I have been invited to participate in the New York City Marathon with Achilles International. Achilles is an amazing organization that was started in 1983 to bring hope, inspiration and the joys of achievement to people with disabilities through sports.
I really can do an entire blog post on just how much I appreciate and support Achilles for everything they do not only for me, but for the disabled community and I will but, I would like to use this post to talk about what the NYC Marathon (NYCM) means to me and how I am preparing to accomplish this goal of completing it.
Completing a marathon to me always seemed impossible, even before I suffered a TBI and became permanently injured. I grew up in Port Washington, NY so really the NYCM was the hardest endurance event in the world as far as I was concerned. I knew nothing about Ironman Triathlons or Ultramarathons, all I knew was the NYCM. I could only dream of what it must feel like to cross that finish line and accomplish something so physically taxing.
Even as I sit here, having already completed 4 marathons, I still cannot believe that I will be participating in the 2015 NYCM on November 1st. NYCM is my Boston. It doesn't get any higher on the marathon ladder for me.
I don't just want to finish the NYCM, I also want it to be my best marathon performance. So I figured I would train the hardest for it. The problem with that, however, is that I haven't done any endurance training since October 2014 - almost an entire year of just sitting on my butt.
In 2014, I completed more endurance events than any other year since I had started racing. Two full marathons, two half marathons and an Ironman 70.3 triathlon. I was burnt out of training and participating in events. Plus I wanted some time off to work on the book.
Since experiencing my TBI over 18 years ago, I have dealt with chronic fatigue. My brain gets overtired and basically shuts down, forcing me to take at least one nap a day in order to give my brain a break and recharge. The fatigue, however, has significantly gotten worse over the years and I know it is in part because not only have I gotten older, but I have also increased my responsibility load by having 3 children. Add to that mix that one of my kids is special needs and you have a situation that would make any non TBI parent exhausted.
But, it has gotten pretty bad and my brain is not functioning well at all. Not only am I always tired, but I have almost no memory capabilities, I cannot multi-task at all and most days I am struggling just to make it to the end of the day. So I finally decided to seek some medical help from my neurologist who had suggested over a year ago that I start medication to help me function normally.
It has been a nightmare trying to get the medication I need because of my insurance company and some very unreliable and uncaring medical professionals but again, that is another post all in itself. So what does all of this have to do with the NYCM. Well, here I am in the second week of August and I still have not gone on a run since October of 2014. How can I expect not only to have my best marathon performance, but to even accomplish a 26.2 mile run without proper training.
So last month I rehired my trainer / and strength coach, Jacob (Jake) Nelson, who helped me train for my first Ironman 70.3 triathlon, my first marathon, who helped me get back to running after knee surgery and who basically helped get me get in the best shape of my entire adult life back in 2012-2013.
Jake is a fitness guru. I hate using that word, guru, because it is so overused to describe even average people, but I don't know any other word that truly fits. I have never met anyone so incredibly knowledgeable and competent when it comes to physical fitness, anatomy and strength and endurance training than Jake. I really cannot say enough good things about him. He is my fitness God and the only one I know who could help me get ready for the NYCM in such a short time.
So for the past month I have been training with Jake. I am feeling somewhat better, even though I still have not received the medication that I need. I am getting stronger, however. I have not gone out for a run yet, but that is more because of life getting in the way of that, but training with Jake is no walk in the park.
Jake pushes me until I physically cannot do one more rep of whatever exercise I am doing. He doesn't call it "until failure" when he wants you to perform an exercise until you physically can no longer do one more rep, he calls it "until ultimate success." If that means until you puke then so be it. I am proud to say that so far he has never made me puke but I know that is because he doesn't want me to - not yet at least. If I ever do train for a full Ironman he will probably incorporate some puke training as well.
So this is the start of my NYCM training blog posts. I hope to get some videos of some of my training so you can see the exercises that Jake has me doing. I am going to plan on going out for a three hour run this Friday after I drop Anthony off at school. I just have to somehow remember to make sure all refrigerator and freezer doors are properly closed before I go to bed on Thursday night so that life doesn't get in the way of my run again!
