"We can rebuild him....we can make him stronger"

It's been two weeks since Virginia Beach.  I graciously took this time to relax in the nice spring weather and also to get my heart and lungs checked out after the chest issues I had during the race. My EKG showed a slightly enlarged left side of my heart, but that's fairly normal and is called an "athletes heart".  Either way, the doc and I felt it was best to have a pulmonary function test done to look for asthma and as well as a Stress-Echocardiogram to look for any heart abnormalities. 

I had originally had no desire to look for another marathon over the summer.  That lasted about 3-4 days :)  I figured I was already in great shape, why let it go to waste?  As long as my tests all came back clear, I'd look for another race. 

Pulmonary test came back clear.  Stress-Cardio was more or less a test of how amazed I could make the doctors. They were literally used the word "perfection" with my heart function as I shattered any previous testing endurance they had seen in their memory.  The official diagnosis is "exercise induced asthma" that I may or may not ever experience again.  So.......where to race? 

There was really only one choice as far as I was concerned.  This opportunity was close enough to take advantage of my existing fitness, but far enough out I could recover fully before starting again.  It would also be on my home turf!  AND, I'd have family in town!

On June 23rd, I've decided to take my talents to Northern Michigan for the Charlevoix Marathon! 

It seemed like the perfect scenario.  I knew I didn't want to "chase" Boston by trying to find another destination race that would require travel, lodging, etc, with the only purpose being that of a great finishing time.  This race gave me an opportunity to get back to why I started running to begin with: the experience.  What could be better than doing what I love, in a place I love, with lots of people I love? I'm still gonna aim at a 2:56 or at least sub 3:05, but to be honest.....I just wanna have a great race and enjoy having my family there to watch me.  I'm healthy, I'm happy, and right now, that's enough for me :)  

So there you have it.  I'm back in the game.  I "officially" started training this week.  I'm going to use the same plan I used before but only use the last 11 weeks since that's all the time I have.  I'll probably tweak the weightlifting but that's about it.  Time to get crackin'!!