2024 So Far

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

The last time you heard from me (on here, at least), I was still reeling from the abrupt end to my running streak. And, as I was still working my way back to 100%, I really had no idea what I wanted to do next or what my goals were.

During my running streak, I approached races the same way that I would have done if I didn’t run every day.

But, in reality, running every day was always the priority when it came to my goals. Any racing achievements were a bonus for me.

Now, with the #1 priority no longer a possibility, I had to decide what I wanted my new priorities to be. I gave some thought to starting another streak and seeing how it went, but instead I enlisted the help of a coach to see if I could work towards maybe improving my half marathon time and definitely improving my full marathon time.

Ever since I got my personal best marathon time (3:21:11 in 2021 in Philadelphia), I’ve felt like I could improve upon that. But in my three attempts since then – Copenhagen and Philadelphia in 2022 and Copenhagen again in 2023 – I was getting further and further away from a new PB each time.

So, at the beginning of November last year, we started working on building up my running base again. At the same time, we were adding in stretching every day and some strength work 2 to 3 times a week.

Having already signed up for my first race of 2024, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon, it gave us a target to aim for – getting close to sub-1:30 again. I had gotten sub-1:30 twice before – once each in 2018 and 2019 – but had really focused on longer distances in the years since then.

So, after a good three-and-a-half month training cycle, it was time get racing again.

Here’s how my first four races of the year went:

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 5k and 1/2 Marathon

Having done several of the other races in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Series, Las Vegas is one that I have had my eye on for a while. With a 5k on Saturday evening in the Fremont neighborhood of Las Vegas and the half marathon running up and down the strip on Sunday night, it seemed like it would be a fun racing atmosphere to take part in.

The 5k on Saturday evening was just meant to be a shakeout to help loosen up before the half marathon on Sunday. I had my race plan given to me by my coach, which I had intentions of following, but I got caught up in the moment a little bit. The weather was great and it just felt good to be racing in a cool neighborhood. I finished in 22:30, which was a few minutes faster than planned. (Sorry, coach!)

After a good night’s rest, and with the half marathon not beginning until 4:30pm, I did my best to take it easy and hydrate on Sunday morning. I think the most difficult part was trying to get two good meals in me before race time.

As the start was approaching though, the sun was shining and I was feeling ready to run.

The goal for this race was to get as close to 1:30 as possible.

One thing I didn’t anticipate, though, was how crowded it would be at the start and in the first few miles/kms of the race. Starting in the first wave, I was hoping and thinking that I would have a lot of open road to help me get into a good rhythm. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as I spent the first 3 miles working my way through people who were walking or stopping to take pictures.

The race started south along the strip and, after getting to the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign, the route turns around to go back north on the strip. It was at this point that some space opened up and finally I was able to get into a good rhythm. For the next 5 miles or so, I started feeling good and was able to speed up my pace some.

But I was always chasing the lost time from those first few miles, so even with a strong finish in the last 4 miles, I crossed the finish line in 1:35:12.

I was somewhat happy with the time but especially happy with how I finished the race and that I was able to push it all the way to the finish line.

Running on the Las Vegas strip as the sun went down and with all of the casinos lit up definitely ranks as one of my favorite racing experiences and I’m looking forward to hopefully doing it again in the future!

Garden Spot 1/2 Marathon

Next up, came a race that I had run each of the last two years.

With the race coming only one month after the race in Las Vegas, the turnaround time was too quick to recover and then ramp back up to try to get close to 1:30. So coach and I decided (aka coach told me) we would just use this as a long training run to help prepare for my next race at the beginning of May.

As race day was getting closer, the weather forecast was getting worse and worse. What started out as cloudy with a chance of rain (good conditions) turned into a 100% chance of rain all morning. While I don’t really mind running in the rain, I don’t really like waiting at the start or having to warm up in it.

But as with anything, it’s usually not as bad as you build it up to be in your mind. So, once the race started, the rain wasn’t really an issue.

And joined by my friend, Jeremy, it felt great to be ticking off the miles at a decent pace – and at least close to coach’s plan!

Speaking of coach’s plan, it was to get progressively faster with each 5k. The execution of the plan definitely wasn’t perfect but it didn’t feel like I had overdone anything to finish with a time of 1:36:57.

With another race under my belt, I felt like I was getting more confident in running faster later in the race, which can only be a good thing as I move forward.

And, as always, it was great to run a few miles with Jeremy!

Frederick 1/2 Marathon

Almost immediately after getting home from Las Vegas, I quickly registered for this half marathon. With the race taking place in early May, it allowed me a good amount of recovery time from Las Vegas and enough time for a short, intense training block with Garden Spot being used as a long training run in the middle.

This was another race that I’ve done in the past and one that I was looking forward to after a mostly good few months of training.

I didn’t remember it being quite so hilly though!

Similar to Garden Spot, as race morning got closer, the weather forecast was looking like rain for the entire race. Having had a similar race just six weeks earlier, I knew that it could be difficult running in the rain, but I also knew that I could handle it.

I started the race comfortably and felt myself getting stronger as the miles went on.

Just as I getting to the last couple of miles though, I wasn’t able to give the final push that I was hoping for. Instead, I was just about able to maintain the pace that I had held for most of the middle section of the race.

Even though I didn’t finish the race as strongly as I had hoped or planned, I still finished with a time of 1:34:41, which was my best time of the year and one of my better times over the last few years.

Once again, I ran a good race, but had finished with a time a little bit slower than I was hoping for before the race began.

Local ‘5k’

There’s something that’s nice about having the start/finish line of a race within warm-up distance of my front door. But, on the flip side, it also seems a little silly to pay money to run around the same area that I do almost every day for free.

In last year’s race, I finished in 6th place overall and won my age group, so I was hoping for a similar race this year.

There’s not really much detail to go into with this race. The route actually measures 5.5km/3.4 miles, but knowing the route helped me to come up with a plan for the race.

I started fast and kept my pace consistent throughout, finishing in 21:48 (19:41 for the actual 5k time), which put me in 3rd place overall and 1st in my age group!

It was a great way to finish up my races for the first half of the year!

Next Up – Chicago!

After my last marathon in May 2023, I said I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to run another marathon.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m still not sure, but I think once the training gets started I will be looking forward to running the distance again.

But having gotten a place in the Chicago Marathon through the race lottery, I’ve been given the chance to run my first World Major marathon in a city that I’ve loved visiting in the past.

So, after a first half of the year where I ran a few races and got a good base back, it’s almost time to start my training plan for my first marathon in about a year and a half.

As I write this, my coach is putting the finishing touches on the first weeks of the plan and I’ll be getting started with it soon!

I’m sure that I will be running in some races before and after Chicago, but I haven’t made any decisions on which ones yet.

Let me know in the comments what your racing plans are for the rest of 2024!