Road to recovery

St. George Marathon

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8 Men

15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Herriman,UT,

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

25 Marathons

PR's:

5K - 19:55 SLCTC Winter Series '08

10K - 41:13 SLCTC Winter Series '08

15K - 1:02:59 SLCTC Winter Series '08

1/2 Marathon - 1:27:52 Salt Lake '08

Marathon - 3:11:19 St. George '06

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run without discomfort

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run without discomfort

Personal:

Favorite Blogs:

Miles:	This week:	9.00	Month:	68.00	Year:	2220.70
Cumulus 10 Lifetime Miles:						130.40

Sat, Oct 04, 2008

Race: St. George Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:15:55

Easy Miles Marathon Pace Miles Threshold Miles VO2 Max Miles Total Distance

0.00 26.20 0.00 0.00 26.20

Just a few notes.

25th Marathon completed, 5th SGM (5/10 toward the Ten Year Club. woohoo!) Worst finishing time ever to date, but will go down as one of my most satisfying and memorable events.

As of the afternoon on Friday, didn't even know if I'd be at the start but I was very happy to get there.

The glute pain was present from the beginning, but not severe. My initial goal was to make it thru the first few miles until it was light, evaluate the pain and drop out if it had started to worsen. It seemed to stay pretty consistent so I decided to keep going until the halfway mark, which I thought would be a major accomplishment for the day. (Having run less than 5 miles total in the previous 3 weeks, I didn't have the legs or the lungs to keep a good pace and I didn't know if I could even make the distance.)

Anyway, to make a long story short. I was ready to drop out at the half, didn't see the SAG wagon anywhere near so kept moving. (Took a few hundred miligrams of Ibuprofen.) By 16 miles I was walking and was really ready to drop out this time, as other aches and pains were starting to develop. (Still couldn't see a SAG wagon...) Got a huge glob of IcyHot from an aid station and decided to see if I could get back up to running speed. Slowly was able to accelerate and keep moving. So then, I just decided to finish it out.

I was very happy to make it to the end. This 'Finisher' medal will be one of my most prized.

Time to heal up and get stronger for next year.

Comments

From Tom on Oct 06, 2008 at 04:58:08

Cal I'm happy to hear the positive vibes coming out of you after all the setbacks culminating with that crazy weather race!

It's been a great year full of PRs and dedicated, inspiring training. Now it's time to get healed up so we can come back and finish up a little unfinished business!

Looking forward to the full report.

From Jody on Oct 06, 2008 at 07:56:16

Cal - Congratulations on a great accomplishment! This has been a tough yr but you have been so strong! You are half way to the 10 yr club! WAHOO!

From Terry on Oct 06, 2008 at 08:36:21

Cal, I was suprised to see you at the finish. I really didn't think you'd make it. Congrat's on finishing the race!

From Andy on Oct 06, 2008 at 08:54:47

I'm sorry that this year didn't end the way you wanted. It started out so promising. Let your body heal and you will be back better than ever.

From josse on Oct 06, 2008 at 09:42:19

We can't fortell what the future holds, but we can learn from the past and keep moving forward. The one thing I learned this year with racing is you can't control the day and what happens to our bodies as we try and train for this crazy distance. I am glad you where able to hang in and finish:)

From Teena on Oct 06, 2008 at 10:11:10

Cal, you are so stinkin' tough!! You amaze me!! Glad to hear you are in good spirits. Anxiously awaiting every last detail.

From Michelle N. on Oct 06, 2008 at 10:26:30

You're awesom Cal. Way to stick it out. Hopefully next year will be better for all of us.

From Kim on Oct 06, 2008 at 10:26:51

Bitter/sweet when we know that we have trained to do much better than we did today. But I'm with you...that finishers medal means a whole lot to both of us! I hope you will be able to get back to being the Cal without all those nasty injuries soon!

From Paul T on Oct 06, 2008 at 11:00:47

I believe there are many ways to measure victory. Congratulations on the win!

I also believe things are worth what you pay for them. That finishing medal of yours is pretty valuable.

From RivertonPaul on Oct 06, 2008 at 11:04:42

Cal, such an impressive demonstration of determination. Get healthy and you will be back on track. Its been nice getting to know you.

From JeffC on Oct 06, 2008 at 11:19:08

Way to go Cal! That is a rewarding experience to get through a miserable day like that and overcome injury and pain as well. Way to hang in there and get it done.

From britta on Oct 06, 2008 at 22:39:37

Wow!!!! I have had two marathons that I made it to the start but never to the finish. I think I learned more about myself in those two marathons than during the 4 I crossed the finish line.

I will treasure those lessons always and am grateful for what they taught me. It sure makes good race days that much sweeter. I will look forward to seeing you in the early morning hours on the Herriman hills soon!

From huans32 on Oct 07, 2008 at 23:03:05

Wow dude you did it. With a few setbacks too. WTG!! Wasnt sure if you were going to make it or not. You did and gutted it out. Gratz and hats off to you man.

From Brent on Oct 08, 2008 at 20:56:29

Cal, 1,000 commando points for the determination to tough it out. I sure you will be back at top running form. Hey, nothing like a St.George medal. See you at the SLTC winter series.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

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