what is the deal??? it is so #@$&* COLD out there!!! holy
cow. you know we are stuck in deep-freeze when cars are driving around
with a foot of snow on top and it is not coming off. frozen solid to
the roofs. brrrrrrr. well, i ran 8 miles today, total time was 61:27, so average pace was 7:38. my foot was feeling a little twingy again today. monitoring it closely. i
have been worrying a lot lately about my next marathon. it is now less
than two weeks away and i know i have not adequately prepared. i have
had too many weeks in a row of inconsistent training. i know i would be
able to finish, but i am not sure that i would be able to finish well.
it will probably be one of those crash and burn races, where i hit mile
18, cramp to death, struggle through the last 8 miles in pain, and then
struggle through more weeks of inconsistent training as i try to
recover. so after thinking about all of this, i have seriously
been contemplating the idea of switching to the half marathon. the race
information states that runners are able to transfer between races, so
it wouldn't be a problem. and i don't have to re-register or fill
anything out, i just show up a the half-marathon start and i am good to
go. this is good because it allows me to make the final decision on
race-day. i would like to run the full marathon, as it is my favorite
distance by far of any race. but i am not sure if i want to sacrifice
my body for a mediocre marathon if i have the chance to reserve the
distance for my spring and summer races...by then i will have had a
chance to put in the proper training and will be fresh and ready to go
for some of my goals. i got michael phelps' book for christmas
and i am almost finished reading it. it's called "no limits" and
although it is entriely about swimming, it easily relates to running or
any other sport, and it is really inspiring to read. i bring this up
because both he and his older sister suffered stress fractures in their
backs just as they were peaking in their careers. michael's sister swam
through the pain, which kept getting worse, and it eventually sidelined
her from the pool and ended her career. michael, on the other hand, saw
what his sister went through and decided to take some time off to heal
properly. once he healed, he worked hard to regain his fitness and came
back in the '08 olympics to be better than ever. so when i read about
this i started thinking of my foot...it keeps getting better, then i
run too hard and everything comes right back. i am capable of running
this marathon, but i don't want to do any permanent or even temporary
damage. my foot is not strong right now and i don't want to start out
the new year with a big gap in my training. so these are just
my thoughts right now. maybe i will feel like i am ok to run it by the
end of the week, or even by the end of next week. but if i am not
feeling it, i don't see a point in forcing anything. i don't have major
goals or expectations on this race, whereas the marathons i am planning
on this summer i have set very specific and serious goals that i will
not obtain if i don't treat my body properly.ok, that's all for now. stay warm!
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