My brother and I were in Vancouver today for the marathon -- lots of training to get ready for this one. Our goal was 3:30. Pat finished at 3:32, and I finished 65 percent of the race, dropping out after mile 17. It was pretty frustrating, on our last long training run three weeks ago I injured my Achilles tendon. Aggressive physical therapy and stretching got me to the start line, but it meant that I'd not run for three weeks. The first 10 miles were good -- on pace and painfree, but after that the tendon started to act up, and our pace dropped off. By mile 17 it was clear that the only way I was going to finish would be walking -- and that did nothing for me. I decided that I'd call it a day, preserve my tendon and consider the day a training run for a yet-to-be named marathon later this summer.
Pretty disappointing, but I know it was the right decision. I learned a few things during my enforced break from running:
- Eliptical training is fine, but horribly boring, and does nothing to prepare the quads for a real run.
- All the special running drinks I was using to prevent cramping didn't -- going back to plain water and the drawing board -- got to figure out a way to keep my muscles from seizing up (which they did).
- Running is a total sanity check for me -- not having the longer runs to let all the thoughts whizzing around my head settle down was a major bummer.
- Having a studly brother as a running partner is a major plus.
- Breaking news day before a race is NOT recommended for pre-race focus and concentration.
It's the journey, always. Lucky me, I have a bit more to go before I hit the finish line for this particular goal.