It didn’t happen as much during our previous training for the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon this spring, but since Ryan’s cross country practices started on July 9 with Indy Genesis, I have been asked a lot when I post my workouts on social media platforms “Where’s Ryan?”
Actually, back in February when he began track practice with Indy Genesis, we went our separate ways.
One night in January I was talking with my Uncle Bill and updating him on the status of Luke. We hadn’t seen Dr. Ralston at that point and were still trying to figure out what was causing the seizures, the passing out and the personality changes.
Toward the end of the conversation my uncle asked, “Ryan running the Mini again in May even though he’s running track?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Who’s putting the plan together? Coach Ben or you?” He asked.
“That’s a good question,” I replied.
“You let Ben coach and train Ryan and you go and do your own thing,” he responded. “Just trust the process.”
A funny thing happened the next morning. Ben text me and asked, “Is Ryan running the Mini in May? Are we gonna have to Rubik’s Cube his training again like we did for cross country and Monumental?”
I had a good chuckle. Then I replied to him, “Whatever you set up for Ryan for anything is for him. I’ll do my own thing. Then at the Mini, I’ll pace him. We’ll see what happens. We’ll trust the process and go from there.”
I still feel bad for some things that happen during the last cross country season which caused Ben to change various training plans for other athletes who also ended up running the half at Monumental. I was adamant Ryan ran the same distance for a long run that I was on Sundays. The parents of the other runners also wanted their kids running the same mileage.
I put Ben in a position that he should not have been in the first place.
Lesson learned.
Alas this winter and spring we did “trust the process” and Ryan had success both on the track and at the Mini.
Ryan crushed his previous 500 Mini time by over five minutes! He also set a new overall half marathon PR by three minutes with his time in May. More impressive, Ryan negative split the 500 Mini – he was faster at every 5k check mark throughout the course.
Usually during these races, I constantly coach Ryan. That wasn’t the case back in May. I asked him a few times how he was feeling. Other runners who knew us, who we either passed or passed us, commented that Ryan really looked good and strong.
When we got to main straightaway of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I told him to go ahead as we approached the “yard of bricks. I stopped and did my “Moriarty coming out of the helicopter” from Sherlock impersonation and knelt down and kissed the bricks. I caught up to him.
I didn’t start coaching him until we got to “Victory Mile” and could tell he was going to set a new PR.
It was by far the most fun either one of us had since we started running races together.
At the PR Bell after Ryan crushed his previous OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon time by five minutes.
As I ran in the mornings by myself training for the Mini while Ryan ran during his practices in the evenings, the competitor in me came out. There is this burning desire in me to see if I can actually break 1:30:00.
One night during a study break for one of my MBA classes, I searched for a race I could run by myself. Or one like the Sparkler Sprint in Franklin that’s small enough Ryan could run and I felt comfortable enough leaving him to go after my goal.
The only stipulation was the race had to be run on a Sunday. This is so I wouldn’t have to worry about taking a day off work from “The World on Time.”
It took me a few minutes, but I found one on a Sunday. The Valparaiso Half Marathon in Valparaiso, Ind.
Interestingly enough, the date of Oct. 21 puts it on the weekend of the five-year anniversary of when I ran my first half marathon and set my current PR of 1:35:00.
Although we were already registered for the Monumental Half in November, I figured I could run the Valpo Half as a goal race. Then on Nov. 3, I can pace Ryan as usual and help break his time from the Mini for another new PR.
All I had to do now was wait and see what would transpire with the cross country schedule before signing up for the race.
Ryan has the Ohio Valley HomeSchool Regional Meet on Oct. 20. He won’t be running with me on Oct. 21 at Valpo.
I told Brian Wilson about the race. I told him what my time goal was for the race. About a week later, Wilson ran in the Boston Marathon. A few hours after he had finished the premier marathon in the worst-weather conditions possible, he texted me from his hotel room. “You have to try and BQ with me in like five years,” he messaged. “It’s an amazing experience.”
I replied, “If I break 1:30:00 at Valpo.”
“Deal,” he texted back.
I thought for sure Wilson’s excitement was merely the “Runner’s High” from running the Boston Marathon. I believed he would forget our deal.
I was wrong.
The Friday after Marathon Monday, I ran up a hill on a country road that is between our subdivisions. I heard someone yell my name. It was Wilson running to catch up with me. We ran together around and back to his house. We stopped and talked for a few minutes.
As I started to run back to my house to finish my run, Wilson looked at me said, “1:30:00 at Valpo. Then it’s BQ.”
I cracked a smile and said, “I really thought you’d forget.”
After the Mini, Ryan and I ran a few times on the beach while we were in Panama City. When we returned from vacation we concentrated on easy runs through our subdivision and a couple of other subdivisions. Ben also had me have Ryan run 100 meter strides after some runs during the week.
During the month of June something happened that had never happened since Ryan and I began running together. I was the one who was injured.
My right hamstring began giving me some issues around the middle of June. I took a break from running for 10 days. While Ryan ran I rode my bike beside him. I was determined I would be ready to run the Sparkler Sprint hard because I wanted to try and break the 20-minute mark.
The 10-day hiatus along with wearing a compression sleeve and icing my leg every night after work seemed to help. The week prior to the Sparkler Sprint, I was back on the roads. The Saturday before the race I ran the 100-meter strides with Ryan and my leg felt good. I didn’t break 20 minutes, but I did set new PR with a time of 20:14 at Sparkler Sprint. I finished fifth overall and second in my age group.
Ryan off and running in a recent cross country race for Indy Genesis.
Also in June, I had signed up for the Valpo Half. Ryan’s cross country practices began July 9. That would put me 15 weeks out from the Valpo Half. I usually set my training cycles for 14 weeks.
I am fortunate I have a job like I do at “The World on Time” right now that gives me ample amount of time to train like I want for this goal race. Honestly, though, I hope it’s the last time.
Once I complete my MBA and graduate, I plan to get a new job that will allow me to work Monday through Friday. Since I currently work Saturdays, I’m tired of missing Ryan’s meets or other events Andrew, Luke or Micah are involved in with their various activities.
I am also fed up hoping less than two people have a Saturday off that will allow me to ask off or going in late when we run a race. Case in point, I have to go into work after we run Monumental on Nov. 3 because there are already two people off that day.
With all the goals I have in mind as I began putting the plan together, I thought to myself, is there a half marathon that would be that distance equivalent to the Boston Marathon. One where even if there’s a lottery you can automatically qualify for the race if you make a certain time standard.
Enter the United Airlines New York City Half Marathon.
The time needed to auto qualify for the race for a man between the ages of 45-49: 1:28:00.
If I’m going to do this all out one last time what’s two minutes?
When I put the plan together I got to thinking as I looked through the Runner’s World “Big Book of Marathon and Half Marathon Training,” Bart Yasso’s “Race Everything,” and Hal Higdon’s “Run Fast.” and the August 2013 issue of Runner’s World titled the “Half Marathon” issue with an article and training plan “Rules of the Half”- has anyone really done the plans? If they have, what success did they achieve? I have never seen anything published.
I decided to pay homage to Frank Shorter, Higdon and Yasso while also adding my own spin on parts of the plan.
From Shorter – two speed workouts each week. The first a rotation of mile repeats, hill repeats (because he says hills are speedwork in disguise), intervals and track workouts
From Higdon – the track workouts from “Run Fast” along with running some long runs at easy pace and then up to race pace the last fourth of the distance for that run.
From Yasso – his hill repeat workout, which is in both “Race Everything” and the Runner’s World half marathon issue. You find a hill and mark two points. One that is one minute from the bottom and another which is two minutes. You sprint four times to the one minute mark. Then you run at just over race pace to the two minute mark. Jog down to the one minute mark and sprint to the bottom. You do that four times. Finally, you sprint again to the one minute mark four times to finish. On some of the tempo runs, I will run them on “Cushing’s Hill.” And you can’t pay homage to Yasso without doing his famed Yasso 800s, which I will do about three weeks before the Valpo Half.
And finally from Dr. Jordan Metzl – doing IronStrength on my off days. On my easy days rotating between IronStrength core and glue focus workouts.
I used the Hanson’s running calculator to figure out my training paces for the various workouts which are catered to accomplishing my time goal.
After finishing one of my lonely race-pace-tempo runs.
Since Ryan’s practices began, we run about two times a week together. I usually do not run Fridays. On those days, I ride my bike along side him as he runs in the neighborhood. Basically like we did when I was injured in June. We run early on Saturday mornings before I go to work. We have our long runs on Sundays before or after church depending on the mileage.
The one aspect about running with Ryan I really like is he gets me to slow down. Our long runs are usually around an 8:30 pace. He still has those days where once he gets into a set pace. he’s not going any slower or faster regardless how much I try to push him.
Rueff Report 