Tapering, Updates, and a Minor Injury

"Ok, you guys are getting a lot of shots back. NOW, it's time for a challenge." I said.  "I'm going to start playing the points out with you!" I stood in the loud, echoing gym of a local elementary school, trying to speak over the cacophony of kids and bus announcements. Just a typical day running the after school elementary "Tennis Club" to twelve 3rd and 4th graders.

The first point of the first drill, I reached up to gingerly tap a backhand back to the player, and of course, my ankle gave way a bit, resulting in a slight "roll." The funny thing is, it was that SAME kid who hurt himself last week after reacting to a ball that I hit. The tables are turned now! I felt a dull, nagging pain that I knew would inhibit me from training for a few days.

I really need to stop joking about getting injured. Or at least make sure I have a wooden table, chair, or other surface near me each time for me to knock on.

So yeah, needless to say, I took Thursday off of running. I was able to manage 30 minutes on the arc trainer today and it was completely painless, so I'm just taking it one day at a time. Hopefully I'll be feeling pretty close to 100% for the upcoming marathon.

This weeks training program felt like a breath of fresh air. I'm basically "tapering" now. I've already reached my optimum training capability for this marathon, and now my only job is to maintain the level so I feel fresh on race day as opposed to achey, creaky and burnt out, which is always a possibility with overtraining.

Here are a few updates on all things USTA Serves and running related for me right now

Fundraising: I'm very close to the $2,000 mark, thanks to generous donations from friends, families, clients and colleagues (my Making it Happen page is updated with Thank You's).

Tonight, I'll be hosting a tennis fundraising event at my neighborhood courts, following our successful "Tennis Olympics" event I held a few months back. This event will benefit the USTA Serves Foundation, my run, and the Philadelphia Area Team Tennis Association.

It will feature a 10 and under match, a junior clinic, and an adult clinic followed by pizza, beer, refreshments, and a small scale raffle in the clubhouse. I'll definitely surpass the $2,000 mark after tonight.

Inspiration: I recently finished "Born To Run:" The book everyone was talking about, which chronicles an American writer and casual runner traveling to Mexico in search of the remote Tarahumara tribe who live deep within the copper canyons in their own isolated existence and are regarded as "super athletes" with uncanny barefoot distance running ability.

The book goes into great detail about the people he meets while in Mexico, the motley crew of unique and talented runners they assemble in the states to travel to Mexico for the race, while simultaneously delving into the kinesiological/research behind successful running. From bushmen in Africa tracking prey for miles and miles until they collapse from exhaustion, to extensive research done to prove that humans are born to run long distances while quadrupeds like Cheetahs, antelope and rabbits are not. Sure, they're extremely quick, but not over the course of long distances.

The dichotomy made for a very good read. The scientific running research, the social and cultural phenomenon of the Tarahumara, and the feel-good story of the race itself.

It inspired me to not only conquer this marathon, but to conquer more races. Longer races. I finished the book and immediately emailed editors at Men's Health and Runner's World magazines in search of a freelance running gig. I was feeling inspired to explore the remote corners of the world to do something similar. Think Anthony Bourdain meets Dean Karnazes.

I'm now reading 2 completely unrelated books ("the Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Biography of Dave Grohl") but the inspiration from "Born to Run" is still lingering.

Feeling: Aside from the nagging ankle pain and the occasional nights out on the town, I'm feeling fantastic. The 19 mile run went flawlessly as I cruised down the Chester Valley trail armed with my Camelback, energy gels and mp3 player in hand. 10 mile runs now seem like casual strolls on a beatiful day. The key  element now is my "mental game." Hopefully this 10K run this Sunday will be yet another reminder of my development as a runner during this training.

I'll post next week with more fundraising updates, a recap of my 10K race, and any last minute rantings I want to get out of my system before the big day!