaming heart.