Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Well the Publix Georgia Marathon is just two weeks away.  As you well know I have not been able to train for it like I wanted to for many different reasons.  Though there were countless small reasons two main ones have really defined my training during this 26.2 Quest.  The fact that I didn't give myself enough time to train sufficiently, and the resulting injury, became the two biggest reasons why I couldn't train like I wanted to.  Now I find myself with a decision to make, and it is not a fun decision..... Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

I committed later than I should have and so I started serious training late and too far behind in the schedule to catch up adequately. I was confident that it wouldn't be an issue because I have done this before and I know what I need to do to get across the finish line.  That confidence turned out to be my initial step in the wrong direction.

I made the mistake of thinking that it wouldn't be an issue, so I pushed ahead without any regard for the signs that were obviously telling me something different. I was pushing my body to try and catch up to the point that I should be training at which resulted in excess fatigue and frustration fairly quickly.  I neglected to take my own advice of not pushing too hard and not building mileage too fast which resulted in a lot of achy pains.... nothing a real runner like me couldn't deal with - right?

As the mileage built so did my concern.  I wasn't feeling very motivated and was having more issues than normal with the weather, wake up times, and just overall enthusiasm.  I really didn't have any idea what I was going through and I had lost all sense of direction.  Those little achy pains seemed to stick around more than I liked and I once again didn't listen to my own advice and ran through it at times that I know I shouldn't have.

The little achy pains didn't hesitate long before they started to take an unwelcomed part in each and every one of my runs.  Most of my training was still going good, but I could feel this little hint of something not being right in my thigh early in each of the runs and then for the next couple days following each run.  I had to cut my training way back, even to the point where I started to get concerned about the finish line at the end of the 26.2 distance.  If you look at my training it has been sporadic at best for the last few weeks.

So now I find myself not knowing what the right path forward is.  I am not sure if I should stick to my original goal, complete this marathon, and then worry about dealing with the consequences later, or if I should step back to the half marathon and complete a race I know that I am capable of right now. There are a lot of emotional attachments to this as you are well aware if you have ever been at this point or known someone else that has.

If I chose either path I will continue to cut back my mileage to almost nothing over the next two weeks to give this thigh a chance to recover.  I am confident I could make the 26.2 distance, although it may hurt really bad, but the 13.1 distance has been proven the last two weekends so even if I stopped training completely for the next two weeks I will cross that finish line without an issue.

I won't go through all the different reasons I am using to justify going the full distance, nor will I try to make my argument for cutting it short and just doing the 13.1.  What I am looking for is your input.  I know you don't know all that much about me, but if you just go back a few weeks and read my posts here and on DailyMile, you will be able to understand enough of where I am to at least give me your opinion.  I KNOW everyone has an opinion, and yes I am asking for it. :)

So what do you think?  Should I Stay the course, or go 13.1?

18 comments:

  1. Let me share with you something someone very wise once said:

    "My favorite runners are the ones that are giving it everything they've got regardless of where they finish. They are all in different places in their training and what life has given them, but when they give it their all, they have won the race."

    Get out there and win that race. this IS what you have been training for. OWN that race and finish it the way you started it-determined to complete the 26.2 Quest.

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  2. If you're struggling with an injury, I suggest not running either race. Contact the race and try to defer your entry to next year. It's not worth injuring yourself further, and possibly being out for a longer stretch of time, so you can say you ran this event. You only have one body, and there are more races throughout the year. Good Luck with your decision!

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  3. Thanks Nicole - I think I have read that somewhere too :)

    Thanks for the advice Anonymous!

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  4. Tim - You would have to taper during this time. Maybe that would give it some more time to heal before the big day. It might not be a PR race, but who knows, it could be a race to remember. Sometimes not expecting much, you become more relaxed and a great run occurs. I was diagnosed with a stress fracture the week prior to a 10K race. I ran any way and set a PR. Who knew?

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  5. Can you decide somewhere along the race course? I have run more than one race where the longer distance is two loops or both distances start at one place and the shorter distance breaks off. Maybe you will find that once you are in the race atmosphere, surrounded by other runners, the 26.2 will not be as hard as you are currently thinking it may be.

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  6. Hi Tim, correct, you don't know me. I follow you on DM. I hear the passion you have for this sport through your words. The passion you've passed onto your children. I have not run a half, much less a full. I do run regularly so I know how disappointed I become when I cannot accomplish my goal. It becomes all consuming for me, ad it seems to have for you. My hope is that you make the best decision for you and your family. If I had this decision to make, I would chose the safe route; the half. You continue to inspire me through my screen.

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  7. This is a tough one. I would struggle with the decision too if I was in your position.

    If I was in your position I would still try to stick with the marathon. As others have mentioned, you never know what will happen on race day.

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  8. All you can do is try. Tim, You are a runner, whether you are feeling it or not right now. Go out there and do your best. It doesn't have to be a personal best as notated by the time, but it will be your personal best mentally. Hang in there. Run.

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  9. What's your first instinct? Go with whatever you're feeling.

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  10. Thank you everybody for the comments. It is not an easy decision, and rooted mostly in pride then anything else I am afraid. I am leaning more towards dropping to the 13.1 and and starting to come to peace with it.

    Thanks for the support and suggestions/thoughts.

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  11. Tim,

    I just want to thank you as i have just completed my third marathon and finally broke the 4 hr group with a garmin time of 3:57:02. I had been sitting on the fence about whether to try for a 4:10 time or go for my running ambition of 3:59:59. After reading your race report of the Soldier's Marathon and your under 4 hrs success story, i was inspired to go for what i really wanted to do and it paid off. Maybe you'll run the full and not beat your goal, but at least you were in for the fight. If you take probably the smarter decision of scaling back like you just suggested then i'm sure you'll be running another marathon in no time but hurry on, because i'll need you to get another PR to get me motivated for my next marathon!!

    Thanks,

    Kathleen

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  12. Thanks Kathleen and CONGRATULATIONS on your Sub4 - that is AWESOME! Oh, I WILL be back for another marathon soon, I can't leave you with that PR 1:01 faster than me :)

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  13. take care of your body! go with your gut, there will be other marathons in the future--but there won't be if you hurt yourself! i have confidence in your decision. rock it!

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  14. I am new to practicing yoga and one of the beautiful statements a teacher said was 'don't let ego allow you to hurt your knees in this pose'. Pride and ego have very important functions in our lives but often times they lead us down the wrong path. In yoga it is important to modify poses to avoid an injury. Sure one can probably manipulate their body into a particular pose but if you don't listen to what your body is telling you, you can get into some serious trouble.
    I say release your pride and your ego (and there are no value judgments placed on either - they are part of the human experience and we have to thank them for being a part of our lives as I heard last week on a wonderful blog talk radio show) and go for the half. Why push yourself and risk a more serious injury that will keep you out of the sport even longer than if you do the half. It's not about performance (and believe me as a post polio survivor I can attest to that); it's all about the joy of the sport. So focus on what brings you joy, learn the life lessons from this experience and get out there and have a great half marathon run. It's all about the journey, not the destination. Good luck Tim!

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  15. I struggled through my first marathon with an injury and it knocked me out of action for about 4 months.

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  16. Thanks for chiming in. I have made my decision, although it wasn't fun - Publix Georgia Marathon - The Plan

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