California on my mind
I'm close to booking a flight to San Francisco for the San Francisco Marathon on July 31. Flight prices are so high, but I managed to find a schedule that isn't too terrible for $378.
The whole marathon thing is really bumming me out. I am not in any shape to run a marathon, because I haven't been training. Of course, the main reason for that is that I just don't think my body is cut out for the rigors of marathon training.
My training was interrupted by shin splints, but even after they recovered, my knees hurt. I can often hardly climb stairs without pain in my knees, and sometimes I feel sharp pains in my knees when walking. Both of my heels often hurt -- I think I developed tendinitis from sandals I wore last summer and it's never really gotten better. In addition, the ball of my left foot often has pretty severe pain.
Given the history of arthritis and foot problems in my family, I know it's likely that I'm just not cut out to be a runner. But it's always been my dream to run a marathon. I don't really know why -- I guess it just always seemed like such an ultimate accomplishment. I symbolized mental and physical toughness.
I suppose my attachment to the idea of running 26.2 miles also stems from my mom forcing me to stop running in high school. After it was taken away from me, I think I had the desire to run the longest distance possible. fn1. So when I registered for the marathon back in January, it was really exciting for me. Knowing I had the marathon to train for was really a point of light that helped me handle some particularly dark things I was going through at that time.
So the thought of failing in my quest to fulfill this long-standing goal is difficult for me to contemplate, which is why I want to fly out to San Francisco and run the marathon even though I am completely unprepared.
I could switch down to the half marathon. I know my body pretty well, and I know I could run the half marathon in 2:00 to 2:15 without too much trouble. But that would seem like a kind of failure, to go so far and then to only finish half the distance. But I'm not sure if I have the stamina to run the full marathon right now.
Since I can't switch races until I get to the Expo before the race, I guess I'll just play it by ear...or by legs...and decide if I think I can do the marathon or not. Of course, if I do the marathon, I'm probably looking at 4:30 to 5:00 to finish, which would just be embarrassing. I guess we'll see what happens....
1. Sure, there are ultra marathons and other races longer than 26.2 miles. But the marathon is the longest "normal" race out there.
The whole marathon thing is really bumming me out. I am not in any shape to run a marathon, because I haven't been training. Of course, the main reason for that is that I just don't think my body is cut out for the rigors of marathon training.
My training was interrupted by shin splints, but even after they recovered, my knees hurt. I can often hardly climb stairs without pain in my knees, and sometimes I feel sharp pains in my knees when walking. Both of my heels often hurt -- I think I developed tendinitis from sandals I wore last summer and it's never really gotten better. In addition, the ball of my left foot often has pretty severe pain.
Given the history of arthritis and foot problems in my family, I know it's likely that I'm just not cut out to be a runner. But it's always been my dream to run a marathon. I don't really know why -- I guess it just always seemed like such an ultimate accomplishment. I symbolized mental and physical toughness.
I suppose my attachment to the idea of running 26.2 miles also stems from my mom forcing me to stop running in high school. After it was taken away from me, I think I had the desire to run the longest distance possible. fn1. So when I registered for the marathon back in January, it was really exciting for me. Knowing I had the marathon to train for was really a point of light that helped me handle some particularly dark things I was going through at that time.
So the thought of failing in my quest to fulfill this long-standing goal is difficult for me to contemplate, which is why I want to fly out to San Francisco and run the marathon even though I am completely unprepared.
I could switch down to the half marathon. I know my body pretty well, and I know I could run the half marathon in 2:00 to 2:15 without too much trouble. But that would seem like a kind of failure, to go so far and then to only finish half the distance. But I'm not sure if I have the stamina to run the full marathon right now.
Since I can't switch races until I get to the Expo before the race, I guess I'll just play it by ear...or by legs...and decide if I think I can do the marathon or not. Of course, if I do the marathon, I'm probably looking at 4:30 to 5:00 to finish, which would just be embarrassing. I guess we'll see what happens....
1. Sure, there are ultra marathons and other races longer than 26.2 miles. But the marathon is the longest "normal" race out there.
posted by N at 4:45 PM
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