Curse you, fickle New England weather!
It's getting close now. Tomorrow will be my longest training run of 18 miles before the marathon, and I keep vacillating between nervousness, feeling super burned out, and excited to see how fast my easy training runs are becoming. I feel like I'm on the verge of a PR, as long as the endurance is there. This is peak marathon training, and I kinda love it.
Of course, a few days ago, I was hating it. I bailed at mile 14 of a 16 mile training run after run/walking at mile 12. Seriously, how can I be in any kind of shape to finish a marathon, especially if there is any kind of heat above like 60 degrees? I had one epically bad run, on a hilly route on a hot day. It happens. But what if it's hot on race day? How bad is that going to suck?
I know the second-guessing is just par for the course as race day approaches. But I also know the perils of training for a spring race through the cool winter months and being ambushed on the day with sweltering summer weather out of nowhere. There's no good way to prepare for that when it's currently 45 and raining. All week long.
Well, there's not much I can do about mother nature, aside from taking advantage of any hot days that might come between now and then. Whenever then is. I still haven't registered for a spring marathon. I know Flying Pig will be too hot for me. I am still 61 people behind on the waiting list for Sugarloaf. Right now it's looking like my best option is Mainly Marathons New England Series Day 1 in Sanford, Maine. It will be pretty warm that day too, but the course is relatively flat, and shaded, and the race starts at 6:30am. So there's that.
I don't know what I'm going to do. But I do know that I am going to run a marathon next month. And regardless of whether some hot weather prevents me from running a personal record, I know the fitness that I have gained, and will be able to build upon for a cool, fast fall marathon. Just got to keep my eyes on the real prize - eventually qualifying for Boston.
Of course, a few days ago, I was hating it. I bailed at mile 14 of a 16 mile training run after run/walking at mile 12. Seriously, how can I be in any kind of shape to finish a marathon, especially if there is any kind of heat above like 60 degrees? I had one epically bad run, on a hilly route on a hot day. It happens. But what if it's hot on race day? How bad is that going to suck?
I know the second-guessing is just par for the course as race day approaches. But I also know the perils of training for a spring race through the cool winter months and being ambushed on the day with sweltering summer weather out of nowhere. There's no good way to prepare for that when it's currently 45 and raining. All week long.
Well, there's not much I can do about mother nature, aside from taking advantage of any hot days that might come between now and then. Whenever then is. I still haven't registered for a spring marathon. I know Flying Pig will be too hot for me. I am still 61 people behind on the waiting list for Sugarloaf. Right now it's looking like my best option is Mainly Marathons New England Series Day 1 in Sanford, Maine. It will be pretty warm that day too, but the course is relatively flat, and shaded, and the race starts at 6:30am. So there's that.
I don't know what I'm going to do. But I do know that I am going to run a marathon next month. And regardless of whether some hot weather prevents me from running a personal record, I know the fitness that I have gained, and will be able to build upon for a cool, fast fall marathon. Just got to keep my eyes on the real prize - eventually qualifying for Boston.
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