At the end of last year I planned out my 2013 racing schedule and picked my two big marathons to be the Eugene Marathon in April and the California International Marathon December. As you know, in the end of November I came up with a knee injury that had me sidelined all the way until Christmas. As we got into January I was running pretty well and feeling OK. However, in the back of my head I was feeling a bit of pressure from the time crunch I was going to be under to get into race shape for Eugene. Coach Dad and I decided that we would make the race more of a 'B' race and try some new training methods. Things continued to spiral the other direction with Mother Nature gracing Colorado with lots of snow (forcing me on the Dreadmill), a hefty work schedule, some personal issues and having A LOT of trouble sleeping ( I know all of it doesn't sound like much but it is enough to feel overwhelming). Feeling exhausted and overwhlelmed was causing my motivation to tank and I was struggling to get my runs in. Then this last week I came down with an awful stomach bug that had me throwing up at the smallest sip of water. I didn't eat any real food for 4 days, and so I wasn't running either. I finally cracked and really wasn't feeling like I was going to be ready, mentally or physically, to race a marathon.
I called Coach Dad and told him what I was feeling. We decided that trying to force this marathon was not going to do me, or my running any good. So we called it off. Part of me is so relieved and I feel like a HUGE weight has been lifted off of my shoulders; but the other half of my feels like such a quitter. Almost like I copped out because things weren't going so well. However, I know that this was the right decision for me mentally and physically. I am not willing to risk another injury, more stress and shaky confidence just to get another marathon on my resume. Now, I can build a strong base and have a little more flexibility in my running without the added pressure of hitting workouts, weekly mileage, paces, etc.
Flexibility = More fun. More fun = More motivation.
More motivation = Getting my ass out of this slump!
I will still have some structure to my training with weekly mileage goals, progression runs and hill repeats. However, there will be no specific times to hit or races to run and workouts will be on an 'as-I-feel' effort. I plan on doing more of my weekly runs on the trails for some added strength (and cheap therapy!). I am looking forward to hitting the reset button and coming back with a vengeance and hunger to race again.
READY, SET....
