Friday, September 12, 2008

HUGE WASTE

Remember the episode of Seinfeld where George discovers that if he does the opposite of what he planned on doing, everything seems to turn out great? For example, instead of just admiring some hot gal from across the diner, he walks up and tells her he’s unemployed and lives with his parents. The result: she invites him so sit next to her.

Anyway, I think I should apply that philosophy to my running very soon. Instead of running a bunch of easy base miles in the winter, I’ll do fewer miles but include some quicker stuff. If I don’t think I should run a race because it doesn’t fit perfectly into some arbitrary plan, then I should go ahead and run it anyway. Think cross-training is bad, then go ahead an include it. Screw running every day, add in some skiing, biking, swimming, snowshoeing, etc.

Let’s see where that gets me.

Don’t think running a marathon is the best option on a bum calf. Run it anyway – just change your goals, objectives and strategy accordingly.

I figure I could bag the marathon and save on some pain, suffering and a slower time than I’d like. However, I did that last year. And given that I only run, at most, two of these a year, skipping one a year seems like a huge waste.

Quote of the day;

“The only real failure is the failure to try.” – Joan Benoit Samuelson
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9/12/2008 1:24 PM

    I went to run the Honolulu Marathon one year, expecting to run about a 4-hour marathon. Instead of doing everything right (no alcohol the night before, hydrate, eat pasta, get plenty of rest), I did the opposite. I sat in our hotel hot tub and got totally drunk the night before the race, was helped up to my room and passed out without eating dinner. I still got up (barely) and ran a four hour marathon. Maybe sometimes just doing the opposite is okay.
    That was the day I lost my fear of the marathon. You can do everything right and blow it, or do everything wrong and still run okay.

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  2. Adam9/12/2008 2:42 PM

    If you decide to take it easy maybe you could pace somebody. Get the no pressure easy run and the satisfaction of helping somebody reach their goals.

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  3. Mike9/12/2008 2:53 PM

    I think as long as you're not risking permanent damage, running it is a great idea. I've been following the blog for a while but don't have your race history committed to memory so I'm curious when was the last time you ran TCM and if it was a while ago are you possibly in line for a TCM PR even with the recent injury issues?

    I agree with the previous commentor too. TCM has pacers for 3:20 & 3:10 - there's no official pace group for the 35-39 year-olds that need a 3:15 for Boston. You could probably run that in your sleep and with the help of this blog gather a pretty large group together.

    In any event, good luck, hopefully these next 3 weeks allow you to taper, get healthy, and arrive at the starting line with a satisfying goal in mind.

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  4. Chad9/15/2008 12:38 PM

    Anonymous, I thought you were going to mention running a 3:30 or something crazy like that.

    Adam, as long as that person knows I may step off the course at any second if my calf explodes...

    Mike, I can't believe you don't have my race history memorized. :-) The last time I ran TCM was 2001 when I ran (a then-PR) 3:00:55. I'm not sure that's doable any more.

    I suppose I could informally pace a 3:15 group, but I doubt they need my help. In any case, I do need to figure out a goal/strategy one of these days.

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