"...In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or
brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."

~ Anonymous
(taken from Matt Erbele's, It Takes Time to Get Good)

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

4 miles at Marathon Pace

Odd how you never see marathon workouts listed that say "4 miles at marathon pace" or as translated in RBR-ese "4 miles at glacially fucking slow."

Despite that not being a recognized training modality, that is how I roll these days. (with the one glaring exception of a little 5K I ran a couple of weeks ago, where I was apparently smoking crack prior to running. And let's be honest, you will most likely never see numbers like that again on Run Bitch Run)

For quite awhile now, when "running" I shuffle along like I am scanning the ground for loose change and use that pace for some variation of only 3, 4, or 5 miles.

The longest run I have done in well over two months is 6 miles and to be honest that is only because I got lost trail running in bum fuck Washington (sorry to any Washingtonians. It is a really lovely state, especially if you do not like signage in your state parks and hate the sun)


Average Rainfall of Western Washington. It is green there, I will give you-all that.

As result of this piss poor effort, you will be STUNNED to hear that I will NOT be running the Marin Marathon this weekend.

I will give you a minute to recover.


It is really just another in a long line of events that have fallen by the wayside in the last 7 months. I am trying to not get out the big emotional bat and beat the fuck out of myself over it. It is what it is.

*shrugs*

I have also officially dropped down to Barb's Race for the day of Vineman 2010 (a huge thanks to the Vineman people. They were very understanding and let me drop back to Barb's with no problem. Good peeps there) Ironman training was not happening and I just mentally and physically cannot commit to that level of training with everything going on.

The beauty of Vineman (Barb's Race is held on the same course and at the same time as the Vineman Full) is that it is relatively close to home, so I do not have to be away from home for more than one night or even at all if hubby needs/wants me to be home. He will be in the middle of his second round of radiation by that time. He is infinitely more important than any race and will come first, but he does want me to do it and I want to be there. So we will see.

I do have some race/event type stuff I would really like to do but I am afraid of saying I am doing them since that seems to be the kiss of death, so let';s just say, "here is a list of races in the near future that have crossed my mind and I may consider swinging by":

Clearly I am very non-committal these days
  • San Fransisco Marathon - July 25 (my 41st birthday, BTW)
  • Barb's Race - July 31 (I do have a penchant for doing 1/2 Irons and Marathons on back to back weekends. If this happens it will be my third time doing that. Whatever.)
  • Dammit Run - August 14th (5 mi trail run with my dad. We have done it together twice before)




15 comments:

Alisa said...

While I'm sure you're bummed about IM training, I'm secretly stoked that I might see a friendly face at Barb's. I'll be there scared out of my skin doing my first HIM.

Diana said...

Who really cares how fast you run??? Does it really matter?? NO.
Other things going on in your life right now matter more to you than your speed.
Hell, I'm running 13 minute miles and I don't really give a rats a$$. The key is you're still doing what you like to do. You're still getting out there doing stuff. IM will always be available. Who knows, maybe my first IM will be your "next" IM??!!
Just keep doing what your mind and body can these days. Be happy with it and always remember that tomorrow is never guaranteed, so make the most of your days now.

Carolina John said...

I think barb's race is a perfectly fine choice. Ironman will always be there.

Jo Lynn said...

Alrighty then! I think you are doing the smart thing. Good girl. ;)

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

For quite awhile now, when "running" I shuffle along like I am scanning the ground for loose change and use that pace for some variation of only 3, 4, or 5 miles.

Wow. I really did shatter your world. Way to make me feel guilty!

Hahahahahaha! It's all about me in the end, isn't it? (And yes I know you want to interpret "in the end" as some sort of coded sodomy phrase, but it's not!)

Cheer up, b*tch! I'll send you some Crazy Earth Glue, guaranteed to hold your world together or DOUBLE your earth clumps back!

You certainly have your priorities straight, though. The loved ones come first. There'll be plenty of races in the future but you only have the one husband.

Still sending good thoughts your for a speedy recovery for your hub!

SteveQ said...

"Training modality?" Well, look who bought a thesaurus!

Commitment (that looks misspelled) for me will probably be involuntary.

Anne said...

According to Garmin, I'm barely out of the slow jog zone, so welcome to my running world :)
Just found your blog and I am enjoying your humor...you're a blast to read! New follower here :)

Aileen said...

I feel your pain...since I'm closing in on the of PT, I would have thought that I'd be psyched to be back running, but it has been hard. 4 ish miles is the most I've been able to manage!

I also agree that scaling back is probably the smartest thing to do right now, especially if you've been busy with WAY MORE IMPORTANT THINGS. You don't want to risk an injury.

Regina said...

'glacially fucking slow', I like it!

You do what you can do and that's all you can do.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Hey, sister, Thanks for coming to SteveQ's aid. As soon as I saw his post, I thought of alerting you but I figured you'd see it on your own - and you did.

We have to take care of our friends, right?

He's a unique voice. I'm not impressed at a visceral level by what people can do as runners. (That's not meant as a slam at great runners, either.) But I'm impressed to the point of awe by Steve's mind - and it worries me when he gets down on himself.

I'm also impressed by people who are downright decent at a basic level, a level where it can't be faked.

Like you.

We all have our problems, right? But maybe together we can help each other get past them.

S. Baboo said...

The Dammit run, awesome. You must support any race willing to be profane. This year New Mexico will have the first ever Dammit Man Triathlon. I must do that race!

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Hahahahaha! You can't fool me, b*tch! I know you really are a nice person and I'm tellin' everyone!1!

(Lucky for you I'm not a credible source to most people. But there are one or two fucktards out there who are bound to believe me.)

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the marathon and Vineman, but you're doing what is best for you and that's what matters most! There will be quite a few of us at Barb's and you'll have to give us newbies the inside scoop :)

Beckey said...

Gacially fucking slow? That's why I don't post PRs on my blog. My PRs are other people's DNFs.

And you're totally committed to your relationship, which is way more important than any dumb race. :)

ShirleyPerly said...

Glad to hear Vineman will let you do Barb's Race instead. Non M-dot races ROCK!!!