Eyeing a February Marathon

I have run one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine miles so far in 2007. I am scheduled to come close to 2,100 by year-end – an earth-shattering single-year record for me. As I sit on this Boeing 777 about forty minutes outside of O’Hare, I cannot believe there are only four and half weeks left in this year.

I have had this eight-hour flight to plan, reflect and refocus my running, career and life goals for the remainder of the year and on into next. I also want to start thinking about my personal goals for 2008 – not in just running, but in all aspects of my life. With a baby on the way, I am bracing myself for major personal changes in the coming year.

Fortunately, I have developed a cautious level of spirited optimism over the past couple of days regarding the Achilles tendon issue that I was moaning about last week. I have not had any pain or discomfort over the past few runs. Maybe my three-day rest and icing actually helped?

On Saturday, I went to the gym to do some cross training and strengthening. I read that I should try to increase strength in my calves so that stress will not be displaced down on my Achilles tendons. My calves are still sore from the lifts. I also knocked out 20 minutes of elliptical and stairs before hitting a short 3-miler.

On Sunday before I left Chicago, I had a steady 12-miler with no issues. Before this particular run, I took the insert from an old pair of shoes, cut it in half and added the padding to my back right heel. I read that this would reduce my stress on the tendon. It seems to have worked.

I had a moist, cool six-mile run this morning through London’s Hyde Park before heading into the office. I feel good about getting this six in given a very compressed trip timeline, jet lag, a long business dinner and some late work last night. Again, no swelling, twinges or pain with Mr. Achilles.

After one final 2:00 AM conference call with Asia tonight, I plan to make some great strides in work-life balance. My piece of the China work will be complete after tonight. Though the work can be exciting, I cannot sustain working on projects in the time zones of three continents on a regular basis. It definitely screws up my running and my sleep!

For my balance of year training, I will hop onto the Pfitzinger 55mpw program to sync up with the February 17 marathon in Columbus beginning tomorrow. I will carefully monitor my body to ensure I do not get injured. If I sense any significant injury risk, I likely will back off and rethink the February marathon.

I do not want to just show up for this marathon, I want to have a real shot at a BQ. If I think the chances are low, then I don’t want to run it. It’s not exactly a destination marathon on a thrilling course. Therefore, I will carefully monitor my progress. If I can get through the next couple of weeks, stay healthy and hit all the miles, I will sign up. Probably. Maybe.