The 2015 Greek Islands Adventure – training has begun

My big toe nails have grown back after I lost them on the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim run in September. A few months of overall strength training coupled with my base running workouts has me ready to begin my focused training for our 2015 speed event “The Greek Islands Adventure.” Starting July 1st on the island of Naxos I will challenge my 52 year-old body to break 5 minutes in 5 races on 5 different Greek islands within 15 days. I must travel by boat between each island as I cannot fly to the next island race. Recovery for this event must start on the water. We will fly into Athens at the end of June, take a ferry from Piraeus port to Naxos (race #1 July 1st), then to Amorgos (race #2 July 4th in the port of Katapolos),  on to the island of Ios (race #3 July 7th), Folegrandros (race #4 July 10th), and then finish on the beautiful island of Santorini (race #5 July 13th).

The day after the Super Bowl 49 (the game with best drama ever) was the date marked on my calendar to begin preparing my body for speed training. This past week was a 32 mile week spread out over a 6-day span with three days of mock speed training. My body tonight still feels very fresh and bouncy, so it was a great start to the 2015 training.

We have a new park in Sarasota that is just fantastic. It is called Benderson Park behind the new UTC Mall. It is the home site of the 2017 World Rowing Championships. Circling the outside of the 2000 meter rowing race site are paved roads and a majestic, crushed shell trail that is about 3.5 miles in length: https://www.scgov.net/parks/Pages/BendersonPark.aspx

This provides plenty of different running places for me to train properly for the Greek event. You will find me at Siesta Key and Lido beaches, Lakewood Ranch soccer fields, Ringling Bridge or the Celery Fields for hill training, and now the shell trail at  UTC is a welcome park just 5 miles from my house. On our 2008 tour, I remember local Eugene runners showing me the pristine wood chip trails at the University of Oregon. Being next to the ocean, it makes sense that in Florida we would create a nice shell trail to soften the route. The efforts by Benderson Park are truly appreciated by the athletes training at their site.

Whether it started indoors or outdoors, I hope you all have begun your 2015 training…here’s wishing you all the best in your 2015 aspirations.