Showing posts with label marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marathon. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Maybe Not So Snart
So what is the best thing to do when you can't even run one mile pain free? Why you register for the Portland Marathon of course! I have 25 weeks to get my issue resolved and start training again. I can't really afford the entry fee at this time but I can't really afford not to have a race to work towards either.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Throwing In The Towel
When I posted that quote about the marathon last week it had a double meaning for me. On one hand it was saying it was OK to finish a marathon in whatever time I need to that day. On the other, it was saying that it might take many, many months or even years to get to the start line of a marathon and that was OK too. It was the second interpretation that resonated with me last week as I came to terms with the realization that the Eugene Marathon wasn't going to happen for me this year. I am officially dropping my registration from the full to the half-marathon.
This was a really difficult decision to make. I wanted this marathon BADLY. Ever since I finally ran a half I could be proud of last year this race has been my goal. I wanted this one to be my inaugural marathon. It was a chance to prove to myself how much further I can push myself and what I can accomplish. This race was going to be the best way I could think of to celebrate my 40th birthday which is the day before the race. Heck, when we scheduled the wedding we did it so that it happened after Eugene. So the decision to drop the race was emotional for me and difficult to accept. But facts are facts and this injury has kept me from running and training and there was no way I could be ready by May 1 to run any kind of race I could be proud of. I just feel lucky that the injury happened so early in training and not after four months of hard work.
Another reason this race meant so much is that we are going to try to have a baby after the wedding and getting the marathon done before that happened would have been perfect timing. Training while pregnant just sounds miserable and, especially considering my age, probably not safe. By the way, running through pregnancy is safe, just not hard training you haven't done before. I know I can run one after a kid is born but I am guessing that will be fairly exhausting as well. This race was my best possible chance to train my hardest and be at my best for the distance. And it's gone now. Unless of course there will be no babies then, woo-hoo, here come some races!
On the injury front, the calf has been (knock wood) much better and I am thinking about testing the waters with it this week. The sciatica is also better but still flares up a little. The back pain, which I never had before I started doing exercises for the sciatica, also seems to have mostly gone away. Running should be able to begin again soon which is good because I am less than eight weeks away from a half-marathon and I would really like that race not to suck.
As for the marathon, well I'm ready for that amazing journey Ms. Flanagan spoke about and I will write my own ending for it in another race this year. If I can run pain free very soon then Rock and Roll Seattle at the end of June is a possibility. Portland or Victoria in early October are also high on the list but while running in fall is fabulous, training in summer is a bitch and I don't know how I would do with that. For now I am just going to keep on with my PT program, cross-train while I can and focus on getting to the start line of 26.2.
This was a really difficult decision to make. I wanted this marathon BADLY. Ever since I finally ran a half I could be proud of last year this race has been my goal. I wanted this one to be my inaugural marathon. It was a chance to prove to myself how much further I can push myself and what I can accomplish. This race was going to be the best way I could think of to celebrate my 40th birthday which is the day before the race. Heck, when we scheduled the wedding we did it so that it happened after Eugene. So the decision to drop the race was emotional for me and difficult to accept. But facts are facts and this injury has kept me from running and training and there was no way I could be ready by May 1 to run any kind of race I could be proud of. I just feel lucky that the injury happened so early in training and not after four months of hard work.
Another reason this race meant so much is that we are going to try to have a baby after the wedding and getting the marathon done before that happened would have been perfect timing. Training while pregnant just sounds miserable and, especially considering my age, probably not safe. By the way, running through pregnancy is safe, just not hard training you haven't done before. I know I can run one after a kid is born but I am guessing that will be fairly exhausting as well. This race was my best possible chance to train my hardest and be at my best for the distance. And it's gone now. Unless of course there will be no babies then, woo-hoo, here come some races!
On the injury front, the calf has been (knock wood) much better and I am thinking about testing the waters with it this week. The sciatica is also better but still flares up a little. The back pain, which I never had before I started doing exercises for the sciatica, also seems to have mostly gone away. Running should be able to begin again soon which is good because I am less than eight weeks away from a half-marathon and I would really like that race not to suck.
As for the marathon, well I'm ready for that amazing journey Ms. Flanagan spoke about and I will write my own ending for it in another race this year. If I can run pain free very soon then Rock and Roll Seattle at the end of June is a possibility. Portland or Victoria in early October are also high on the list but while running in fall is fabulous, training in summer is a bitch and I don't know how I would do with that. For now I am just going to keep on with my PT program, cross-train while I can and focus on getting to the start line of 26.2.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Words of Wisdom
Every so often you happen to run across the right message for you at the right time of your life. Today in my inbox was this daily Runner's World inspirational quote:
"Instead of focusing on all the things I can't control, I am enjoying the moments in front of me. The marathon is going to be an amazing journey and I get the chance to write the ending."
Shalane Flanagan, Olympic Medalist and 2nd woman finisher at the 2010 NY City Marathon
I don't know what that ending is going to be but I am committed to a journey that might take a very long time but will most definitely be amazing.
"Instead of focusing on all the things I can't control, I am enjoying the moments in front of me. The marathon is going to be an amazing journey and I get the chance to write the ending."
Shalane Flanagan, Olympic Medalist and 2nd woman finisher at the 2010 NY City Marathon
I don't know what that ending is going to be but I am committed to a journey that might take a very long time but will most definitely be amazing.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Beyond Frustrating
I just got back from my four mile run in the rain. Except it wasn't a four-miler; it turned into a two-miler because of pain in my right leg and rear that was there for the whole run and calf pain that turned up towards the end of the two miles. I don't know what to do. I'm not healing and I HAVE to start logging some serious miles or the race won't happen. I am so frustrated now and I don't know how to fix myself any quicker.
The only plan I have now is to demand a physical therapy appointment sooner than March 11. If I have to start crying on the phone to get one earlier I will totally do that. I am also going to attempt my scheduled seven miles tomorrow night and hope for a different outcome. Right now I just want to have a drink. Good thing it is bar trivia night.
The only plan I have now is to demand a physical therapy appointment sooner than March 11. If I have to start crying on the phone to get one earlier I will totally do that. I am also going to attempt my scheduled seven miles tomorrow night and hope for a different outcome. Right now I just want to have a drink. Good thing it is bar trivia night.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Marathon Training - Week 9
There isn't a whole lot to report on this front. Since that last run with the strained calf two weeks ago I have ran twice. Well, one three mile run and one .66 mile "this isn't going to work I still hurt and have wonky gait" run. The three-miler was last Wednesday and seemed to go pretty well. I could feel the tightness in the right leg but the calf was basically fine and I felt like as long as I watched the length of my stride the gait wasn't weird. I haven't been out since then because of snow and out of town company but I plan on heading out for a four-miler tomorrow night.
I think I am going to go back to where I left off on Higdon's Novice 2 plan rather than trying to jump ahead to what week 11 is going to look like. I can always compress the schedule somewhere else. It is probably a much smarter idea.
There are still two months until Eugene and if I can stay healthy I think I might still be able to pull this race out. If not, well, there is always the half.
Wish me luck this week. If all goes well with the legs Sunday will be my first-ever 14 miler and then we get to go to our first dance class with our new instructor. Nope, my legs won't be wobbly and worn out at all. We haven't given up on East Coast Swing but if we are thinking about doing a first dance we figured we should maybe try to do something more than the junior high stand in one spot and hold each other while swaying uncomfortably to the music.
I think I am going to go back to where I left off on Higdon's Novice 2 plan rather than trying to jump ahead to what week 11 is going to look like. I can always compress the schedule somewhere else. It is probably a much smarter idea.
There are still two months until Eugene and if I can stay healthy I think I might still be able to pull this race out. If not, well, there is always the half.
Wish me luck this week. If all goes well with the legs Sunday will be my first-ever 14 miler and then we get to go to our first dance class with our new instructor. Nope, my legs won't be wobbly and worn out at all. We haven't given up on East Coast Swing but if we are thinking about doing a first dance we figured we should maybe try to do something more than the junior high stand in one spot and hold each other while swaying uncomfortably to the music.
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