I really shouldn't, but I'm gonna
aprildgibson
Posts: 5
So, I'm signed up for my 3rd marathon on December 2. I was feeling strong and training well, heading for a PR, had two 18-milers under my belt...when I got sidelined with both illness and injury (pinched nerve in my neck -- nothing dangerous now, just really painful at the time).
Anyway, long story short, I missed peak month entirely. When everyone else was getting their 20+ mile runs in, I was in bed. I've only been running again for a couple weeks, and man, it felt like starting over from scratch again. This past weekend, I ran/walked 13 miles. Not too shabby, but given that my last 18-miler was October 23rd, it's also not that encouraging either.
I usually don't take walk breaks, but since coming back I've been doing it Galloway-style and making decent progress.
Now, this ain't my first rodeo, so I know. I KNOW. Seriously, I. KNOW. That I am completely underprepared and have no business doing this race in a week and a half.
But I wanna.
It's out of town, and my entire running club (over 100 of us!) is going. My registration, flight, hotel and shuttle are all paid for. Plus, I just think it would be terribly depressing to go and not be on the course at all.
Am I crazy for trying? If I just accept that my time will suck, there's no harm in at least starting it, right? I'm just gonna think of it as two halves.
What say ye?
Anyway, long story short, I missed peak month entirely. When everyone else was getting their 20+ mile runs in, I was in bed. I've only been running again for a couple weeks, and man, it felt like starting over from scratch again. This past weekend, I ran/walked 13 miles. Not too shabby, but given that my last 18-miler was October 23rd, it's also not that encouraging either.
I usually don't take walk breaks, but since coming back I've been doing it Galloway-style and making decent progress.
Now, this ain't my first rodeo, so I know. I KNOW. Seriously, I. KNOW. That I am completely underprepared and have no business doing this race in a week and a half.
But I wanna.
It's out of town, and my entire running club (over 100 of us!) is going. My registration, flight, hotel and shuttle are all paid for. Plus, I just think it would be terribly depressing to go and not be on the course at all.
Am I crazy for trying? If I just accept that my time will suck, there's no harm in at least starting it, right? I'm just gonna think of it as two halves.
What say ye?
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Replies
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i say go! you're undertrained- that may not be such a bad thing. think of it as being well rested! you know yourself that it's a mental game- you just need to remember you've done them before and can do it. make sure you get the massage afterwards though- that will help heaps.
and you're certainly not alone in your training turning to custard! my last full was 3 weeks ago. my last long run before that was 6 weeks earlier and only 30k. i did try to get a 36k run in 2 weeks before the full, but only got to 18k before i died! and my full was a dream! best run i've ever done, and a pr (not that it was difficult- i've only run 1 other full!).
i think that the hardest part is getting to the start line. once you're there, the rest takes care of itself.0 -
I'd probably get out and go for it as well. You just need to lower expectations and stay flexible on race day. If you do end up in the "more harm than good" category then be prepared to shut it down.
Perhaps there are some slower runners from your club that you can run with.
Looks like you're running CIM, which is an awesome place to PR (my two fastest races are from there - by a long shot).0 -
I don't understand why you wouldn't go. If you're healthy, then I just don't get it.
Undertrained, okay check. That I get. But I can't imagine walking away from race day because I'm undertrained. That's not something that computes in my brain.0 -
Are there any sloooooow or run/walk first timers in your club? I'd hang back with them and just be prepared to take it easy, it's not worth pushing yourself back into injury just because you don't want to miss out. Good luck and have FUN!0
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It could be worse. Imagine staring down a 100k with 12,000 feet of elevation gain with only one leg that works right. Now that's crazy.
Go for it. You've invested money. You are undertrained not necessarily injured. You have experience at the distance and sounds like you have realistic expectations of what the day holds. If things go south badly, stop. Or if you are too stubborn to quit keep going until you are officially pulled. Not that I have any experience with that.
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I am quoting a friend here: Rather undertrained than overtrained!
I did a 50km that way, survived and had an awesome time. If you are prepared to start off slowly, and are mentally happy to run a PW, I say why not? You might even find that have a good race!0 -
I am quoting a friend here: Rather undertrained than overtrained!
I did a 50km that way, survived and had an awesome time. If you are prepared to start off slowly, and are mentally happy to run a PW, I say why not? You might even find that have a good race!
That could have come straight form the head coach at my tri club.
Listen to your body and enjoy the race.0 -
Thanks, everybody! That's what I was hoping to hear, I'm just usually such a by-the-book rule-follower! But a lot of good that did me in Chicago last year, when high temps and my own anxiety gave me my worst race ever. This time, I'm just gonna be chill, enjoy the scenery, and trust myself. You guys rock!0
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How did it go?0
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How did it go?
^^ yes, come tell us!0
