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

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

And in the end...

I will not be running the Marine Corps Marathon.

If you read this blog on any kind of consistent basis, you know that I’ve been training for the MCM, which is in approximately 2 weeks. You also know that my training has been sub-par due to injury caused by over-training. When a runner is plagued by shin splints and IT Band pain that just won’t go away, it’s a sign of pushing too hard, too fast.

Now I’m not a super-experienced hardcore runner, but I wouldn't classify myself as a beginner either. I’ve got one marathon under my belt, dozens of shorter-distance races and about 9 years of running experience. I own 7 or 8 books that only “serious runners” would buy and look forward to my copy of Runner’s World each month. I browse Cool Running, Running Times and the Memphis Runner’s websites everytime I get a chance and I read all of your fantastic running blogs just about everyday. So you see, I consider myself fairly well-read on the subject of running. That’s why it makes absolutely no sense that I am injured enough to have to drop out of my upcoming marathon. Shouldn’t my super-educated running brain know when to hold back and when to persevere and push through the pain? Apparently not. Cause here I am. Out of the race with injuries that I haven’t dealt with since I was a beginning runner back in high school.

I’m not sure why or how it all began, but it’s been a vicious cycle…run too much too soon, suffer the consequences and become forced to take a few days off, try to play catch up, run too much too soon, suffer the consequences and become forced to take a few days off, try to play catch up….

Yes, it is frustrating, and yes, I want to ignore the pain and do whatever it takes to finish that race. However, that would be really really dumb and I don’t want to waste all that I’ve worked toward, thus far, by doing something dumb. I want to run a good marathon-one that I’m prepared for and one that I’m healthy enough to complete without risking blowing out my knee for a year.

That’s why I’m going to postpone my marathon.

So many wonderful people have sponsored me by generously donating money to The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. I promised those people that I’d run a marathon and I will. I will run a marathon. It won’t be the Marine Corps Marathon, but I promise you that I will run 26.2 miles as soon as I possibly can, in honor of Meme.

I’ve taken a good amount of time off to properly recover (fingers crossed) and have slowly been getting back into my routine. I’m making myself take it slow until I can gauge exactly where I am in my training schedule. Once I determine where I stand, I’ll pick the appropriate marathon and do my best to stay healthy and injury-free until I’ve got marathon #2 under my belt. Since I already made my plans for travel and meeting up with old friends in DC, I’m still going on my trip. I’m looking forward to cheering on my fellow teammates on the MMRF Marathon Team. But that means that my vacation time is gone and so I’ll have to run a local marathon. Here are my options:

St. Jude Marathon in Memphis-12/6/08
MS Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS-1/3/09
Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans-2/1/09
Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas-3/15/09
Knoxville Marathon-3/29/09

Anyone got any input on these races? I'm leaning toward doing the half in Memphis and the full in Jackson. I think that 10 weeks will give me enough time to get back on track.

13 comments:

Adam Dunn said...

That's too bad, but probably the right choice. Enjoy the trip and stay healthy. I don't know anything about those races, so they all sound good to me. Good luck and keep on keeping on.

M*J*C said...

I'm so sorry to hear that you won't me doing the MCM. You've definitely made the right choice though, as we've all heard a million times "you have to listen to your body". That's great though that you are still going to support your friends. Enjoy the trip!

Rhoni said...

No, you definitely shouldn't feel bad, take care of yourself first...then you'll really have an awesome marathon and give all your donors their money's worth!

GypsiAdventure said...

I'm sorry to hear you're not going to get to run that Marathon...hopefully some rest and scaling back a bit will help you get healthy and back on track towards your goals.
Good luck!!
~K

Anonymous said...

Too bad on the injuries. Hope that you have a speedy and complete recovery. Oh ... making reference to Runners World (aka How to Train for an 8:00 Marathon by Watching Four Movies a Week) does not do your running accomplishments any justice at all!

Joe said...

so sorry to hear you're not going to be able to run. :( it's probably the right decision, though, if it's this bad, to wait rather than risk worsening the injury.

hope you enjoy your time in dc, even if you can't run.

Kevin Westbrook said...

Sorry about your news. My suggestion is that you need to run Memphis. This will be my first marathon and I will likely be hitching a ride with an ambulance the last 13 miles. You will definitely beat me. Good luck on your training for your next marathon!

Meredith said...

So sorry to hear about your injuries. When you miss workouts, just let them go and don't try to make them up. Take your time and ease your way into your training plan. Run the important miles, not just because you feel you have to run.

You'll do it and it will be awesome.

Amy said...

Be aware... that the mardi gras marathon... just happens to be on your best friends birthday... oh yes and I believe there is some little game called the SUPER BOWL on that date as well... probably good to know before you plan on a marathon that day. (of course... running a marathon the morning of the super bowl, just means you can eat the hell out of some super bowl munchie food and beer).

Spike said...

sorry about your injuries, but it is best not to make things worse, as I know from experience. Plus, I know you will have marathon #2 under your belt soon!

RunnerMom said...

I think you are being really smart to not push through the pain and injure yourself badly. It sounds like you've got several good options for upcoming races.

I hope you find health and healing in the next few weeks and get back on track!

Van 1- Hall said...

and this is me, take these two weeks off and see how you feel injury wise...you're already there training wise, consider it a 2 week tape, but if you're not there in 2 weeks can it. let me know if you do the memphis, im going down to either support it, or by gods good graces maybe run the half if I can even run. Sorry bout your tough luck, it stinks cus we know what we did wrong but were too damn stubborn to lay off the running. Live and learn I guess. Heal Fast.

chirunner said...

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