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| Local hero, former Saint, and ALS sufferer Steve Gleason will be racing! |
MY marathon.
My first half marathon (I was an occasional jogger and went from 1 to 2 runs a week to a half in 3 weeks: first week I ran a 7 mile long run, next week a 10 mile long run, next week the race!).
My first full marathon.
My first I-am-going-to-actually-train-for-a-specific-time marathon.
My current PR marathon.
And crap, I can't run it this year. That's terrible in my mind: it breaks a PR streak for me (PRing every time I run this race), I'll miss out on the only marathon in my own city, and I can't say I ran with Mo Farah, Shalane Flanagan, or Kara Goucher (to name just a few of the elite field).
Normally, I'd be spending this week checking the weather and thinking about race outfits (actually, as I recall, I usually enter this race a little unprepared, maybe because it is so late in the winter and I'm sort of "burned out" on races by then).
I talked to my PT on Wednesday, and he gave me a choice: drop down to the half, aware that I am in no shape to run fast or PR, or sit the race out and flush all my registration money down the drain.
What would you do?
Oh man, it would break my heart to throw away all that money, as expensive as those races are, but I guess the defining question would be whether I'm going to enjoy my race experience. For me, since I'm almost always running far undertrained and have no big expectations for myself...maybe. So for you, will it be more painful to run YOUR race as basically a fun run? Or will it hurt more to miss out?
ReplyDeleteI think it all depends on your personality type--if it will bug you to run slower than what you can do, skip it. If you're truly ok with running "for fun" then go for it.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Miss Zippy is right on the money! Personally, I would rather sit it out, but if you can just go easy and have fun, it sounds like a pretty amazing race!
ReplyDeleteI would drop to the half if I felt I could do it without injuring myself.
ReplyDeleteMy advice- Go for the Half. There are so many times I've run something and surprised myself. Last summer I was out of running shape because of my stupid knee tendonitis. (I spent much of the summer swimming and biking.) I still ran a 10K I had registered for while on vacation in July and I'm so glad I did. It wasn't my best 10K time but I had fun and it was really good for me mentally. I knew I had a long way to go physically get back to where I was (and where I wanted to be) but running the race was a step in the right direction for me.
ReplyDeleteIf you feel like you could safely do the race AND you can't get your money back you might as well go for it. (In my opinion.) We all have to come back at some point after an injury. It is frustrating and humbling but necessary to get to where we want to be.
Maybe you could pace a friend to help them. That might take pressure off and you'd have fun in the process. I don't know- just an idea!
I will say go for the half! I think you would be super sad to not be involved in the race at all - you don't come across as one who enjoys sitting on the sidelines. If you do the half you can still get your shirt, bag, medal (all the stuff you paid for!) still be a part of the event, but you won't be doing anything silly that would set you back. Hope you get to do it and have a good time! Try to not worry about your time and just enjoy running in your favorite race.
ReplyDeleteRun the half for fun! The weather in NOLA doesn't look great for this weekend but I'd hate to waste the money you spent on the entry fee since you have already paid for it. If anything, you can get some good freebies after the race!
ReplyDeleteProbably in most of the other races you've done in Nola, you were focusing on pace and not just enjoying your beautiful home town. To this day, one of the most enjoyable races I've ran is a couple of years ago when I ran the KC marathon, about 30 min slower than normal. Just a relaxed pace enjoying it like never before. Run it.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on how you feel. If you can run it and feel good, then I would and not care at all about my time. I have run plenty of half's slowly as training runs and had fun. For me it's not always about a PR, but sometimes just being able to be out there, appreciating running.
ReplyDeleteIf it's going to hurt your leg (not bc you are out of shape), then I would not... and go watch an awesome race and take lots of pics to post on here for us to see :)
Either way, I think you could enjoy the day no matter what. You can't change your condition, so make the best of it!
Drop to the half, enjoy the scenery. I don't think you would enjoy the marathon knowing you cannot run it like you want to.
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