Thursday, September 23, 2010

"Not running a marathon" blues

As followers may know,I have an entry into this year's New York marathon. If you are a member of New York Road Runners and run in nine NYRR races in a calendar year and also volunteer for one race, you have a guaranteed entry for the following year. Thus, in 2009, I ran in 9 races and volunteered on one race (on what felt like the coldest morning in history) to secure my spot for November 2010.

But I won't be running on November 7. Why? Well, a combination of injuries, lack of preparation, life stress and just general ... didn't get it done, put me in a place where, realistically, training to run 26.2 in November would be difficult and probably result in an injury.

A rewind button: March 2009, I began a diet and to run again after a year or so layoff. I lost 50 pounds and ran a 3:42 in the 2009 NY Marathon (a legacy of a guaranteed entry from 2007 race season (for the 2008 marathon, which I deferred to 2009)). After running consistently, watching every single thing I ate for 8 months, I then sort of lost focus. Ok, not sort of, I took a break from the Spartan life discipline I had been maintaining. Plus, life, work, etc., all seemed to crank up to 11 right then, which, coupled with colder weather, meant I just didn't run. I didn't want to run; or, more precisely, to put the mental effort into a dedicated plan of exercise, training, etc. So, I didn't run. I ate, drank, was merry.

Ok, so about March of this year I said to myself, the fun's over and time to get ready for NY 2010. Except I felt this pain in my right foot. Maybe a stress fracture, maybe a pinched nerve, but it cost me a month or so. And then, my left foot really hurt (turns out to be an arthritic toe), but, truth be told, I could have run through it. I just didn't. And I didn't do what I promised myself I would do during my next running injury: keep up the cross training, or lift weights, or diet to get my weight back.

So I woke up in July, again overweight, and without a consistent running history since last November. I knew NY 2010 was toast. I probably could have whipped myself into some kind of shape and run in November, but I knew I was setting myself up for 2 bad results: injury and a performance worse than last year. Most likely, an injury would have knocked me out of the box, so I never would have made it to the line to turn in a disappointing performance.

And I was OK with deferring my entry to next year (2011). Really. But now we are in marathon season. I see people training in the Park and on the West Side highway. On my route in my little town, I saw someone's water bottle and Gatorade stash planted in the bushes. All of NYRR's races are geared towards the big show in November. The running clubs and groups are all focusing on long runs. My runs, on the other hand, seem kinda pointless, just building base and endurance, burning calories I accumulated since the last marathon. Blogland is full of people training, worrying, anticipating Chicago or Marine Corps or New York.

But I won't be part of it because, well, I let the guard down and fell off the bus for awhile. And that is disappointing. That discipline and drive to push forward, to hold tight, to go, to run 20 miles in the rain, etc.,...I just lost for awhile. I can blame my foot injuries, but I know that they were not that bad, and if I had (i) lifted weights with same rigor as running during that spell; and (ii) maintained a normal diet during that time, I would have been in fine shape come July 2010 when I decided to pull the plug on this year's marathon.

So, this post is meant to salute all of you on your way or have stayed the course. And to remind myself that running NY 2010, which was the product of literally years of planning (begnining in March 2009) was cratered by some bad months this spring.

And this winter, I will keep the discipline. Or at least don't backslide.

17 comments:

  1. This is such a great post. REAL. True. Honest. I love it.

    And I can't wait to follow you on your road to NYC 2011. Hopefully, I'll be "there" with you not only in blog world and spirit but there WITH you in NYC.

    Run on!

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  2. Sending you a big cyber pat on the back. It is on in 2011! Can't wait to hear all about your training.

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  3. You have just made a big step towards NYC Marathon 2011. You are honestly evaluating what worked and what did not. I hope you will find the spark that will help you re-ignite fitness/running passion for a fabulous training season.

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  4. Definitely a bummer that NY isn't going to happen this year, but think of how ready you'll be this time next year! I'm going to do the lottery again for '11, so we'll see what happens...

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  5. I had to bail on Chicago for sort of the same reasons...though my heel is NOT fixed yet. We'll do it in 2011, ok? OK!!! :)

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  6. I can relate, dude. Nice to see you're already back on track (road?!) towards running in 2011. As you know, NOTHING beats the NY City Marathon. Good Luck, and stay strong and be strong.

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  7. You need to avoid viewing your runs as pointless without a marathon to be training for. Here's my mindset tonight. I get a fair amount of satisfaction racing shorter distances and I'm content not to have to make the commitment necessary to race a marathon, not to always be in recovery, base-building, mileage, MP runs, taper, racing, repeat necessary for doing two a year. I was back and forth about NY 2010, but my heart was never in it, and I have no regrets about passing on it.

    Still, in the back of my mind is putting myself in a position to race NY 2011 and I use that thought to motivate me, just a bit, with only a little over 13 months to go.

    I had a great run this morning around the Bronxville Lake. No specific race being prepared for. Just the pleasure of the effort and the continuation of a process to allow me to prepare for a specific race, even if it's months away.

    And in the back of my mind, one more, however small, stepping stone to NY 2011.

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  8. Darn it! I was hoping to meet you or at least KNOW SOMEONE who was running NY! I'll be thinking of you but you WILL be back next year, I'm sure. Any ideas on how to make it the best experience ever? I'm working hard, that's for sure.

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  9. I can see where you're coming from. It must be hard when seemingly all runners are out there training for NY.

    I come from Joe's side of the racing fence. Now that I've ruled out a marathon for the foreseeable future (the next few years), I'm quite motivated to train to improve at shorter races.

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  10. Thanks for commenting on my blog yesterday. None of my comments came through to email, so that is why I never got back to you! Sorry!

    The app i use for running is called Runkeeper Pro. I love it. It uses GPS to track your mileage, pace etc. It then maps out your run, allows you to leave comments and take pictures during or after the run and gives you your splits and it plays your ipod music during your run if you want. You can also set it to walk,biking etc for differnt activities. It has a website you can go to also..... pretty nifty!

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  11. It's hard seeing so many people do what you love to do and reading about it day in and day out (you just can't escape it in blogland!), but it's good that you recognize what steps led you here and what you'll do to change it next time around. Sometimes when we burn ourselves out (watching our food, getting those runs in even when we don't feel like it) we just need a break to step back and reflect on why we do this. Some people don't come back, but you are and I commend you for that. You're back and stronger than ever! Enjoy your little break away from marathon season and drink and be merry!

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  12. Of course one good thing about racing distances shorter than the marathon is that you get to run fast at the end. Look at Mills, Look at Mills.

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  13. I hope we will both be there with numbers on in 2011!

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  14. This is a very nice post, so informative and interesting. Thanks for sharing such a great post.

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  15. Good luck with the training for NYC 2011 . I have that one penciled in as well

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  16. I completely understand your feelings...it's so hard to sit it out when it seems like everyone is training for a marathon. But you know what--my bet is you come back more fired up than ever to train!

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