On I went, out of the wood, passing the man leading without knowing I was going to do so. Flip-flap, flip-flap, jog-trot, jog-trot, curnchslap-crunchslap, across the middle of a broad field again, rhythmically running in my greyhound effortless fashion, knowing I had won the race though it wasn't half over, won it if I wanted it, could go on for ten or fifteen or twenty miles if I had to and drop dead at the finish of it, which would be the same, in the end, as living an honest life like the governor wanted me to. -Alan Sillitoe, "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Some small changes

Wow, this past weekend was more of a wash than I expected.  Not only did I miss my long run for logistical reasons, but then by the middle of the day on Sunday I was down with a bad, bad cold.  Blah.  I'm... okay.  It sucks, but unless it gets worse I should be okay to run (it's only in my head, as in I'm congested).  I'm cool.  I'll add a few extra miles, I won't worry too much about the missed run, and (most importantly) I won't make missing my long runs a habit.

I officially emailed earlier this week and resigned from Pikes Peak.  My spot will go to someone on the wait list.  This race is on my lifetime list, but after Mount Washington nearly killed me, I realize that doing it this year is much too much.  I need to be stronger before I do it.  New York is my fall goal, and I can't afford to do such a hard race all half-assed and have it take me that far away from my goal.  Could I finish?  Probably.  Is it worth it?  Not this year.

Also?  I am racing too much.  I know this.  I know that it's wearing me out and that I've lost any thrill, at least with local races.  I've been using the excuses - and you've seen these, if you've read this before - that they're cheap, they're easy, I like running with other people...  but you know what else I like?  Racing.  I like running all out and knowing that I tried my hardest.  And I can't do that when I'm doing a race every weekend.  I went from not having anyone to run with earlier this year to group runs and races and crowding my schedule with less than ideal running experiences.  I want to get back into a groove of running, maybe with a partner, maybe by myself, a regular schedule.
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3 comments:

  1. ket's meowTue Jul 13, 08:16:00 PM EDT

    hi Tracy - First of all I want to say I love, love your blog! I just discovered it I don't remember how but I laugh out loud at your race adventures because I can relate to so many things. I notice you live in NY and I don't know if you run by yourself or a buddy but I am on the UWS and have a pace somewhat similar to yours and I have put together this small group of women runners of different paces. We run 2 days a week but super early (6am) don't know if you would be interested. We're hoping to keep it small enough to encourage accountability (ie noticing if you sleep late one day) but large enough not to be messed with on those early mornings (especially on those dark and cold mornings). We do 1 interval day and 1 tempo day. I think you would love it. It's a very supportive group and it's women ONLY!

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  2. TTue Jul 13, 10:09:00 PM EDT

    Neat! I'd love to come out and meet you all. I'm on the west side up in Harlem. I can be pretty lazy about waking up early during the summer, so 6am might be tricky for me, but in theory I love it (and I need to wake up early with the heat). I'll send you a PM to your RW account!

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  3. Fit Chick in the CityWed Jul 14, 08:00:00 AM EDT

    It's probably good that you decided not to do Pikes until you're ready.

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