I'm done - I'm still far from 100%, I lost 4 weeks of training due to an achilles/calf injury, and I know I'll have trouble at this point building back up to a 20 mile training run without risking further injury, never mind the marathon. I officially switched my entry from the Philadelphia Full to the Philadelphia Half Marathon. It's something I hate to do, but I don't want my 2nd marathon to be a limping jog to the finish and risk being sidelined indefinitely afterward. I knew I was taking a gamble when I picked an aggressive plan on a minimal base back in August. I had assumed I would have plenty of steam left from my May marathon training to carry into Fall training - bad planning on my part.
The good news is I can at least throw in a few races between now and the end of November that I would have otherwise missed. I'll probably do the Run the Bridge 10k, a cool race that crosses back and forth over the Ben Franklin Bridge, and happens to benefit the special education school that my sister in law is Principal of. There are not a lot of 10ks around here, and this will give me a chance to redeem my crappy time from last year (I would love to hear from any other local people looking at this race). And I may throw in the odd 5k, depending on how the leg is feeling.
So I will be running the Philadelphia Half Marathon on November 23rd. On the bright side I won't be completely wiped out afterward, and after recovering from that I can start winter base building. I really think I would like to make my target race a marathon in the fall next year, but I still may throw my hat in the ring for the NJ Marathon in May, just for kicks and to redeem myself mentally a little bit after bailing on Philly (not to mention I live like 20 minutes away). So good luck to the Philly Full people - I will be one of those obnoxious half marathoners hogging the early water stations and bailing out at 13.1 mark! Woohoo - I think I'll eat all of the food before you guys get finished too! See you on the 23rd!
13 hours ago
13 comments:
Sounds like a smart move on your part going to the half.
Sorry to hear that you're not 100% yet. I think you made the right choice if that is the case though. Enjoy the other races that you can do now thought for sure.
I'm sorry to hear that you had to switch but it's a REALLY smart move. You're planning on being around for years to come, right? LOL So there will be plenty of opportunities to run another full :-) And hey maybe I'll join in Jersey LOL!
So sorry! But hey - absolutely smart - do you want to run just for this year or for the next few years?
I'd love to do the bridge run, but I end up working every stinking time they have it. I really need to send them my schedule so they can work around it ;)
I agree, very good thinking to switch. I LOL'd at the eating all the food comment.
sorry you won't be doing the full.
Ya better hang around and cheer us on!
At least not all is lost. Minus the injury, you've built up to running a marathon, so feel good about that!
Oh no! I just peeked into the Philly thread and found this sad piece of information.
My heart goes out to you! Sounds like you have your head screwed on magnificently though, not sacrificing a possible injury for the sake of a race. That takes guts.
And though I don't have any Spring marathon plans, I was just looking at the NJ marathon and hearing incredible reviews, so that would be the one I'd choose for sure. Sounds like a fantastic race.
Meanwhile, feel better, take care of yourself and have a great Half. You can PR there after PDR, I did that last year, so there's something to try for.
Btw, I think I'm going Run The Bridge, too! I did it last year and had a blast.
you know your body and I wish you the best in all your races. Sounds like a good to back down and plan ahead to getting yourself healed up before undertaking something that could hurt you.
And do eat all thier food up before they get there, or bag up a bunch of it for later!
LOL! Save me a bagel!!!
I'm glad you are doing what is smart for your body. Hope it heals up quickly and you run your fastest half-marathon yet!
Good luck dude!!! You will do great in the half!!
Smart move. You only get one first marathon. The worst thing that you could do is to force yourself to go through with it and risk worse injury.
I will be there cheering the half and full marathoners. We should make plans to meet up.
I'm planning on running the bridge 10K. I did it a couple of years ago and liked it.
Good luck with your training.
Hey dude.. You did the right thing. That was smart.. Plainly put !!! Hopefully, I will be able to see you on the 23rd !!! You can always aim for the NJ marathon. It is only five miles from my house.
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