About three months ago, I stood on my soapbox (otherwise known as my blog) and declared, “I am only running one half marathon this year! I want to work on my speed and sprinting distances…” Blah blah blah.
Oh man, was I so full of it.
I really did mean those words at the time, I really did. But then I got the itch. And it got it bad.
I don’t WANT to wait until October. I want to run another half marathon NOW.
Well, not quite NOW. With the exception of yesterday’s schizophrenic 7-miler (where pace varied from a sub-8 minute mile to a 9:30/mile), I’ve only run more than six miles once since my disastrous Hartford Half Marathon six months ago, and it was on a treadmill, probably with 0% incline. And I’m still not 100% convinced my foot issues have resolved themselves.
So I don’t know if it was that fluky warm weather last week, or maybe the fact that I miss having a training schedule, or maybe it’s that I’ve become one of those crazy, one-track-mind runners, or maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. But all I can think about is finding a spring half marathon.
And it’s trickier than I thought. I already have several races on the schedule this spring, from the James Joyce Ramble 10k in late April to my 10K trail run over Memorial Day weekend, and I need to give myself at least 8 weeks to build my mileage and test my foot. Plus we’ve made other personal and family commitments this spring that I can’t renege on.
Put all those parameters in place, and you’re not left with many options.
Well, there IS one. The Cox Providence Half Marathon on May 2. And once I got that in my head, I can’t stop thinking about. So, of course, I took to Facebook, where many of you only piqued my interest further in running the race, even though it is supposedly hilly.
There are so many pros and cons to adding a half marathon to my schedule at this point. On the pro side, I feel like I’m floundering a bit with my workout routine. My Type A personality enjoys following a training plan, even though I may grouse about it. I’m following a fast 10K training plan, which is great, but it’s just not the same. I like having that lofty goal to work toward.
On the con side, I really DO want to work on my shorter distances and speed, and even though it’s a challenging course, I’d love to get a 10K PR at James Joyce…which is the weekend before the Cox Half.
And there’s the whole foot issue, which I know I probably should have seen a podiatrist for months ago. Some days it’s fine, others I still get pain in the ball of foot or at the top of the second toe, which is bizarrely longer than my big toe. Plus I’ve barely been able to run outside (yesterday’s run was the first since New Year’s!), thanks to this horrid winter.
And, lest we forget, if I started training this week, this would give me eight weeks to get ready.
Dr. G. thinks I’m crazy. I think I’m crazy. But I’m still considering it.
And that’s the key word: considering. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to boost my weekend miles as if I was training for the half and, well, we’ll just see how it goes…and how my foot is doing. If all goes well, and spots are still open, perhaps I’ll sign up at the last minute.
Because, as a friend on Facebook pointed out, if I’m physically able to do it, why not run it just to run it … not for time, not for a PR, etc. Just for (gasp) fun. Just to get back into the groove of things.
Which kind of resonated with me…even though, yes, this the same girl who said six months ago that I HATE running long distances, that running a half marathon is NOT any fun.
I guess this is all part of the ups and downs of being a runner. And I’d like to think that after a down period of running, I’m ready to head back up.
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AmyC says
I ran that a few years ago…it IS hilly, but really fun 🙂
I don’t know if that helps your decision making at all!