For weeks, I had been locked into a time for my weekly half marathon (about 1:40). Perhaps my routine had grown tired. I was tired (no perhaps about it). And my thrice-weekly Insanity routine certainly zapped my legs.
Last weekend, there was two Rock and Roll half marathons in the States, so many of us did two half marathons over the course of the weekend. Last Saturday, I did my first half outside (impossible at my old post) and got 1:51. Two days later, when my legs still should be shot, I altered my strategy on the treadmill (breaking it up into pieces and immediately resetting the clock, as well as constantly variating speeds based on a predetermined pattern). I got 1:42:15 and smashed my prior best.
Five days later (tonight), I employed my new strategy again and got 1:39:15. We often hit plateaus and need to be patient until we work past them. I think I've finally hit my stride.
I just slipped past all of our top Canadian runners and am now the second fastest half marathoner here, after our crazy Canadian 100 mile runner (who runs a six minute everything).
This is quite satisfying, and I am very grateful to God, as I am reminded with each stride that He fashioned my body and every muscle necessary to running. It also moves me closer to my physical deployment goal, which is to come back and run a 3:30 marathon.
More important than all of these, it gets me more emeshed within a vibrant run culture out here that enables me to help coach and engage other runners. For example:
Immediately preceding the Ragnar Relay next weekend, two dozen of my soldiers will be doing a 5k ruck run together. Most people will be running in teams of 2-4. I convinced my unit to do one mass formation with someone calling cadence. Hooah!
Several of us will then join the 60 or so other runners half an hour later to begin the Ragnar. It will be an epic battle as the team captains drafted their teams from the slowest captain to the fastest, so the team with the slowest captain has the deepest roster, while the team with our supersonic captain is slower as a whole.
I'm still getting about 10-20 runners doing the half marathons each weekend, and this is on top of the 20 or so that I recruited at my previous post that (I presume) are still running it.
Later this month, we'll be doing a shadow marathon for 13 runners, using medals leftover from last year's Rock and Roll DC Marathon. I'm hoping to also plan an obstacle run, where every mile loop is completed with a hardcore exercise (50 pushups, 20 pullups, 50 squats, etc.). Those who complete the 10k, 10 miler, or half marathon all get leftover shirts or awards.
I never thought that PT would be my God-given vehicle with which to engage a wide variety of soldiers (I was the scrawny kid growing up). But God delights in manifesting His strength in others' weakness. I'm just glad that he chose this vehicle and not eating, or surf and turf night would be the end of me.
