500 and counting...

As we head full bore into spring and slide from March into April I took note in my running log that I had eclipsed 500 miles in three months.  For most of my running friends that's a pretty ordinary three month period.  But the fact that I'm on pace to run 2000 miles is quite surprising.  I haven't totaled that amount in two decades.

That fact sent me scurrying back to my old running logs to see the last time I hit that amount of mileage in three months.  It hasn't happened since 2005.  The first three months of that year I hit 560 miles.  That's also the last year that I was running what I consider respectable times, sub 6:30 pace for 5K etc;  The year started going sour in mid-April when I suffered the first of what ended up being a half dozen diverticulitis attacks through the year.  The attacks along with the Levequin I had to take to combat it but it real dent in my running.  And then there were the hurricanes... which only contributed to the stomach issues.

By December of 2005 my the diverticulitis had wrecked my intestines and I unexpectedly ended up in a New Orleans hospital while on vacation.  The two surgeries that followed to repair my guts put a real dent in my running.  I can remember trying to run four miles in late April of 2006 about two months after the second surgery and struggling to run 11 minute pace. 

Getting sick like that only reinforced my love of running.  So much so that I've had both of my Achilles repaired in the last three years so I stay with the sport I love.   No, the surgeries haven't helped my running, but it certainly stoked my passion for it.

I don't expect to hit 2000 miles this year.  As the heat sets in I plan to scale back the miles and focus on putting in just one good long run a week.  The only thing that can derail my marathon plans this fall would be the sciatica which refuses to go away.  It's better than it was six months ago, hopefully it will be better six months from now.