run, rest, eat, bitch, buy things, cross-train, blog, repeat.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

New PR?

I have an idea.

What if, instead of going for a fast PR, I went for a slow PR? As I still struggle with my knee issues, I'm indecisive. (what else is new, right?)

Should I just go for the half-marathon?

Or should I push through...running, walking, crawling until I cross that finish line of the full-marathon?

A couple of days ago, I learned that the course closes after 7 hours. Runners must be at the 19 mile marker by 1:15 pm. The 19 mile marker is the 14th Street Bridge and at 1:15 pm, the road is re-opened up to traffic. Therefore, if I can manage a 14 minute mile then I'll be good.

Maybe it would be cool if I aimed to be the very last person across that finish line. I mean, think about it-last year there were 20,622 finishers. The guy who came in very last, finished in 8 hours, 6 minutes and 49 seconds. I'm not sure if they had the 7 hour rule last year, but I think that if I really try...I can be the slowest person in the whole race. Now that's something worth bragging about. To be the fastest isn't a reality, but to be the slowest? There just might be a way.

When I ran the Country Music Marathon, there were all kind of crazy spectators along the course, especially through the neighborhoods of Nashville. I remember a group of guys who had brought their poker table out to the front lawn and were enjoying games of poker, cigars, beer and the race! There were a couple of seats open at the table and the runner in front of me actually ran past, but then turned back around and sat for a beer and a quick game. And why not? Why not make the most of it? If I were aiming for low PR, I too could take advantage of such things.

I think I've already made my decision.

4 comments:

GypsiAdventure said...

Just my opinion, but I think if you walked it, you would finish in less than 8hrs. On the flipside, if you ran/walked it and played a few games of poker/drank a beer you would definitely have a good time and have some cool stories to tell right?

Sounds like fun...it does sound like you've made up your mind though.
~K

Amy said...

I have to tell you... being one of the last people to finish a marathon before (okay, twice now)... it's not a WHOLE lot of fun. Granted... I didn't go into either race thinking that I'd be walking/running... I was hoping for PRs (which I'm sure makes it 1000x worse, with the disappointment, etc). Especially when you're by yourself...

On the flipside... I definitely don't regret going ahead and finishing the full marathons in those races. At the end of the day... (the long day) it's still 26.2 miles regardless of how you do it.

Spike said...

I love the idea of running/walking for fun; bring a camera, some money (hate to lose your left shoe to a pair of pocket aces), and wear a shirt that says "on empty, need beer to finish."

Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

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