I have been since I was 6 years old and I have had injuries, terrible races, nasty track/road tangle ups, incredible and miserable experiences...

The question is, "why do I keep running, why do I keep putting on my running shoes...?" and the answer is a simple one. To keep improving, to keep experiencing, to always push my physical limits and most importantly, to just keep moving...The human body is designed to move, stretch, jump and run, to deny your body these gifts is not only a crime, but a waste of the greatest gift of all, and that is freedom. Freedom to run, jump and move is taken for granted by those whom are able and as they say, “use it, you lose it”. So for me I have to keep pushing and training to remain moving, remain physically fit and move my body in any way I can, while I can!

I spent the early summer of 2010 training for the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Marathon, in which I ran a Personal best of 1:14.10 which boosted me into my Marathon training for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. I went to Chicago and had a very simple running plan and that was to not RACE, just run 6:50’s regardless if you feel good or not. It may sound strange to some, but the goal was not a great time at Chicago, rather just qualify for the 2011 Boston Marathon. It was harder than I imagined!

I had run 4 or more long runs over 22 miles and had run them between 6:20 and 6:40 minute pace with very little fatigue post run, so I knew I had the strength and fitness to run a solid marathon. I also had been doing workouts directly from Paul Tergat’s (a 2:04 marathoner) Book “Running to the Limit” and had great indications that I was in 2:28 marathon race shape. I had also been doing 14-18 mile race simulations at 110% of 2:28 race pace with great results and very little post run soreness or fatigue…I was almost ready and the Boston Marathon was just around the corner…it was go time…So like all smart marathoners/runners I started my taper around 18 days out, with my last 23 miler 21 days from race day. I started taking it easy, still getting diagonals, easy runs and some light speed work, everything was working out perfectly. Every time I ran I felt stronger, faster and lighter, it really could not have been going any better!

So going into the week before Boston, Boston is always on Patriots Day(huge Boston Holiday, no one goes to work, rather they are out on the roads cheering on the runners) I felt strong and just had two more light workouts before the big day on Monday, and this is how it went.

Saturday: 3 mile warm up, 6 x 800 at 2:28-2:30 with 400m jog rest on soft rolling gravel trails, 2 mile cool down.

Sunday: 14 miles very easy on great trails, 6 x 30 fast 30 seconds and 30 seconds slow.

Monday (a week out):  Rest day, light 1km swim to flush out the legs.

Tuesday: 50 minutes easy, and light stretching.

Wednesday: 2 mile warm up, 3 miles of 200m “ON” at 38 seconds (5:04 min pace) and 200m “OFF” at 48 seconds (6:24 min pace) AND on lap 10 my left calf completely locked up, GAME OVER!!! I could not even walk across the grassy field back to my car keys and water bottle…my 2011 Boston Marathon Dream was officially over.

And that is how fast things can change in running…you can have 8 months of incredible training, watching what you eat, not drinking alcohol and getting your rest. It does not matter, if you get injured it is all for not…

What to do? Well, I iced, wrapped, elevated, received active release therapy and all I could do now was rest for 4 days and hope that on Sunday (the day before The 2011 Boston Marathon) I could go out and jog and everything would be better.

So Sunday rolled around and I went out to jog and as soon as I tried to open up my calf locked again and I was done…it was not to be for me this year…We went up to Boston anyway and watched, from the sidelines, one of the greatest feats from a human to ever happen in the world of running or athletics.

That is how running is sometimes…you put in the world and a simple injury can erase all your hard work.

Does this stop me from running?!! I think not, in some sick way it draws me closer to running and helps me learn more about myself and patience, lots and lots of patience.

The Plan: To spend the next 3 months in rehabilitation and repairing the damage.

Two great things came out of my injury, and that is just how you have to look at it…

1.)   I started riding my bike and just took my running base/fitness and turned it into cycling fitness. Then 6 weeks later I road my bicycle across the country in RAAM, or Race Across America and made a very crappy situation into a complete success.

2.)   Learned even more about myself, how to reach my absolute physical, emotional and psychological limits.

And so there it is…we only learn from falling down, getting injured or encountering adversity, we are only as good or as strong as what we have to overcome. The sweet is not as sweet without the sour…

So to all those runners out there, take it all in, experience the good the bad and sometimes the absolute miserable situations and build yourself a stronger, faster and better you!

Go Get’em.

(I just started running 2 weeks ago and it is slow going, the swimming, cycling and Crossfit are assisting in speeding recovery and my fitness level)