Monday, March 28, 2011

The ‘dream’ how important is a goal vs. the personal meaning.

I not sure how to describe fuzzy line between important and meaningful.  My athletic goals aren’t important to anyone else in the world and are insignificant in comparison to the events presently taking place on our planet.  There is tragedy, disaster, suffering and war all around the globe.  My family country and job are important and I would not neglect any of them in pursuit of my dreams.
I have failed miserably to convey how much qualifying for Kona means to me.  I think it shows in my commitment to training, but there is so much more.  I think if I share a dream I had recently it might give you some idea.
So there I was (in my dream).  It’s a typical morning in Hawaii, partly cloudy, about 70 degrees and fairly humid.  The breeze is light but noticeable.  There is a comforting calm as athletes all around me are making final preparations.   I’m in my swim gear sitting on the ground next to my bike.  All of my gear for the day is prepped, organized and ready for the day ahead.  There is nothing left but to take in the moment.  The entire dream was just about that one moment, probably less than a minute.
I laid back and looked up at the palms swaying in the wind and realized that I had done it; I’m here with the best athletes in the world at the Ironman World Championships.  I cried.  I woke up tears of happiness were still gushing from my eyes as if it really happened.

Friday, March 25, 2011

LA Marathon disappointment, what does it really mean and what did I learn from it.

Although it was very disappointing, missing the LA Marathon means almost nothing.  I was not intending to go for a Boston qualifying time; this was basically just another long run in my training.  I missed two or three workouts since I was tapering for the race and that is it.  Not having to recover from the marathon saves me a week in itself.  In the future I won’t fully taper for races in which I don’t expect to qualify for a future event.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

It’s been a while since writing, not training - LA Marathon March 20 2011

I just finished a nearly flawless 18 week long training program for the LA Marathon.  I juggled, but met all of my commitments to friends and family, ran many times at 3am and rode during my lunch breaks.  I ate well and made sure to get the sleep my body needed.  I made sure to record the mileage on my shoes and kept them fresh; I’m talking DETAILS!  I did everything in my control to execute a personal best marathon.
I took the day off on Friday before the marathon to go to the expo and pick up my race number so that I could spend Saturday with my family (after the final run of my taper period).  We spent the middle part of the day at a Tae Kwon Do tournament, which is an important part of my family and social life.  I started feeling a little nauseous around lunch time, figured I was hungry.  Couldn’t find anything I wanted to eat at the tournament so I decided to wait until the planned pasta feast planned for dinner.
We checked into our hotel room at the Bonaventure downtown LA and walked a couple of blocks to Maria’s kitchen for dinner.  It was about this time that I began to fear that my marathon wasn’t going to happen.  I broke into a cold sweat when the food arrived at our table and ran to the bathroom fearing that I would barf right there in the restaurant.  I didn’t barf but it was close.  Just to shorten the story this continued all night long, I got almost no sleep and hadn’t eaten for 20 hours.  When I couldn’t even think about eating my favorite oatmeal and peanut butter breakfast I knew my marathon wasn’t going to happen.  I can’t explain how it felt to cross over the marathon course as we headed home.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Subject: Honda LA Marathon Alert

Dan Wilson at FINISH in 04:59:52 hrs (NET). Pace: 11:26 min/mi.

Runner Tracking brought to you by Time Warner Cable, the Official
Technology Partner of the Honda LA Marathon presented by K-Swiss.

Subject: Honda LA Marathon Alert

Dan Wilson at 30K in 03:47:26 hrs (NET). Pace: 12:12 min/mi.
Predicted: 04:05:37 hrs.

Runner Tracking brought to you by Time Warner Cable, the Official
Technology Partner of the Honda LA Marathon presented by K-Swiss.

Subject: Honda LA Marathon Alert

Dan Wilson at 10K in 01:13:22 hrs (NET). Pace: 11:48 min/mi.
Predicted: 05:16:56 hrs.

Runner Tracking brought to you by Time Warner Cable, the Official
Technology Partner of the Honda LA Marathon presented by K-Swiss.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Los Angeles MarathonAlert

Xact Event Alerts: <alerts@xacte.com>
Reply-To: alerts@xacte.com
X-Mailer: Xact Msg/ 5.3.2-1ubuntu4.7

This email has been signed up to receive alerts on race day during Los Angeles Marathon. You will be tracking
==========================Dan Wilson==========================
Runner Tracking brought to you by Time Warner Cable, the Official Technology Partner of the Honda LA Marathon presented by K-Swiss.

Los Angeles MarathonAlert

Xact Event Alerts: <alerts@xacte.com>
Reply-To: alerts@xacte.com
X-Mailer: Xact Msg/ 5.3.2-1ubuntu4.7

This email has been signed up to receive alerts on race day during Los Angeles Marathon. You will be tracking
==========================Dan Wilson==========================
Runner Tracking brought to you by Time Warner Cable, the Official Technology Partner of the Honda LA Marathon presented by K-Swiss.