The Wheels Fell Off

MAN this year is flying by. It's NOVEMBER already!!! I'm not at all ready for the cold (and subsequent killer heating bills), but I guess it is that time again. Looks like we'll have another week or so of decent weather yet, though. Maybe I can squeeze some shorts-wearing into this weekend...

Marathon looks like it's dead for this year. My knee is still not quite right from whatever relapse/reinjury I had over the past 2 weeks. I'm also still struggling with some other minor issues which seem to flare into major aches and hobbles whenever I stretch my training runs over a few miles. So I'm going to stare inevitability in the face and declare that I've been beaten. But I'm not really all that down about things. First and foremost, I DID make it through some pretty killer long runs, including the 16 miler several weeks ago. Second, I learned about my dedication. I stretched my battered and injured body about as much as I could without causing serious, possibly permanent damage. I've only run once in the past 2 weeks, and I STILL can't get out of bed, or my car, or a chair, etc. without my knee killing me. I'm still walking with a bit of a limp, too. In addition, it's been a full year now that I've had my plantar fascitis. It's better, but still there b/c I haven't given myself a good long rest. I should have heeded the advice in the running magazines that say if you suffer a significant injury, you should think twice about continuing with such high-level training. I would say a grade 2 ACL injury (plus God knows what else), qualifies for fairly significant. In hindsight, I should have found a nice 1/2 marathon and raced that for my goal race, but my stubbornness kept pushing me toward the whole 26.2 mile enchilada. One piece of advice for the first-time marathon hopeful: Remember that while the physical pain and endurance is very substantial at times, the mental drain is even worse. Motivation can be an issue, but for me it was more of an issue to deal with the mental strain of KNOWING that you were going to be sore ALOT. And not just right after a long run, but for DAYS afterward. Especially with the injuries. I think if I'd have stayed healthy, it wouldn't have been unbearable, but with the injuries, it just became too much. Limping on both legs from multiple injuries, almost every day for weeks on end, takes it's toll...

As things are, I basically lost a whole year of 5K/5 mile races because I was doing specialized training for the marathon. But these things happen. I think I'm going to take a nice long break from beating up my lower body, and try to heal up completely. Next year I'm vowing to have a very successful racing season, but with full emphasis on the SHORTER races. And I know my training partner will agree that we're going to brain the other person if either of us decides to pursue a marathon in the near future. I'm disappointed because I KNOW we could have finished this thing, but I know we are doing the right thing....

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