Half Marathon Training – Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: “Oh Crap, Now I Have to be Accountable”
Today’s Goal: 3 miles
Actual Distance: 4.1 miles
Time: 42:06
Weather: Sunny; no humidity; 83 degrees
Time of Day: 11:45 AM
Notes: Energy was lacking today. Hamstrings are super sore from Sunday’s long run. Had to walk a few times. Got into a pretty good groove after mile 2.
Tomorrow’s Goal: 5 miles
Here comes the cat…
Since I started running with a fair amount of consistency close to four years ago, I have found that I have thoroughly enjoyed running 5Ks a handful of times per year. Having a race on the calendar within my foreseeable future motivates me. That race day is a goal to work toward that offers the reward of achievement – and usually a free t-shirt and bagels!
This makes me want more. And by “more” I mean “longer.” I need more miles. I have run two 5 mile races within the past year, one on a really cold day in November, and the other over hills that were more than I had bargained for. But I need more.
So, where’s the cat, Snyder?
Just before I open the bag, let me say that I was registered to run a half marathon in New York this past March. But I couldn’t pull it off. My 12-week training plan started January 1 and got clobbered by snow and ice left and right. Attempting to train through winter for my first long distance race was not a good idea. However, a bigger obstacle that I could not overcome was a lower back/hip problem that I seemed to have inflicted upon myself after a night of bowling, of all things! I have always hated bowling, mainly because it presents a high risk of public embarrassment. Something I have experienced first hand. The harsh memory of crowds of strangers laughing at me as my grandfather’s old 16-pound bowling ball slipped off my hand and skidded backward away from the alley some thirty years ago should have been enough to keep me miles away from any bowling establishment forever. (That notch carved out in the thumb hole may have worked well for Pop in his day, but it became the cause of my public demise… lurking there for years… waiting… coaxing me to slip my thumb in and give it a whirl. It was a thorn of kryptonite in my achilles tendon, so to speak.) So, last December, I gave into peer pressure. I went bowling. Bowling won again. I could barely walk the next day and running became unpleasant. Add to this my stubborn resistance to seeing a doctor for three months and it all equals race failure in March.
Now, I let the cat out of the bag…
With the advent of warmer weather, abstinence from bowling, and an anti-inflammatory prescription for what turned out to be sciatica, I was able to nurse myself back into shape for consistent running. I have since registered for my second half marathon. Well, the second one I’ve paid for, the first I will actually run – provided I avoid doing anything stupid like bowling. Sunday marked 9 weeks to go until race day.
So, what’s the big deal, Snyder? Who cares?
What? You don’t like my cat, man?
The deal, regardless of how big it is or isn’t for anyone other than me, is that I need a means of accountability. And this gosh-dang website is going to serve as the forum for that, since I own this place. Read it, if you want. Leave comments. Make all the Forrest Gump wisecracks you want. Tell me I’m dumb. Tell me I suck at bowling. (Like I haven’t heard that before.) This is more for me than it is for you. So there.
The cat is out of the bag. My intention is to post a daily update of my progress (in the above format) from now until October 19, or the day thereafter, if I survive the 13.1 miles. If I can get to that day without injury, I think I can make it to the finish line… with my mantra being, “T-shirt and bagels! T-shirt and bagels!” or maybe, “It’s better to run than bowl!”
Melinda
August 19, 2014I was flipping through Facebook while waiting for my banana to turn into consumable energy. Thank you for the motivation as I am about to go out and increase my own mileage. Should you need a pre-race training run, don’t forget the yuengling 5k on October 5. Forget the free t-shirt. You get BEER!
Sam
August 19, 2014Since I don’t drink beer, I’ll have to hold out for the Captain Morgan 5K.
But there is also a 5K in Washington, NJ on October 11 that I plan on doing.
Rene
August 20, 2014Glad you’re back on your feet!
Are you doing the RW Half on 10/19? That’s perfect race prep for the Philly Marathon on 11/23 – come join me!
If you can do a half, then you can do a full. LOL
I gave you one piece of advice bitd: CHIRUNNING.
How’s that working out for you?
🙂
Sam
August 21, 2014Yes! The RW Half! Seems like a good place to do my first race of any significant distance.
Not sure running the Philly Marathon would be realistic only 5 weeks later. But you got me thinking now!
I don’t remember talking about chirunning. I googled it and a lot of the concepts are things I’ve been putting into practice, especially after reading “Eat and Run” by Scott Jurek and “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” by Haruki Murakami.
I do remember talking about running early and running hungry. I have gotten better at that. I’ve been forcing myself to run early on the weekends instead of in the afternoons. I am liking it! During the week, the best time for me to run is at lunch.