David Taylor Gonzales

26.22 miles. 4 hours 11 minutes 22 seconds. 6 Honey Stinger gels. 4 swigs of Powerade.

1,094.77 miles run in training. 165 hours 50 minutes 19 seconds in total.

93.75% of scheduled workouts completed. 23 speed training sessions.

Longest distance run in training: 19.9 miles (1.8 miles of this during a game of ultimate frisbee)

PRs during training:
5K at Run for Hope in Branson in July (20:29)
10K one random morning in September when I felt fresh (46:12)
Half-Marathon during a 17 mile long run speed session with Elliott (1:58:38)

VO2 Max increased from 54 ml/kg/min to 57

I have put off writing this blog because my brain feels so scrambled as I reflect back on this year. I don’t know how to fully encapsulate my experience in training, the race itself, the fueling issues, the support I received from my family. There’s a lot to say.

I guess I’ll start here. My wife is the most incredible human being on earth. Training for a marathon takes a lot of time and that has been one thing our family has had less of this year. She has picked up the slack throughout the year with the kids, with the family schedule and countless things that aren’t coming to mind right now.

“Do you want to run before dinner when you get home?”
I tried to do most of my runs in the morning before the kids woke up but whether due to sleep problems, sickness, or time changes, Lane was always willing to bend so I could go out and train. She would text me at work asking about what was on the calendar and how she could support me. I am incredibly grateful for the seen and unseen sacrifices she made throughout the year. She would listen to me ramble about random insights I had about my running mechanics, about how my strength training was going, what I was looking forward to when the taper started. It was all pretty boring but she has this incredible way of listening to things that are important to other people and making them feel like they really matter, even if the subject matter is mostly trivial or uninteresting to her. She knows I have a tendency to daydream and our marriage has provided me a place to dump those thoughts. She’s the best listener.

The week of the race we spent much of our quality time pouring over the course map, memorizing aid stations and nutrition availability at each, port-a-potty locations and talking about where she and the kids would meet me throughout the course. The radar showed a significant temperature drop on the morning of the race so we planned out where I’d give her my gloves and my top layer. We decided on Mile 7 which was about a quarter mile from our house. We could’ve spent those nights watching tv or leaving her alone to read a book, but she chose to make herself part of this process. I’m so thankful for that.

My mother deserves a mention. She ran the Suzuki Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in San Diego in the summer of 2001. Throughout my training she was generous with her encouragement, advice, and even took time to dig through old files and storage to find some memorabilia from her race. It was fun to talk with her about it and to celebrate this mini tradition continuing in our family. She texted me the morning of the race at 5:36 AM, “Breathe,” was all she said. It was perfect.

I have delayed in writing this blog because it feels like I need to capture every thought, every detail, everything I’m thankful for but the idea of waiting to post until I’ve done so is overwhelming. I’m sure I’m leaving out too much, too many people, too many moments. To anyone and/or to anything else left unsaid, thank you.

Keep Going!