I woke up this morning feeling like crap, and I still feel like crap. Normally, I don’t enjoy feeling this way, but it is nice to know that I made the “right” decision.
A runner I follow on Instagram with very similar stats as me who was aiming for the same time as I would have been, had I been healthy (3:50 pace group / 8:47 mpm), had a bad race, wasn’t able to stick with the pace group for long and ended up getting pulled at a med tent at the halfway mark. I think it just goes to show that you cannot underestimate the marathon, and that going into a 26 mile race in marginal health is just not a good plan. Finishing a marathon is always an accomplishment, and finishing on your target pace is an even bigger accomplishment. For this of us running the race around the 4 hour mark or slower, I think this is even more true. For an elite man running a marathon in 2 hours, it’s like a half marathon for me. For a 4 hour or 5 hour marathoner, the marathon is like a 50 mile race for an elite – it’s an ultra, with all the complexities and uncertainties of an ultra.
I follow a lot of fast runners on Insta. They inspire me. On days when it’s raining or cold or I’m just feeling lazy, I know these people, who I don’t know but are nonetheless real, will be out there running. By fast, I don’t mean elite, but you know, people aiming for a 3 hour marathon, or even a 3:30 marathon. Faster than me (which I guess is what a lot of people call “fast” – people faster than themself.) In any case, many of these runners do marathons quite casually. I’ve reached a place where I can do a half marathon casually. It’s not a big deal for me to run 13 miles, and I know that while running a half at sub-8 pace will just about kill me, running one at 9 or 10 mpm is not that big of a deal. Many runners have reached that place for a marathon, but I am definitely not there yet. I am in *excellent* shape (or was) to run a half, but the same cannot be said for a marathon.
There is a marathon in two weeks in Port Orc.hard called the Yu.kon Do It marathon. On the plus side, Port Orchard is only one hour and 15 minutes away, and the race still has open slots. There are plenty of minuses though: less than 200 runners, 1500 feet of elevation gain, and likelihood of rain high. The last item is a sticking point for me. I have not signed up for the race, but I went ahead and made a hotel reservation. If the weather looks OK – say 50% chance of rain with 0.25 inch accumulation predicted, I’ll go. If it looks bad – say 90% chance of rain and closer to an inch of accumulation predicted, I’ll pass.
Too far out to tell, but you can see what I’m dealing with in terms of PNW winter weather. I’m also planning on traveling on my own. While it would be nice to have Jonathan there to support me, it’s just too much trouble and stress to take the whole family in lousy winter weather.
If I decide to pass based on weather, Houston is a possibility, as well as a few options in CA. I guess I plan to try and maintain 40ish miles per week mileage until I find a race I can actually run.
It’s hard to plan anything between Covid and small children and just the busyness of life. I prioritized CIM pretty darn highly and imposed on my family and friends (to watch the kids), and it still didn’t work out. But I’m sure something will.