This year started out great. Coming off my second marathon and a PR of 2:39 at Cape Cod, I had a decent base to start workouts. I hit a bunch of pretty successful tempos and long interval work leading up to my first race of the year at the Boston Prep 16 miler. After a pretty awesome duel I made a pass around 10 miles and came home for the win, averaging 5:40 pace and taking home a jug of maple syrup which I still haven't even cracked into.
I went on to race hard in February but was well under-dressed for the weather (I froze) and raced below expectations at the Jones 10 Miler, clocking 54:28 for second man on the squad. I was happy to score for the team but I felt like I had much more to do moving forward. February passed into March and I got a little lazy / distracted and had a really tough run at New Bedford Half. I got run down by tons of people and my last 5k was around 6-minute pace. Despite that I wound up running another PR in 1:12:50-something for the first HM I had truly raced. It was a tough day from the beginning
I rebounded later that month to have some great workouts. At one point I even Time Trialed a 5 miler in 25:48 and couldn't believe it! I raced the April Fool's 4 mile in late March and clocked 20:12 for second behind fast-closing Patrick Rich.
In mid-April I finally found a 5 mile race but had about 5 days off leading up to the race due to some lingering calf pain and decided to go for it anyway. Ran away from the race after mile 1 and clocked a 26:15. I just had fun with the race and even briefly chatted with a friend whom I hadn't seen in a while during the penultimate mile.
May arrived and a close friend passed away tragically. This event was sort of the "straw that broke the camel's back". I was totally defeated, despite lots of support all around me. I didn't care much about running and every time I tried to run I would get sick to my stomach. I had never had to deal with tragedy striking so close to home. I was also disillusioned by what happened at the Boston Marathon and the stress of being a 1st year teacher on top of everything left my tank on empty, mentally and physically. The ensuing months of June and July were positive in other ways though. I wrapped up my first successful year of school and I took a bunch of kids on a 10 day cannoning adventure in the Adirondacks. I spent my time in the wilderness contemplating the school year that had passed and developed a new sense of thankfulness for all that I have.
Getting back into the groove in August I ran a long relay race out in Vermont with a bunch of friends. It was my first major effort back to training and I was happy to average 5:4x's for 17+ miles over three legs. Then, my training was again sidelined, but this time for a medical reason. The evening following a long hard run and a full day of work I started having persistent heart palpitations and within 24 hours I found myself in an ER trying to get to the bottom of it.
I ended up having about a month's worth of testing done, mostly due to some misguided concerns on part of the doctors I met with originally. They actually gave me the impression I was putting myself at serious risk by running... So I made the obvious decision to do absolutely nothing other than rest. Of course, after all of the testing, a cardiologist with a background specific to endurance athletes realized that "oh, wait a minute, Scott, you're completely healthy!" I was flabbergasted. I was actually kind of pissed off. I had been so convinced something was truly wrong with me that I didn't believe him at first. It took me a while to want to run but eventually the desire returned.
That leads into September and October when I was given the green light to begin running again. I started back really slowly because the original cause of the palpitations was never totally clear. I've had no issues ever since. I gave up coffee, which was probably the route cause of the initial episode. I guess there's my silver lining. That, and I've had so much testing I know I'm healthy.
So, here I am in December having run at few low-key races. I ran a 16.3 mile leg of the Myles Standish Marathon Relay with my dad and we won! We actually beat out even the 5-man teams. I ran 5:51 pace for that leg and I knew I was back in it. I ran the Feaster 5 road race on Thanksgiving just to move the legs and cruised at 5:22 pace in trainers. I followed that up with the Mill Cities Relay where I cranked 5:07 pace for a 4.72 mi leg which is a level of speed I haven't seen in quite a while.
All in all, it was a strange year, both mentally and physically. Sometimes I feel like some of the issues could have been handled better or maybe completely avoided. But, for the most part, I feel like each event was a learning experience to be embraced. I see this year as a stepping stone and also a year that will not soon be forgotten. All I know is as we enter 2014, I am happy, healthy, with loved ones all around me, and I absolutely cannot wait for today's run. It'll be on a treadmill most likely, surrounded by gym rats, and I'll be pressed for time to get dinner before heading to my school's Christmas Concert. And I'm good with that. I'm excited to spend more time with runners of all kinds, teammates and local roadies alike. I'm picking up a pair of Dion snowshoes in preparation for some of the NH and WMAC races this winter. I'll be coming back to Boston Prep a year wiser and probably fitter than last year. If I can learn anything from the past couple years, I probably won't make it to every Grand Prix race, but for the races I am at, I will be in the moment and we'll see how the cards fall!
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