Ali on a training run in Zaire before his legendary knockout of George Foreman - alongside Beckham, Zidane, and marathon world record holder Hailie Gebrselassie (Berlin, 2:03:59). Very inspiring - might be the best Adidas ad I've ever seen.
The winter blahs here in Maine are in full effect, but nothing a quick trip to Miami and going full throttle for 26.2 can't remedy. My own Rumble in the Jungle, if you will. The ING Miami Marathon is just over one week away - marathon #4 in my 12 marathon 12 month challenge - and I am in the tapering phase for this race. I did a total of 44 miles in four days last Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun but haven't been out since, partly due to a combination of lousy winter weather and the fact that I slipped on a patch of ice (walking my son to the bus stop, of all things!) I'm OK, but my lower back is still a bit sore. I've done two 30 minute sessions of Vinyasa flow yoga which has helped - nothing like Warrior pose 1 and 2, and variations thereof, to really stretch out the back muscles and relieve some of the stiffness.
More snow is on the way for tomorrow, so it looks like I'll plan on doing two medium-length, mid-tempo runs for Sat and Sun. My cardio is about where it should be going into a marathon (resting heart rate currently 51) and my legs feel fresh. So the question to ask myself is - am I ready to break my personal best of 3:39:19? Can I average an 8:22 minute per mile over 26.2?
That is the goal.
So when the pain starts to set in - and around Mile 20, it always does - that is when I'll use the rope-a-dope to defeat any thoughts of self-doubt. And keep pushing forward.
Because there is no can't, won't, or impossible.