I'm not running the 1/2 marathon on Saturday. I have 50 'acceptable' reasons, but only 2 good ones. This is NOT pre-race anxiety, or an attempt at attention getting.
1. I'm not ready. Flat out. Running this marathon was a tactic from my previous "tried and failed many times" ways. I have completely revolutionized the way I eat, and now that I have that very important piece of the puzzle figured out, I need to come up with a new way to incorporate exercise into my routine. As I dove head first into this Paleo thing, my exercise sort of went out the window (apparently, I can't walk and chew gum at the same time). However, I FIRMLY believe that discovering Paleo is the BEST thing I have done for myself, and I was willing to sacrifice some cardio fitness and strength temporarily while I figured my shit out. My run on Tuesday proved that I did in fact lose some fitness over the past 3 weeks or so, and there is no way I can prepare for 13 miles in 4 days.
Now that I have a good grasp on the Paleo concept, I will begin working on getting myself back up to speed with running and my strength workouts. I have a new race to look forward to in October...the Glide Floss Bridge to Bridge in San Francisco.
2. I already proved to myself that I can do it. Last year, I completed this very same 1/2 marathon course on virtually no training and approximately 20 pounds heavier. I wanted the next time I participated (this year) to be different. I wanted to be able to run the whole way. If I'm not where I wanted to be (and I'm not), then all I'm going to be doing is the same as last year- proving that I can do it. No. That's not what I want. I want to be performing at a new level.
I'm not happy about this, but I know I'm doing the right thing. There will be more 1/2 marathons, I will get back to where I was. Sometimes I just have to take one step backwards to move two steps forward. You'll see, then LOOK OUT!
I understand that you want to improve on last year's performance, but if you don't even take part, you're worse off than you were last year. Better to perform at an old level, than not at all I would say. At the very least it is good exercise, and it will show you just how much work you have left to do. You may even be pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDeleteI get your reasoning and I totally respect it...I could see myself doing the same thing. Having said that, I think you should still take part..even if you do a hybrid of it instead of running the whole thing. At least you can then say you didn't give up..you still did it.
ReplyDeleteBut like I said, I get your reasoning. I really do. You need to do what's best for YOU!
I was thinking the same thing as your other commenters, originally, but then I remembered that my thoughts are coming from my perspective of being prepared and having gone through the training. If I was injured, or hadn't had the time to prepare thoroughly, there's no way I'd do it either. It's too much of a stress on the body running 13.1, even if you're in great shape. It's a good way to get hurt, and then not be able to run for a while, which would be totally lame.
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