Will I race again in 2007? A few friends have asked me this and I have wondered myself. Besides the fact I will be traveling almost constantly for the next 3 weeks making finding a race difficult, I wonder if I even should. This has not been a good year overall. Here is the quick recap
Feb 18: Washington's Birthday Marathon -Freezing temperatures left me near hypothermic at the end, so much that one person actually asked a friend if this was my first marathon
March 3: Seneca Creek Greenway Trail 50k - A near ice rink surface had me damn near breaking my kneecaps
March 24: National Half Marathon
- a misdirection at the end of the course derailed a near perfectly paced race for myself
April 1: Martian Marathon - only a dead sprint at the end allowed me to make up for a total loss of energy and salvage the race (with a 2:59:58)
April 7: Ocean City Half Marathon
- a freak snowstorm and wind killed this race
April 29: Han Gang (Seoul, Korea) Marathon
- heat and liquid problems left me severely vomiting at the end
May 5: Frederick Marathon
- Relatively good race was killed in the last 4 miles by enormous wind gusts
May 12: Battle of the Blvd 10k
-Nothing really wrong with this race
June 2: Old Dominion 100 Mile Cross Country Run - 90 degree weather; humidity; thunderstorms
June 17: Dalian International Marathon
- food poisoning. ‘Nuff said.
June 26: Bluemont Park June 5k -Nothing really wrong with this race
4th of July Age-Handicapped 4 Miler -Nothing really wrong with this race
July 7: PVTC Outdoor Track & Field Meet
-Nothing really wrong with this race (Pretty damn hot though)
July 15: Presque Isle Half Marathon
- Unexplained bad race
July 21: PVTC Outdoor Track & Field Meet
-Nothing really wrong with this race (Pretty damn hot though)
July 28: Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest - Great race
July 27: 189 Mile Northwest Passage Relay
- Great race
August 4: North Face 50K Endurance Challenge
- 98 degrees
August 7th: Arlington Downhill Mile -Nothing really wrong with this race (Pretty damn hot though)
August 12: Leesburg 20k
-Nothing really wrong with this race
August 16: One Hour Track Run
-Sick before the race
August 28th: Arlington Downhill Mile -Nothing really wrong with this race (Pretty damn hot though)
Sept 3: International Peace Half Marathon -Nothing really wrong with this race
Sept 9: Presque Isle Marathon
-Major leg problems in the middle of the race
Sept 19: Tidal Basin 3k-Nothing wrong with this race
Sept 22: Lake Winnipesaukee Relay -Great race
Sept. 29: The Nation's Triathlon - Swim Leg
-Great race
Oct 7: Steamtown Marathon
-Hot humid race
Oct 17: Tidal Basin 3k -Nothing really wrong with this race
Oct 28: Marine Corps Marathon
-Great race
Nov 17: Nat'l 24 Hour Run Championship- Heat ruined the day
Wow. I have always prided myself on being able to have both a short memory and a thick skin. Looking back at this year, I have to say “holy Crap”. This was a bad bad year for me.
Maybe I will race again somewhere before the year is out.
O.K., I know I'm your harshest critic, but I really think your tough 2007 was a by-product of your amazing fiddy-two campaign...even with your genetic talent and stubbornocity (which puts you at the top 5% of runners), your body is human, and the muscle breakdown and mental fatigue of 52 marathons in 52 weeks in '06 set you up for what should have been a year of more rest and gentle training....however, you chose to still redline it, albeit at a different angle - trying to p.r. at every conceivable distance, including ultras. You still achieved so much, including lowering your marathon p.r. significantly, but I think you were running on tired legs and a tired mind all year. So my advice is to not go for so much mileage (even if it is just training) next year. Also, please help me break sub-3; maybe you could dedicate your entire year to that, and I would pay you 1 million dollars for your trouble (monopoly money of course). See you at the Tidal Basin 3K in December! (unless of course you are in Timbuktu for work). Peace out, Charlie M
ReplyDeleteCharlie has a great point. You ran some wonderful PRs and some great races (like the relay that you and Katie did), so don't beat yourself up too much. Heat, humidity, wind, ice, rain, snow - yup, they happen, so don't sweat it. You still had a good year of PRs at various distances and lots of fun.
ReplyDeletePS If the weather wasn't what it was, would the Seneca Greenway race be worth travelling for to run MD?
Oh, Charlie. Just put my name into Wikipedia and you will see my harshest critics! Love me or hate me, I don’t inspire indifference apparently.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your advice. Given plans in my mind for 2008, higher mileage will be necessary to facilitate success, but not so just to run higher mileage.
No Tidal Basin 3k for me. I will be elsewhere unfortunately, so you will maintain your 3-2 victory edge.
1L,
It may be worth it but we will see where I am in the country and what my race schedule looks like. There are very few races I care to repeat. There are just too many out there and knowing, even with limitless money, I could not run them all, I am still going to try as many as I can.
There is a one-mile race in Alexandria on New Year's Eve at 5:00. I'm registered, but I might bail on it. The "mile" scares me for some reason.
ReplyDelete